Gogo Headquarters, Chicago, IL

When Gogo, the leading provider of inflight Internet and entertainment, relocated their Chicago headquarters from the suburbs to the city, they selected Syska Hennessy Group to perform an entire suite of engineering services for the relocation, including MEP, structured cabling, audiovisual and security. Number 12 on Crain’s Chicago Business 2015 Fast Fifty—Chicago’s fastest-growing companies—Gogo aimed to relocate more than 700 employees across 225,000 sf on the top four floors of 111 North Canal Street, a former warehouse originally built in 1918. During the next two years, Gogo will add at least 100 more employees to this space, ensuring local growth and global success.

Some of the specialty spaces included:

• Multiple test labs.
• RF-shielded room for equipment testing.
• 24/7 network operations center (NOC).
• GPS/satellite antennas installed on the roof to provide connectivity to labs and users.
• 80+-cabinet server room with dedicated cooling and UPS/generator power.

Syska also specified a new standby generator system to support the headquarters’ critical areas, including the data center, 24/7 NOC, various testing areas and server room. The building required a generator unit so large it couldn’t be transported by flat-bed truck, as is typical. Instead, Syska had to coordinate delivery by train via original train tracks that run alongside and underneath the building.

“For almost two years, I worked closely with the [Syska] team in all aspects of our new Chicago office. We were able to stay on schedule and within budget, and most importantly, Gogo senior management are thrilled with our new space.”
Debbie Fangman, Facilities Manager, Gogo