In what could be a blueprint for Australia's housing woes, the City of Chicago is going ahead with ambitious plans to transform LaSalle Street in the Loop area of the city by converting empty commercial buildings into residential and retail spaces.

Located in the historic heart of Chicago’s central business district, the iconic LaSalle Street corridor has been the hub of commercial economic activity for decades, especially for financial institutions, brokerage companies, and legal firms among others. However, the pandemic and recent market trends, which is seeing most new office investment move to the West Loop, have contributed to significant office and retail vacancy rates, resulting in millions of square feet of underutilised office space along the corridor.

The LaSalle Reimagined program aims to revitalise LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago with mixed-income residential apartments, retail and public amenities. Key goals of this initiative include affordable housing, global innovation, public realm enhancements, neighbourhood-oriented amenities, and historic building sustainability.

Introduced by then Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot in 2022, the LaSalle Street initiative sought proposals from building owners in the corridor for adaptive reuse projects that would be considered for potential financial support from the City.

The Invitation for Proposals (IFP) announced by Mayor Lightfoot in September 2022 called for proposals that would “revitalise underperforming buildings with equitable and sustainable improvements”, including:

  • the conversion of commercial spaces to residential units of which 30% are affordable;
  • the reactivation of building lobbies and other spaces for cultural or entertainment purposes; and.
  • storefront improvements that create more neighbourhood-oriented amenities, such as grocery stores and restaurants that are locally owned and operated.

In the latest update to the LaSalle Reimagined program, the City of Chicago has approved five initial adaptive reuse proposals consisting of more than 1,600 units of mixed-income housing to receive financial assistance.

Collectively representing almost $1 billion in total investments, the projects will repurpose nearly 2.3 million square feet of vacant space, with more than 600 homes dedicated to affordable housing.

Image: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/lasalle-street/home.html