Block 37, that little piece of real estate at State and Washington, finally had her cherry popped. Groundbreaking ceremonies (complete with models, magicians, confetti, and gold specks sprinkled on the ground..you can’t make this stuff up) were held this morning, ushering in the beginning stages of development on an office tower that will eventually house a shopping mall, a CBS studio, a hotel, and an underground CTA station that will feature express service to both airports. While it’s always nice to have state-of-the-art facilities in the city, parts of me wish they would have kept it an open space, perhaps a park. But, I guess since we have Millenium Park (on those days when it isn’t being rented out) we don’t need another one.

The price tag on this is $300 million. Hmmm, I wonder how long before that figure is thrown out the window?