Site Across From Millennium Park Will Get a 3-Story Restaurant/Retail Space; 41-Story Commercial Tower Plan Scrapped

Posted by Leo Clark. on Monday, June 27th, 2022 at 3:29pm.


Millennium Park Development PlanThe long-discussed, potential project at 151 N. Michigan is once again changing course, according to recent reports. What was previously going to be a 41-story commercial tower is now going to be a significantly smaller 3-story commercial building.

The existing building, which lies at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street, has been vacant sine 2008 when La Strada Ristorante closed. But given its small footprint, development challenges seem to make any future project a bit more complicated.

The owners, Park Ridge-based BJB Partners, also had designs on building a 184-unit apartment tower, with updated plans to add a hotel in 2105. But that plan inevitably dissolved.

The new plan, according to multiple reports, will allow the developer to generate income from a 3-story building that will likely include both restaurant and retail space while also maintaining the ability to add on down the road or simply sell the site later on.

But as The Real Deal mentions, the plans for a restaurant/retail space come at a time when downtown offices are far from a full recovery after the pandemic and retail spaces on the Mag Mile are already struggling to be filled.