CHICAGO—The recent and final closure of thefutures trading pits at the Chicago MercantileExchange were another reminder that the way the city'sexchanges operate has been transformed, and the real estate meantto support such activity has changed as well. As reported inGlobeSt.com, GlenStar Properties, LLC recentlytook over the Chicago Board of Trade Building and began renovating the historic structure to make itattractive to a more diverse set of tenants. And company officialssay they have just started construction on a new rooftop terrace onthe 23^rd floor, the final stage of this renovation.

“This is the last piece of the puzzle,”Christian Domin, managing director of GlenStar,tells GlobeSt.com. The company has already added a new fitnesscenter, renovated the lobby, refreshed Ceres Café,the building's iconic restaurant, and brought in a set of newretailers, among many other changes. But “the most complicated wasthe rooftop deck.”

The architects and builders who created theCBoT Building never imagined anything like a rooftop deck, heexplains, and significant changes to the infrastructure were neededto allow tenants access to the roof as well as resolve a lot ofcode issues. But the new amenity should be ready to go by thefourth quarter of this year.