Plans are moving forward for the mixed-use conversion of the former Harris Bank HQ at 111 West Monroe Street in The Loop. Sitting on the corner with South Clark Street, the last update we received on the project came in 2025 when its landmark status was approved to qualify for tax incentives. Now, the Community Development Commission has approved a TIF loan.
Rendering of 111 W Monroe Street by Stantec
The property is made up of two structures rising 24 stories in height, consisting of a 1911-built brick tower with massive Ionic columns along the streetfront and a 1954 addition with a glass facade located on the corner. The project would convert floors three through 10 into a hotel and floors 12 through 22 into residences, all centered around a new lightwell carved into the structure.
Renderings of 111 W Monroe Street by Stantec
Below the structure is a 130-space parking garage accessed via a car elevator off the rear alley. The ground floor holds a large corner retail space, residential lobby, and the new hotel lobby within the historic banking hall. This will feature a restaurant and bar space, with the second and third floors containing 20,000 square feet of conference and event space.
Ground (left) – 2nd (center) – 12th (right) floor plans of 111 W Monroe by Stantec
22nd (left) – 23rd (center) – 24th (right) floor plans of 111 W Monroe by Stantec
Above this will be 308 hotel rooms and suites. The rest of the floors above shall hold 345 residential units made up of studios, one-, and two-bedroom layouts. The last two floors will be reconverted into the Monroe Club, a former members club that will contain a restaurant, bar, pool deck, and more for guests and residents.
Rendering of 111 W Monroe Street by Stantec
In total, the project will cost around $300 million to complete, with the hotel portion alone costing around $160 million. This will be funded via equity and tax credits, along with an uncommon $50 million TIF loan. This will be funded through the LaSalle Central TIF district and paid back over 20 years, with an exception for the first five years, during which the team will only pay interest.
Rendering of 111 W Monroe Street by Stantec
Said team consists of developers The Prime Group and Capri Investment Group, architecture firm Stantec working on the design, and a partnership between McHugh Construction and BOWA Construction serving as the contractors. At the moment, no funding has been secured for the residential portion, nor is there a timeline for the overall project.
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Great reuse of the space. Glad to see this happening. However, the interiors look like a shamrock shake. Hope they improve upon this and make a more sophisticated, sleek design.
They have been hyping and securing funding for these Loop conversions for years now. When are they actually going to happen??
Some have already started. The landmark issues have caused major delays because building owners can’t just start gutting significant chunks of the structure without messing up their statuses. These statuses affect taxation and funding.
Apply public funding to the mix, and that world of red tape becomes another layer of bureaucracy that slows the process. Kinda ironic if you ask me. If these low-profit projects were all privately funded, we’d see some major change. But the risk is high, and the long-term effects will drive the neighborhood’s success, which is why it’s a smart investment for the city to back. I’m still not in love with a private project to use public money to fund private profits, but it’s eons better than the parking meters.
The Fire’s stadium has been able to sprout so quickly because they led with private funding. We’d see more of the 1901 project in cranes, too, if they weren’t trying to play with tax statuses. They at least broke ground using their own money. And all of this circles back to the Bears and their pathetic ploy to steal our money and frame their owner’s hobby as an investment for “us.” Sure, they’ll employ several thousand people, a couple of hundred temporary construction jobs, but you won’t be getting any kinda rebate for their share of infrastructure burdens.
While the TIF loan updates are promising, delays on these major Loop conversions often come down to securing the remaining private equity, especially for the residential portions. Has there been any confirmation on whether the developers will release a definitive timeline once the housing side is fully funded, or will the landmark status requirements continue to stall progress as mentioned in the comments?