2 more developers gain city support to convert LaSalle Street offices into apartments, retail
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More housing may soon be coming to the LaSalle Street corridor in the Loop.
Two additional developments were chosen to advance to the next stage of the city’s review process on Friday through the LaSalle Reimagined initiative, which aims to convert some of LaSalle’s 5 million square feet of vacant space into residential and retail use. The city invited developers to submit redevelopment proposals in September, and nine developers originally submitted proposals. Three developments were selected in March.
The redevelopment plans are part of a city effort to bring more housing, at least 30% of it affordable, to the Loop, an area that has historically been out of reach for lower-income individuals. Earlier this year the city called the project the largest affordable housing commitment downtown, and Friday’s news release called it the largest office-to-residential conversion in the nation.
The office-to-residential conversions would invest nearly $1 billion downtown and are expected to bring more than 1,600 new apartments to the central business district, including more than 600 affordable units, if approved by the Community Development Commission and City Council, according to Friday’s news release.
The two additional sites to receive city support are at 105 W. Adams St. and 30 N. LaSalle St. Both development groups submitted new applications in April for tax increment financing dollars — funds that developers can access to make infrastructure and other community improvements by tapping into funds pooled together by neighborhood property taxes.
“As LaSalle Street continues to evolve as one of the most distinguished and storied corridors in the Midwest, these conversions reaffirm the City’s support for innovative projects and improvements that reinforce its economic vitality for all Chicagoans,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a news release on Friday.
The Loop’s estimated population stood at 46,000 in 2022, up nearly 10% from 2020, according to the Chicago Loop Alliance, an advocacy group. A study conducted by the alliance in 2022 found that housing in the Loop is unattainable for many households earning $75,000 or below, with less than 1% of total units, or 239 units, in the Loop designated as affordable and only 23 affordable units currently under construction. There are no affordable apartments on or near LaSalle in the Loop currently, according to the news release.
Some of the goals for each project in the LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative are to “revitalize an underperforming historic property, provide 30% of the total housing units at affordable levels, and create neighborhood-oriented building amenities that contribute to a dynamic, mixed-use, downtown environment,” while meeting minimum diversity requirements for construction teams, according to the news release from the first announcement in March. This is around 10% more affordable housing per project than would have been required under regular city ordinances.
Built in 1927, 105 W. Adams St. will be developed by Celadon Partners and Blackwood Group. The $178 million building proposal includes 247 apartments, 75% of which would be affordable. The project would also include a fitness room for tenants, a roof deck, a public food market and a coffee shop.
Aron Weisner, chief operating officer and co-principal of Celadon Partners, said that once his group clarified issues surrounding who controlled the property, it gained the city’s support.
“It was really a testament to the city of Chicago that they stuck with us to find a path forward here,” Weisner said.
Scott Henry, chief executive officer and co-principal of Celadon Partners, said the group has already raised 70% of the capital needed for the project and that it will be a “catalytic improvement” for downtown Chicago.
“The need for this kind of housing is enormous,” Henry said. “This project itself won’t satisfy the need, but will make a big step towards doing so.”
Built in 1975, 30 N. LaSalle St. will be developed by Golub & Co. and American General Life Insurance. The $143 million building proposal includes 349 apartments, 105 of which would be affordable. The project would also include ground-floor retail, as well as green space and seating on streets bordering the property.
Lee Golub, principal for Golub and Co., said his team was able to reconfigure its proposal to construct a smaller project with fewer units in order to cut costs and ask the city for less financial support. Now, he said, it is a waiting game.
“With the new administration coming in, everyone is not 100% certain,” Golub said. “We are hoping that the process will continue to move forward.”
The city announced in March that it would make additional TIF funding available for projects that meet requirements similar to the ones for the LaSalle Reimagined projects, as well as accept applications in September for private projects that seek to revitalize ground-floor commercial spaces for “neighborhood-oriented uses” with the available $300,000 from the Small Business Improvement Fund.
An additional $50,000 will be available for South and West Side businesses looking to expand to the Loop, Maurice Cox, department of planning and development commissioner, said at the March news conference.
All five proposals are now under review by Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development and the Department of Housing and “will undergo an extensive underwriting process prior to presentation to and approval by the Community Development Commission and City Council,” according to Friday’s news release.
Ronnie Reese, spokesperson for incoming Mayor Brandon Johnson, said his team is still reviewing the announcement and does not have any comment yet.
