National Association of Realtors plans $45M expansion, Mag Mile HQ overhaul

The National Association of Realtors is planning a $45 million expansion and renovation of its Magnificent Mile headquarters, just two months after raising members’ annual dues by 25 percent.

The project will include an 18,000-square-foot glass-enclosed office and conference center atop the 12-story Realtor Building at 430 North Michigan Avenue, association CEO Bob Goldberg told Crain’s.

One Development, which is the design and development arm of GNP Realty Partners, will spearhead the project for the NAR, and it will also include new elevators and lobby, along with infrastructure upgrades.

The Realtor Building is fully occupied, primarily by real estate trade groups. It was built in 1962 and was 10 stories; two floors were added in 1991.

The 13th-floor addition will include a 25-seat rotunda board room with views of the skyline, One Development president John Gagliardo told Crain’s. New offices will provide more work space for tenants in the future and allow current tenants to have temporary offices while One Development renovates floor by floor from the top of the building down.

Work on the new top floor is expected to start in the fall and be completed in a year, with floor-by-floor renovations to follow.

The NAR headquarters sits on a stretch of Michigan Avenue set to see a flurry of activity in the coming years as Golub & Company and CIM Group plan a massive overhaul of the former Tribune Tower complex, which would include construction of Chicago’s second-tallest building.

Next door, billionaire Joe Mansueto recently closed on a $255 million deal to buy the iconic Wrigley Bulding.

In May, the association raised annual dues 25 percent, from $120 to $150, to go with the extra annual fee of $35 for NAR’s advertising campaign.

NAR hadn’t raised dues since 2012, when members were asked to pay an additional $40. Some $17 of the increase was to be dedicated to upping the group’s political activity spending and the remaining $13 was to help pay for a transaction management platform, zipLogix. [Crain’s] — John O’Brien