City Of Chicago Picks 3 LaSalle Street Reimagined Finalists
Even as Chicagoans prepare to elect a new mayor next week, city officials have pushed forward with Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative, narrowing in on three final proposals.
The city has selected projects at 111 West Monroe St., 135 South LaSalle St. and 208 South LaSalle St. for Lightfoot’s initiative that proposes converting vacant offices in the Loop into housing and mixed-use developments. Chosen projects will get tax-increment financing incentives for incorporating at least 30% affordable housing. The three proposals are requesting a total of $188M in TIF funds, Crain’s Chicago Business reported.
Two of the projects are from Mike Reschke’s The Prime Group, which has converted historic buildings in the LaSalle corridor since 2007, including the JW Marriott Chicago and the Residence Inn Chicago/Downtown, along with developing the nearby Thompson Center for Google.
The Prime Group's 208 South LaSalle St. project proposes 280 units, 30% of them affordable, plus a dog run, fitness center, tenant lounge and hotel amenity access. The 111 West Monroe St. project proposes 349 units with 30% designated affordable, a new hotel on the lower floors, a spa and fitness center, underground parking, a rooftop pool and a restaurant.
“It’s important to us that whatever’s on LaSalle Street — whether it's renovation to office, conversion to housing, conversion to hotels — whatever is done, we just want to make sure it's done with quality,” Reschke told Bisnow earlier this month.
The 135 South LaSalle St. project is from Riverside Investment and Development and AmTrust RE, which propose 430 units with 30% designated affordable, 80K SF of new lobbies, retail, food and beverage, event/cultural spaces and a potential grocer.
The ultimate fate of the initiative will rest in the hands of Paul Vallas or Brandon Johnson, whichever is elected Chicago’s new mayor, and the city said it anticipates it taking months before funding is finalized and construction begins.
“The initial requests will be refined through the City's underwriting process, which is expected to take several months,” Peter Strazzabosco, deputy commissioner for the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, told Bisnow via email earlier this month. “Final proposed amounts for TIF will be presented to the Community Development Commission and then City Council.”
The three proposals were narrowed down from an initial list of nine submitted in December. That list was narrowed down to six projects that were presented at a community meeting earlier this month.
