CHICAGO — Underutilized office space in The Loop will become apartments as part of a plan being pushed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot during her final weeks in office.
LaSalle Street Reimagined was first presented to the public in Sep. 2022 with the goal of encouraging redevelopment and reinvestment along LaSalle Street between Washington Street and Jackson Boulevard. The initiative aims to provide TIF District backed grant funding for the “conversion of underutilized commercial spaces with mixed-income residential uses and related public amenities,” and to “create a more neighborhood-oriented atmosphere within the corridor’s ground-level interior spaces,” according to the plan’s proposal.
Nine initial responses were narrowed to a list of six, and Tuesday a set of three was announced as the finalists. They are:
- 135 S. LaSalle St. – Developer: Riverside Investment & Development/AmTrust RE
- 208 S. LaSalle St. – Developer: UST Prime III Office Owner LLC, an affiliate of The Prime Group Inc.
- 111 W. Monroe St. – Developer: 111 W. Monroe LLC, an affiliate of Prime/Capri Interests LLC
More than 1,000 studio, one and two-bedroom units will be created between the three projects, and 30% of them will be considered affordable housing, meaning residents must make 60% or less of the area median income.
Together it would be $568 million in projects and would receive $ $188 million in taxpayer money to get it done. In return, the developers would set aside 318 of the 1000 apartments for affordable housing.
The trick is convincing a new city council and new mayor to approve it.
Watch the full press conference in the video player below:
