Adrianne Todman, acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing, laughs with Mayor Brandon Johnson after announcing millions of dollars for climate change improvements for the Archer Courts Apartments and communities across the country at a news conference in Chicago on March 28, 2024. Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/TNS
Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson has stated the city decided to advance a proposal in order to convert four buildings in the Chicago Loop’s historic financial district into housing.
The buildings were previously offices and are located at 111 West Monroe St., 208 South LaSalle St., and 30 North Lasalle Street.
Chicago is committing $151 million in public funding. The money will be used to convert the offices into residencies.
According to NBC Chicago, “The initiative is a continuation of LaSalle Street Re-imagined, an initiative launched in 2022 by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
“At the end of 2022, the city received nine bids in response to its LaSalle Street Reimagined Initiative, which put out RFP for adaptive reuse projects for the LaSalle Street corridor, which stretches from Washington Street to Jackson Boulevard in the Loop business district,” according to globest.com.
Due to the pandemic occurring, Chicago’s office space vacancy rate reached 22.4%. Conversions in Chicago underway or proposed are sitting at 2.2%, according to the Washington Post.
The conversion of these office buildings into housing puts the vacant buildings to use.
Three adaptive reuse proposals were chosen. Each of these proposals contains requests for funding from the city in order to contribute to them.
Major financial players such asBank of America and BMO Financial have relocated from LaSalle Street.
Each building is said to increase the availability of affordable housing in the city. More than a thousand new apartments will be created.
The cost of development will range around $528 million. As more than $150 million of taxpayer subsidies is being put towards this project, it is projected that at least 319 of the units will be affordable.
The proposal states making housing into the towers above local businesses, building lobbies and previous banking floors. At least 30 percent of the residential conversation proposed will be dedicated to said affordable housing.
Multifamily housing construction has reached a 50-year high. Majority of units remain unaffordable due to rent growth, affordable housing is complex due to local and regional challenges. This resulted in a decrease in affordable rental units.
“The US has been behind about 5.5 million housing units over the past 20 years, according to the National Association of Realtors, as builders failed to keep up with housing needs,” states CNN News.
Each project will be reviewed by the Community Development Commission and the Landmarks Commission. City Council approval and sign off is required before zoning changes are able to be made.
The offices in question were not constructed with the possibility of being a living space in mind, so the project is facing issues regarding plumbing and electrical requirements.
Another issue the project is facing is ceiling height requirements. The regulation height for a living space is typically seven feet, which differs from the ceiling height that an office requires.
Wide buildings may additionally not have windows near the center of the building. “Buildings with inner courtyards or other shapes that allow for all areas to have natural light are better suited for conversion,” states the Washington Post.
Depending on zoning laws some buildings may have no parking and can lead to issues.
More information on affordable housing can be found at chicago.gov.
*This article was edited on April 16, 2024 at 12:49 p.m. to remove incorrect sizing information.*
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