Chicago, United States – 12 September 2018
The developer proposing to revamp Chicago's Union Station and build an office tower next to it has yet to win the city's blessing for the project, but it may have an anchor tenant lined up if it does.
BMO Harris Bank is in talks to consolidate its Chicago operations in an office as big as 500,000 square feet (46,451 square meters) in the 1.5 million-square-foot (139,354-square-meter) high-rise Riverside Investment & Development wants to build immediately south of the train station.
The deal has not been finalized, and the banking company has also eyed other possible downtown buildings for its new office, one source said. But if the Union Station deal is completed, it could help the developer land financing for the project and add to a recent run of massive new office buildings downtown.
Timing of any potential deal is unclear, but sources said the company would aim to move into the new office tower in 2022, when some of its downtown office leases expire. The bank has offices at 200 W. Adams St., 111 W. Monroe St. and 115 S. LaSalle St. totaling more than 800,000 square feet (74,322 square meters).
But any move into the proposed building depends on Riverside and its development partner, Convexity Properties, winning approval for the transit center redevelopment from downtown residents, 42nd Ward Ald. Brendan Reilly and the Chicago City Council. The developers recently revised their plan for the landmark after backlash to its first proposal, which included putting a boxy glass apartment building on top of the Union Station headhouse.
Instead, the revamped plan presented at a neighborhood meeting on Tuesday, September 11 includes a "penthouse" level atop the structure and an increased number of planned hotel rooms in the headhouse, to 400 from the previously proposed 330.
Another big change is just south of the headhouse, where the developer initially proposed the 715-foot (218-meter) office building to rise with an attached parking structure. The new version includes a 1.5-acre (6,070-square-meter) park along Jackson Boulevard and Clinton Street at the base of the proposed office tower.
The new plan "incorporates all of the valuable feedback we received from the community and Alderman Reilly," Riverside CEO John O'Donnell said in a statement. "We share the community’s goal of adapting and revitalizing this landmark in a way that honors its historic significance, while tapping its full potential as a welcoming hub for Chicago residents, commuters and visitors for years to come."
For more on this story, go to Crain’s Chicago Business.