Downtown Chicago Unimaginable

 

just concerned about the short-term

LaSalle Street Reimagined as Beetlejuice makes final plans to create public housing in the loop, just in time for the election


The City of Chicago’s LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative is seeking proposals to create a more mixed-use, neighborhood-oriented environment along the LaSalle corridor in the Loop.

The initiative is making City financial resources and other incentives available for the conversion of underutilized office space as residential units, among other goals. Proposed projects must be located on or adjacent to LaSalle generally between Washington Street and Jackson Boulevard and 30% of the proposed housing units must be made available to residents at affordable levels. Private investment projects to repurpose vacant storefronts and other interior spaces will also be considered.
Download the Invitation for Proposals (IFP) | Deadline to submit: 12 p.m. CST, Dec. 23, 2022


Pre-Submission Conference

A virtual informational conference will be held at 12:30 p.m. CST, Oct. 18, 2022.

Meeting invites will be sent to respondents who register through the IFP web site. Attendance is not required but is encouraged. All questions received prior to and during the Pre-Submission Conference, as well as the list of attendees, will be posted to the website as soon as possible.


The Context


LaSalle Street is the historic heart of Chicago’s central business district. Lined with high-rises between Wacker Drive and Jackson Boulevard, the corridor has been a center of commercial economic activity for decades, especially for financial institutions, brokerage companies, legal firms, and other entities. More recently, LaSalle has experienced significant office and retail vacancy rates exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing market trends that has shifted most new office investment to the West Loop, leaving millions of square feet of underutilized office space along the corridor.

The Vision


Based on multiple studies and reports, LaSalle’s future can be maximized on behalf of the entire city by revitalizing its monoculture of offices with a mix of new uses and public amenities that extend beyond the typical 9-to-5 workday. The initiative’s goals include five main themes:Affordable housing
Global innovation
Public realm enhancements
Neighborhood-oriented amenities
Historic building sustainability

The Opportunity


A City of Chicago Invitation for Proposals (IFP) issued in September 2022 is offering assistance for the conversion of underutilized commercial spaces with mixed-income residential uses and related public amenities. IFP responses should build on the goals of the Central City Recovery Roadmap (2021), Urban Land Institute Technical Assistance Panel for LaSalle (2022), the Central Area Plan (2009 and 2003) and the draft We Will Chicagoframework plan (2022). Owners or developers of properties located on or adjacent to LaSalle generally between Washington Street and Jackson are eligible to respond.

The Experience


To create a more neighborhood-oriented atmosphere within the corridor’s ground-level interior spaces, the Chicago Department of Planning and Development (DPD) is seeking to incentivize locally owned, cultural and dining attractions in vacant storefronts, underutilized building lobbies, and on former banking floors. Grants will be made available for eligible build-out costs through DPD’s Small Business Improvement Fund (SBIF), pending City Council funding authorization.

The Public Realm


To foster a more neighborhood-oriented public realm along LaSalle's sidewalks and plazas, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) will conduct an engineering assessment of existing physical and structural conditions on LaSalle to inform the procurement of a world-class team to design a safe, inviting, and innovative public realm.

Stay Connected

To stay connected and receive e-blasts for the LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative, please provide contact information here.

To provide feedback or to ask questions about the IFP, email DPD@CityofChicago.org.


Imagine a Chicago with public housing scattered throughout it's core. If you think it's on hard times now, wait. If this program is enacted, it will be the straw that broke the camel's back. Business and investors will have been chased out and Chicago will have become Detroit.