LaSalle Street Office Conversions Face Murky Future

The future of Lori Lightfoot’s LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative that aimed to facilitate conversions of struggling Loop offices into housing is up in the air under her successor Mayor Brandon Johnson.

With the new mayor’s plan to address a $538 million budget deficit, he has raised concerns about the viability of the initiative, which is aimed at revitalizing the LaSalle Street corridor by transforming vacant office space into residences, while reserving at least 30 percent of the new housing units as affordable, Crain’s reported.

In the early days of the Lightfoot initiative rolled amid her final months in office, five development teams were selected for LaSalle Street Reimagined, collectively requesting $307 million in tax-increment financing from the LaSalle Central TIF district.

An example of the proposals by the builders includes Riverside Investment & Development asking for a $115 million subsidy to create apartments, retail space and event venues at 135 South LaSalle Street, the former Bank of America building that’s mostly vacant.

Johnson has yet to commit to supporting the initiative, stating his administration’s focus on creating a “comprehensive central business district plan.” Although the mayor’s office is open to funding some LaSalle Street projects, each proposal will be evaluated on its merits, without an obligation to fund all projects previously selected by Lightfoot.

City Council members representing the corridor are urging the mayor to make a decision promptly, as developers are concerned about investing millions into architects and other pre-development costs to advance expensive, complex conversion plans without clarity on the program’s future.

Lightfoot’s TIF investment committee had approved allocating more than $300 million for the five LaSalle Street projects, but these decisions were non-binding. Johnson’s budget proposal includes a $434 million TIF surplus, with over $100 million being used for the city’s budget deficit.

Of the $434 million surplus, $111 million comes from the LaSalle Central TIF district, which also serves as the funding source for the five development teams’ requesting subsidies from the district. Taking the money from the TIF doesn’t rule out funding for the projects, but it may impact the ability to support affordable housing initiatives downtown.

Alderman Bill Conway, of the 34th Ward, wants the proposed redevelopments will be carried out by Johnson to spur other business investment and reinvigorate the Loop area.

“It’s also worth noting that not only does LaSalle Street need housing, but it needs affordable housing,” he told the outlet. “I worry at this point in time when LaSalle Street desperately needs this kind of incentive, if we’re taking money from the TIF, it will inhibit our ability to build affordable housing downtown.”

— Quinn Donoghue