Chicago Politics

500 N. Michigan Ave Groundbreaking 7.29.26

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Description

Mayor Brandon Johnson attends the 500 N. Michigan Ave Groundbreaking.

Transcript

1:46 Thank you for coming, Mayor, Commissioner, Alderman. All right, Matt Ferris here with Commonwealth Development. Thanks, everyone, for being here today. We appreciate it. We've got Chamber of Commerce weather, so we could not have better weather. And it worked out because we don't have air conditioning here in the building, so that's a good benefit that we've got good weather and it's not too warm. So I just want to thank everyone for being here. We appreciate everyone making the time to come today.

2:16 We are very excited to get started on our 500 North Michigan project. this project has been a journey since the beginning and we want to thank the entire development and investment team for all their hard work to date we appreciate it I also want to say that this this adoptive reuse project we believe is the signature project for the city of Chicago man for Michigan Avenue we think it's an important project for the city and for pretty Avenue we are very happy to deliver with this project 320 units of what we think is much needed

2:50 housing for the city including 20% affordable units so 64 total affordable units which we think is very good for the city and for pretty area and I guess as you can tell today with the with the views and the great weather we've got incredible views here for the residents so amazing views from all the units which is exciting the project will have a roof deck and a pool in the amenities will include a bi-level fitness center a wellness center extensive club and co-working space

3:23 so we're really excited about about that we do hope that this project can help lead the way for more conversion projects in the city because we do think that these projects are environmentally friendly we think that they help basically improve the neighborhoods by taking what our eyesores and turning them into productive assets for the for the neighborhoods with new residents and new tax dollars for the city so we think that's a great thing for us to be contributing to I want to say we're here today because we very much believe in the city of Chicago we believe

4:00 the future for Chicago and for Michigan Avenue is very bright so we just want to be part of that and I would say that we could be building our projects anywhere in the country but we've chosen to be here in Chicago because we believe in the vibrancy, the diversity of River North of Streeterville. We believe in the innovation and the research that's being done here at Northwestern and Chicago's School of Business right around the corner. We believe in future economic growth of what we think is the best big city in the country.

4:31 So we're excited about all that. And I also, most importantly, want to say that this project would not have been possible without the support and all the efforts of the alderman who's here today, the city, the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, DPD. So with that, I think the distinguished guests we have would like to say a few words. So I'll introduce Alderman Riley. So if we could show around. A round of applause for the Alderman.

5:05 Can you hear me? First, I want to congratulate Commonwealth Development Partners and Skender for this incredible adaptive reuse project that's going to bring 320 new homes to the Mag Mile. I also want to welcome our mayor, Mayor Brandon Johnson and Commissioner Boatwright today as well. And we have worked proactively and in collaboration with the development team here, And I want to extend the thanks from the Neighborhood Association SOAR and all the surrounding business and residential neighbors for being open and flexible in your plans, especially when it came to the right-of-way, landscaping, installation of public art, making sure we're maintaining good, safe traffic flow.

5:49 The credit goes to you for working so closely with my office and with the Department of Planning to get those things right. But thank you for investing in the city of Chicago, making what I think is a really good bet here on the future. The trajectory is looking good. Based on our intakes in my office, we're seeing more projects like this. So you are leading the charge in converting old obsolete commercial space into vibrant new mixed-use properties. So congratulations on that as well. This is going to go a long way in addressing our housing shortage in the city of Chicago.

6:25 We're making great strides working with the mayor in the loop on the LaSalle Street Reimagined project. But this really is a stake in the ground here on the Mag Mile, and I think this is the beginning of a trend we're going to see in future months and years moving forward. So, again, thank you for making this important investment. Really excited to see you deliver this project on budget and on time. And again, welcome to the Avenue, and thanks again for your investment. And I think now we have Commissioner Boatwright.

6:58 Thank you, Alderman. Good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon. This project does more than revitalize one of the most distinguished high-rises on North Michigan Avenue. This development will put eyes on the street, patrons in the stores, and incrementally advance the city's long-term projections for downtown growth. Some fun facts about the Central Area Plan that you're going to hear a little bit more of. It anticipates nearly 90% of new construction downtown over the next 20 years to be residential,

7:29 with conversion projects representing roughly 10% of that activity. Thanks to developers like Commonwealth, we're on pace to exceed those projections, with approximately 4 million square feet of conversions underway right now. That's good for construction and the industry. That's good for goods and services. That's good for the tax base. And it's good for the remaining office market that's unencumbered by outmolded inventory. The upshot is going to be a more populous, lively, and safer downtown.

8:04 A downtown that in 20 years could grow to more than 280,000 residents, up from about 184,000 residents today, based on historic trends and market analysis that inform the plan. Just a few more factoids that help this project advance. One is a neighborhood opportunity bonus system, which provides floor area bonuses in exchange for voluntary payments, in this case $284,000 that will be reinvested on the south and west sides of Chicago.

8:35 Another is a refined minimum lot area requirement in the zoning code that essentially enables conversions just like this to build more units on more floors, resulting in more substantial projects that directly address market needs. Again, a win-win for everyone. And finally is the approval time for the project zoning amendment, which was approved by City Council the very next month after it was submitted. We're talking September to October. You can't get faster than that,

9:06 so cheers to cutting the tape here in the city. In closing, I want to congratulate Commonwealth Development, Skinder, and the entire development team on its vision for the building. I want to thank Alderman Riley for your support, Mayor Johnson for your amazing leadership, and the entire planning department for the dedication to renewed and revitalized downtown. And now I have the pleasure of introducing my mayor, your mayor, our mayor, Mayor Brandon Johnson.

9:41 Well, first of all, good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon. Thank you, Commissioner Boatwright, for the introduction, and, of course, your leadership. And for everyone who is here today, thank you to Autumn and Riley for your commitment. As I prepare in a couple of hours to drop my son off to eastern Illinois, every time there's a high school, housing project and development, I'm thinking about him and him getting out of my house. And so now that I know that this is on pace and it's on budget, my son will be looking

10:13 at 500 North Michigan. Don't worry, Alderman Riley, he has no political aspirations. But not too long ago, the conversation on Michigan Avenue was about empty storefronts and the uncertainty of our future. But today's groundbreaking is proof of the momentum and growth that is happening downtown. Vacancy rates in the Michigan Avenue corridor and the loop continue to fall, and they fall significantly from their pandemic highs. New businesses are opening and new attractions are welcoming visitors to Chicago at record-breaking rates.

10:46 This growth is strategic. My administration and private partners are no longer investing in a downtown office sort of monoculture. We are developing a true neighborhood that Chicagoans can afford to live, work, and raise families in. This commitment is evidenced in the 26 office-to-housing conversion projects that are now underway across the downtown area. That's more conversion projects happening now than in the previous two decades combined.

11:21 And altogether, those projects represent $1.8 billion in growth and over 4,000 homes, including many affordable homes, in the heart of our beloved city. And what other cities describe, you know, their downtowns and other cities, they talk about, of course, the sort of economic prowess. But nowhere else in the country do we talk about downtown and affordable than any other place than our city.

11:53 This is truly a remarkable testament that we are the greatest city in the world. Today's project is another example of our growing and reimagined downtown. The 500 North Michigan Avenue project will deliver 320 homes and 64 of them will be affordable, preserving the 1968 building facade. And this honors the beauty of our downtown, the architecture, while making sure that areas continue to meet our modern needs for more housing. And Private Capital is driving this, and the majority of our downtown conversion projects, and I appreciate that.

12:27 And I want to sincerely thank the partners who are leading this development. Again, to the Commonwealth Development Partners, to GREC Architects, Skinder, and all of our design teams and construction partners, Can we just give all of them a round of applause for driving this economic development downtown? What I'm grateful for is your belief in our city and for answering the need that our communities have been calling for. And my administration was proud to support this project by approving updated conversion guidelines

12:59 and other development tools that are helping to get shovels in the ground and do it faster. This commitment is reflected in my administration's Build Better Together initiative. Rand, we are investing in our people and neighborhoods and cutting the tape on bureaucratic processes to develop more quickly and do it equitably and collaboratively in all of our 77 community areas. Our efforts to grow the downtown area will continue, ensuring that the Michigan Avenue corridor and the loop are vibrant and thriving for generations to come.

13:30 And last November, the Chicago Plan Commission adopted the city's Central Area Plan that lays out a plan for the next 20 years to grow downtown by 100,000 new residents conservatively, 161,000 new jobs, and 12,000 additional overnight visitors by 2045. Our city is certainly stronger, and we're stronger together. Last year, more people visited our city than any other time in the history of Chicago, 57 million people contributing $20 billion into our economy.

14:03 Our vibrant downtown means more businesses and jobs and resources that we can pour back into the residents and families from every single neighborhood. When downtown succeeds, certainly all of Chicago succeeds. And finally, I want to again thank our partners for making this important project a reality. To the Commonwealth Development Partners and the Design and Construction Partners, thank you again, Autumn and Riley, for your commitment to the community. And, of course, Commissioner Boatwright for the Department of Planning and Development. And, of course, your entire team for advancing my housing initiative across our city.

14:37 And, of course, including right in the heart of the city. And so with that, please welcome a person who obviously believes that the city of Chicago is truly the greatest freaking city in the world. From Washington Capitol, please welcome Mr. Steve Hamilton. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here and kick off this great project. We realize it's a little warm in here, but rest assured we have some talented people working on the situation.

15:13 Washington Capitol, headquartered in Seattle, but we have a nationwide presence, has a 40-plus year history in doing projects, real estate development projects, in a union-friendly fashion. This is a situation here in Chicago that we've repeated many times over. I believe this is our eighth or ninth investment in the Chicago land area. It helps create tremendous jobs and hours for the skilled men and women in our Chicago building trades unions.

15:43 And we're proud to kick off yet another big project in Chicago. Many thanks to the folks at Commonwealth Development Partners, the folks at Skender, and everyone else that's been involved to get this project moving forward. And we envision another great partnership as we move in the right direction in creating housing units and bringing more places for the people of Chicago to live and also have an affordable component, which is a challenge in many cities across the country.

16:13 We look forward to continuing our efforts to put union pension dollars to work in union-built projects, and nothing is as great to do in a city like Chicago. Thank you very much. I'm going to introduce Jeff Reist from Skender Construction, who's going to say a few words as well.

16:44 Thanks, Matt. Matt mentioned I'm Jeff Reist. I'm with the Skender team. you know I really want to start just by saying thanks to Commonwealth Washington capital the city the design team you know and last but really not least all of our trade partners that are going to be grinding here for the next 16 months to make this project come to life you know I really do use the word partner intentionally mayor Johnson said it as well you know this project projects like

17:16 this these adaptive reuse jobs take a lot of courage on the development team the design team the contractors to take on we get thrown a lot of challenges unique obstacles that are really hard to overcome and the only way we get through them is with the partnerships we form with the people in this room and so with that said i'd be brief i just want to uh sincere thanks to matt and the and Matt take it away all right we're gonna wrap up and take a couple fun photos we've got some

17:55 refreshments over in the back as well but before we do that I just want to say a couple thank yous so as as Jeff said sorry you knew that was gonna happen Jeff there's a there's a lot of people that are here today that that you know supported us and helped bring this project to life so I want to say to our investors Washington Capital and Triangle Capital thank you for the teamwork the support we would all not be here today without without all of you to the Santander team our lender we're excited to partner with you all in another

18:26 another exciting project so we appreciate all the support to the Skender team Alex Jeff love you guys your work is just starting but we're proud to be building an entirely Union project with you guys and we have full full and complete confidence in the Skender team to the zoning team at Thompson Coburn thank you for leading the way and for putting up with us for all these years we appreciate it it's been a long it's been a long journey to the JLL team Chris and everybody thanks for the support the guidance you guys

19:00 helped make this project happen so we really appreciate it to GREC LR2 and McGuire design engineering teams thank you guys for all the patience your foresight i see bright futures and many more opportunities ahead for grec and everybody on that team um one more person i want to thank um and remember who couldn't be here today unfortunately greg de stefano he's an important person to a lot of us here in this room so i just wanted to say he remains in our thoughts and then last finally to the commonwealth team

19:31 justin jeff john you guys have worked harder than anybody um appreciate it and let's uh let's keep momentum going so thank you all we appreciate it and look forward to getting this built and hopefully you all can come back here in 2027 and we can have an opening in 2027 so thanks everybody

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