Chicago Politics

LaSalle St. Conversion Ribbon Cutting 9.9.26

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Mayor Brandon Johnson attends the LaSalle St. Conversion Ribbon Cutting.

Transcript

0:02 All right. Good morning, everyone. I am, for those of you who don't know me, which I think is like zero people in this room, I'm Alderman Bill Conway of the 34th Ward. It's a very special day for the city of Chicago, and I'm thrilled to join you all for the grand opening of the bellwether here at 79 West Monroe. And this is not just an important day for this building. This is an important day for downtown Chicago. The bellwether is the first project from the loop revitalization plan, formerly known as LaSalle Street Reimagined. to open its doors. Thank you. Thank you, sir. You know, COVID fundamentally changed downtowns

0:42 across this country and around the world. The old model of a central business district dominated by offices five days a week simply doesn't work the way it once did. To keep downtown Chicago vibrant, we need to transform it into a true mixed-use neighborhood, a place where people work, but they also live, eat, shop, and raise families. I'm raising my own family not too far from here as well. And this is really what the Loop Revitalization Plan is about. The city is using targeted public investment to help convert obsolete office space into housing,

1:17 and importantly, affordable housing, while catalyzing private investment throughout downtown. And we can already see that happening. Today there are dozens, dozens of adaptive, I was going to say a number, but I'm worried I'm going to say a different number than Commissioner Boatwright. So I'm going to say dozens of adaptive reuse projects moving forward downtown and in River North and in River West, nearly all of them without taxpayer assistance. And this is exactly the kind of momentum that this program was intended to create. And the first person I want to thank for that is Mayor Johnson.

1:54 When he came into office, these were not his projects. His administration could have walked away from them, could have redirected the resources elsewhere. Instead, he recognized how important the transformation of downtown is Chicago's future, and I am forever grateful to you for that. Does that not deserve a applause, too? To the mayor? Come on. I also want to thank Department of Planning and Development, Commissioner Boatwright, and Housing Commissioner Castaneda and your teams for your leadership in getting us here.

2:26 And I have to give Commissioner Boatwright a little special credit. To explain why, I want to read part of a letter dated June 14, 2023, before she took over the Department of Planning and Development. You should see how scared these folks are in the front row. It's a letter addressed to Gary Stoltz here, and it says, Mr. Stoltz, the Department of Planning and Development is a receipt of your application for the redevelopment of the property located at 79 West Monroe Street in the LaSalle Street, the South Central Tift District. After review of the TIF district, including its current and future obligations,

2:59 DPD does not believe that there is sufficient funding capacity to support this project. And as a result, DPD must unfortunately decline your requested use of funds at this time. While we understand this is not your preferred outcome, DPD nonetheless appreciates your partnership and the continued development of Chicago and look forward to working with you in the future. Fortunately, that is not the end of the story. When Commissioner Bullwright took over, she took another look at this project and recognized what this project could become.

3:31 117 new homes in one of Chicago's iconic buildings, including 41 affordable units right here in the heart of downtown. And finally, I want to thank the folks at Lagfin and R2 for refusing to take no for an answer. So you all believed in this building, you believed in downtown Chicago, and today you are the first across the finish line in the loop revitalization plan. And that is what rebuilding downtown looks like,

4:04 taking buildings from another era and giving them new life, bringing more residents downtown, creating affordable housing, and building the kind of mixed-use neighborhood that will keep the loop vibrant for generations to come. So today, we celebrate 117 new homes opening their doors, 41 of them affordable, and frankly, that's just the beginning. So thank you all for joining us this morning, and it's my distinct pleasure to turn it over to my friend Giacomo Zanibelli from Lagfin. Thank you.

4:42 Good morning, everyone. My name is Giacomo Zanibelli, and I'm director of Lagfin. Today, we are proud to celebrate the transformation of the historic director building into the Bellweather Residencies, a vibrant new residential community in the heart of Chicago. I want to begin by thanking the many partners whose hard work made today possible. Thank you to the City of Chicago for its partnership and hospitality, and especially to Major Johnson, Alderman Conway, Deputy Major Merritt, Commissioner Bortright, and Commissioner Castaneda.

5:16 For your leadership and support. When we began this project, we shared a vision to reimagine an important Chicago landmark in a way that honored its history while meeting the needs of the city today. It is tremendously rewarding to see that vision realized. The rectal building is the older surviving commercial high-rise designed by renowned Chicago architect, Jarvis Hunt. Today, its historic character has been preserved, while the building has been given a new purpose

5:48 and a new life for new generations to come. But the Bellwether is about more than one building It offers a model for the future of downtown Chicago By transforming underutilized office space We can create new homes Including affordable homes Bring more people and activity downtown And preserve the architecture that makes Chicago so special The Bellwether demonstrates what thoughtful adaptive reuse can accomplish And we are incredibly proud to be part of Chicago's leadership in this work

6:18 La Cfin believes in Chicago and its future We look forward to continuing our partnership with the city, investing in this community, and finding new opportunities to strengthen one of the most dynamic downtowns in the world. Thank you and congratulations to everyone who made the Bellwether possible. And now I would like to introduce you to the 57th Mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson. Thank you so much. Good morning, everyone.

6:49 I'm grateful to be joined with all of you as we celebrate this remarkable accomplishment. Of course, thank you to our alderman of the 34th Ward, Alderman Bill Conway. Thank you so much for your leadership and the energy that he exudes today. It's clear that he has a newborn in his home. Bill hasn't slept in seven months. He is running on coffee and baby love. The brother hasn't shaved.

7:20 He looks like me almost. So you're turning into a pretty great-looking person there. That's what happens when you expand your family. Thank you for contributing to the growth of Chicago. Commissioner Bo Wright, you're going to hear from, and Commissioner Constaneda, thank you both. Of course, LACFEN, the Campari Group, RMK Management Corporation, you all are a remarkable testament to the type of partnership that the city of Chicago has fully embraced. I do appreciate how we're about to ring the bell and open up this space here for adaptive reuse,

7:58 and he's already thinking about the next project. That's pretty nice there. He's like, this is great, but here's what I really, really want to do. But that also shows the commitment that companies have in the growth of our city. This investment in this project, I believe, embodies the true soul of Chicago. And as we work to create more affordable housing across Chicago, I'm certainly thrilled that the first ever office-to-housing conversion project is happening right here in downtown Chicago.

8:35 The 79th West Monroe Street or the Bellwether residence is the first of the city's LaSalle Street reimagined projects to reach this important milestone. It offers 117 residential units, and more than a third of those units are affordable. And that's going to ensure that the loop and the heart of our city is inclusive to all residents and families. And what other big cities are trying to do, I don't know if you ever hear the word downtown and affordable housing.

9:09 But only in the great city of Chicago where such a feat can be accomplished. And that is because Chicago is a city that lives and breathes innovation. As Alderman Conway indicated, when COVID-19 and the pandemic hit and our societal shifts changed the way people work and go to the office, we had to get creative. We called upon our private partners to reimagine the loop, transforming it from an office monoculture into a neighborhood that can live and breathe and work and socialize.

9:44 And today is a part of that broader momentum. Three more city-led office conversion projects are underway, along with two dozen privately financed office conversions, creating more than 4,000 new housing units in downtown Chicago. And while reimagined within this community area and plan is setting forth a dynamic future, we're also honoring Chicago's history.

10:19 This 1905 landmark building has been reborn while the Campari Group, Lagfin, and R2 companies preserved its historic architectural character. This project demonstrates what is possible when public and private partnerships come together. The $64.2 million conversion was supported with $28 million in city TIF assistance as part of my administration's commitment to investing in housing and creating a more affordable city for everyone.

10:49 And through the Build Better Together initiative, our equitable economic development plan, we will continue to utilize our $1.25 billion housing and economic development bond, the largest public investment in housing in the city's history, as well as our partnerships to revitalize and strengthen our neighborhoods. We will also continue to think boldly, just as we have done here with the Bellwether residents, to make sure that all of our residents and families can put down roots

11:19 that span generations in any neighborhood in Chicago. I want to again thank the developers, the investors, and partners who made today possible. And I, of course, want to thank our Department of Housing and our Department of Planning and Development commissioners and their entire teams for their leadership and commitment to building the safest, most affordable big city in America. I look forward to celebrating more LaSalle Street conversion projects and seeing the community transform into a neighborhood that literally works for the people of Chicago.

11:50 Thank you all very much. And with that, please welcome to the podium the Commissioner of Department of Planning and Development, Ms. Sierra Boatwright. Good morning, everyone. Good morning. Thank you, Mayor Johnson. Thank you, Alderman Conway. It is awesome to celebrate this incredible transformation that advanced with breakneck speeds over the previous couple of years,

12:22 18 months to be exact, perfect timing to support the positive trends we're seeing in downtown investments and mixed-use diversity that is so critical to the Loop's next chapter. In fact, when DPD and DOH launched the LaSalle Street Reimagine Initiative, we were squarely focused on historic office buildings like the bellwether. At the time, the amount of vacant office space downtown was equivalent to six Willis Towers.

12:52 So we launched a request for application process to reutilize a portion of that space with residential uses that exceed our minimum affordability thresholds. The goal was mixed-use vitality, as well as mixed-income diversity that is essential for sustainable growth. In exchange, the city would provide TIF for eligible construction costs. For 79 West Monroe, as the mayor mentioned, that meant $28 million for eligible conversion expenses.

13:24 Let's fast forward to September 2026, and 79 West Monroe is proof of concept number one. For those of you who followed the landmark designation last summer, you're aware that 79 West Monroe has always been at the center of something special. It started 120 years ago with the Rector Restaurant downstairs when the epicenter of fine cuisine nationwide was on the rise.

14:01 Later, it anchored the highest concentration of banks in the Midwest with 14 financial institutions on this two-block stretch of Monroe alone. And by the end of the last century, it was home to the largest savings and loan association in Illinois. But that was just prologue for another role that was yet to come, as the vanguard of downtown office conversions that are reimagining what it means to live, work, and play in the heart of Chicago. For the record, in addition to the six LaSalle corridor projects,

14:34 More than two dozen, as the mayor mentioned, as Alderman Conway mentioned, more than two dozen additional conversion projects has emerged downtown. on market forces alone, with more than 4,200 total units planned or underway. That's more than $1.8 billion in total investment and 4.3 million square feet of former office space being converted.

15:07 It's truly amazing, and it makes 79 West Monroe every bit the bellwether as the sign outside. In closing, I want to thank the phenomenal project team for its incredible work turning a historic landmark into a beacon of optimism about the future, about the city, and about downtown. I want to thank my amazing team at DPD, and I have the pleasure of introducing my partner in progress, the Department of Housing Commissioner, Lissette Castaneda.

15:45 Good morning, everyone. Good morning. Thank you all so much for having me here this morning. It was only a year and a half ago that we gathered to celebrate this project that it's groundbreaking. And it may have been only a little over a year, but it feels so great to be back. Bellwether Residences is an example of this administration's efforts to show proof of concept. This project is the first of the loop revitalization projects to reach its completion. DOH and DPD took aim at COVID-era concerns of underutilized office space

16:19 and paired it with this administration's interest in turning vacant property into use for working people. That is why I'm so proud of the many teams that came together to make this possible. Thank you to Alderman Conway and Commissioner Boatwright at DPD for stewarding this initiative. Thank you to my team at DOH. Thank you to the folks at R2 Development and LAGFIN for your hard work. and a big thank you to Mayor Johnson for his vision that insists on housing affordability for our residents and supporting economic growth for our downtown.

16:50 In no uncertain terms, the bellwether residences will dramatically change the footprint of affordability in Chicago's downtown. This development will have the highest ratio affordable units of any building in the loop revitalization portfolio, with 35% of the entire development being affordable. Indeed, 35% is well above what is required of the development of new housing in Chicago. And even more astounding is that once this entire initiative is complete,

17:21 it will be a 1,000% increase in affordable housing in downtown Chicago. None of this would be possible if the folks both in and outside this room had not come together to make it happen. So what does this look like for the average family? It looks like access to public transit, to walkable neighborhoods, to a growing community as more office conversions take place. And for the loop, it looks like livelihood. It looks like a corridor that remains vibrant after the commuters leave at 5 p.m.

17:55 or after the prime tourism season has ended. It looks like individuals and families calling the loop home and investing in the neighborhood, just as this project and others have invested in them. Housing affordability is at the forefront of everyone's mind these days. Whether you rent, own, or are looking to purchase, housing costs are something people are thinking about in Chicago and across the country. At DOH, we're very familiar with the conversations surrounding the cost, pace, and red tape that can hinder the ability to build.

18:25 Our work every day focuses on how we can support the expansion of safe, healthy, and dignified housing for everyone. Sometimes that means cutting the tape. Sometimes it looks like investing in green social housing or expanding access to additional dwelling units. Beyond these units, we are ushering in a new way of thinking about how we can use the buildings and infrastructure we already have to create more housing and opportunities downtown. And that is something to celebrate. Affordability in the loop should not be unheard of, and affordable housing should be prioritized in every part of the city rather than concentrated in ways that can further this investment elsewhere.

19:05 So again, I'd like to say thank you to the teams that made this project possible. Thank you for helping turn this idea into something that people can actually call home. I cannot wait to see where we end up when this initiative is complete. Thank you.

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