This week, EQ Office announced the completion of Willis Tower’s $500 million makeover spanning from its base to pinnacle. Bookending Chicago’s skyline in the southwest corner of The Loop, the 108-story Chicago icon has received extensive renovations to both its public and private spaces. A three-story podium known as Catalog has also been constructed, wrapping around all four sides of the skyscraper’s base.
Chicago YIMBY wants to highlight some of the preservation wins seen across the city in the last few years, with updates as of late having demonstrated the importance of preserving the city’s architectural legacy. Recent examples include the Washington Park National Bank redevelopment in Woodlawn where the redesign now incorporates the existing facade after locals demanded it be saved, and Epworth Church in Edgewater where buyers pulled their demolition application this week. Varying in sizes, restoration projects keep the city’s history alive in a tangible way for many.
A 41-story Chicago Loop building facing foreclosure has the opportunity for apartment conversion. The Chicago office of CBRE has been hired to list more than 30 floors of the Clark Adams building located at 105 West Adams Street in the Loop. Owned by Blackstone and local developer Musa Tadros, the brokerage is advertising prospects for it to become apartments.
The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events has announced the completion of the restoration of the Grand Army of the Republic rotunda and hall in The Loop. Located within the Chicago Cultural Center at 78 E Washington Street, the 125-year-old dome and hall were completed in 1897 in what was then the city’s main public library after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Thanks to a large special grant, the city was able to partner with Harboe Architects and Daprato Rigali studios to execute the year-long process that deployed cutting edge technology to peel back the layers to the building’s past.
The Commission on Chicago Landmarks has approved the final certification for tax incentives for the Chicago & North Western Railway Office Building at 226 W Jackson Boulevard in the heart of downtown The Loop. The historical building recently went through a full rehab converting it into a dual-flag Hilton hotel, located on the corner of Jackson Boulevard and S Franklin Street. The approval grants the project a Class L Property Tax Incentive which will provide it with tax breaks for the next 12 years.
