Campari, R2 Advancing Loop Office-to-Housing Project

Campari Group’s Chicago real estate ventures are stepping up their intensity after scoring key local government approvals for a Loop office-to-residential conversion.

With the assistance of Chicago-based development firm R2, Campari — an Italian company that owns popular alcoholic spirit brands including its namesake red liqueur, Wild Turkey and Skyy Vodka — won Chicago City Council and Community Development Commission permissions for 79 West Monroe Street, Urbanize reported.

The zoning change granted by the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals as well as $28 million in property tax subsidies recommended by the Community Development Commission mark the first major steps in the historic 14-story building’s partial conversion into a mixed-use property with seven floors of residential units.

The adaptive reuse project is among the initial batch of properties to move forward as part of the LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative, a city-driven effort to revitalize the Loop by introducing more residential options in an area traditionally dominated by commercial spaces. The total cost of the project is estimated at $64.2 million, with $28 million in property tax increment financing — a city-awarded subsidy that caps the cost of real estate taxes for over two decades — provided by the Reimagined program.

The focus of the project is the conversion of floors seven through thirteen into 117 residential units, including 56 studios, 54 one-bedroom apartments, and seven two-bedroom units. Notably, 35 percent of these units will be designated as affordable housing, slightly surpassing the city’s requirements under the LaSalle Street Reimagined program.

In addition to the residential conversion, the project will introduce various amenities, including a lounge, a dog run, bike storage, a fitness room in the basement and a new rooftop deck connected to additional communal spaces. The developers will also undertake significant exterior work to preserve the building’s character, including facade and window repairs.

The conversion is being spearheaded by Chicago-based developer R2 Companies and global spirits giant Campari, which, through its link to the wealthy Garavoglia family that heads the company, has channeled over $100 million into prime retail and office properties in the Windy City in recent years. R2 has been serving as an advisor and property manager to Campari, which bought the lower portion of the building from R2 for $40.5 million in 2022.

International design firm Ware Malcomb is serving as the architect, and Leopardo Companies and GMA Group are the contractors. Construction is expected to begin in early 2025 and last about a year.

Located at the corner of West Monroe and South Clark Street, the building was originally constructed in the early 1900s as the headquarters for the Bell Federal Insurance Company. Today, the building’s lower floors are occupied by a Walgreens and the Intrinsic Charter High School, both of which have long-term leases that will remain unaffected by the redevelopment.

— Andrew Terrell