Developer revises plan for a mixed-use tower in River North

A River North property owner wants to add residential units as a possible use for a high-rise proposed alongside the landmark Reid Murdoch building on the riverfront.

Developer Albert Friedman owns Reid Murdoch and the development site next to it at 330 N. Clark St. In 2016, the city gave him zoning authority to build a combined office and hotel tower on the Clark Street property.

Friedman was unable to start construction, and the pandemic threw the hotel market into turmoil. So he said Monday that he wants the city to amend the zoning to add residential units, giving him another optional use for the building.

The proposed change also buys Friedman time to get financing for the project. Without any change, the “planned development” zoning category approved in 2016 is due to expire in September, said downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), who mentioned the issue in an email to constituents.

“We’ll see what happens in the market,” said Friedman, chairman of Friedman Properties. “I don’t give up on the city of Chicago.” He said his proposed change would preserve office and hotel uses as possibilities.

Friedman said he has no groundbreaking date yet in mind. The building’s architecture is by the firm HKS.

“The hotel market is starting to come back. It really depends on what happens to the convention business,” he said.

Other elements of the project would be unchanged. His original plan called for a building of about 31 stories that on its lower floors would connect to Reid Murdoch. A three-story building on Clark Street would be demolished for the new tower. The rest of the site has a parking lot.

Reilly said in his email that even if the zoning is amended, the developer still would have to pay for traffic signal improvements near Clark and Kinzie streets and next to the building’s proposed driveway if a study shows they are warranted. He asked constituents to provide feedback about the project in a survey.

The alderman could not be reached for further comment.

The revised zoning must be considered by the Chicago Plan Commission before going to the City Council for a vote.

With Chicago River frontage stretching from Clark to La Salle streets, the Reid Murdoch building has been a Chicago landmark since 1976. It’s known for its red brick façade and clock tower.