CIM, Golub start massive overhaul on Tribune Tower

Redeveloping the historic property will first involve turning the landmark tower into 163 condos

Tribune Tower at 435 North Michigan Avenue, Golub & Company’s Michael Newman, and CIM Group’s Shaul Kuba (Credit: CIM Group and Golub & Company)
Tribune Tower at 435 North Michigan Avenue, Golub & Company’s Michael Newman, and CIM Group’s Shaul Kuba (Credit: CIM Group and Golub & Company)

CIM Group and Golub & Company will start the first phase of their massive overhaul of the historic Tribune Tower.

Chicago-based Golub and Los Angeles-based CIM scored a construction permit to start on their planned conversion of the iconic property at 435 North Michigan Avenue into 163 condominiums.

According to documents filed with the permit, the work is expected to cost $150 million. The architect is Solomon Cordwell & Buenz and the general contractor is Walsh Construction.

The developers in April unveiled their plans for the property they bought from Tribune Media.

In addition to the new condos in the landmark tower, the developers will divide the eastern portion of the site into several sections that would include erecting Chicago’s second-tallest building, a 1,422-foot-tall mixed-use skyscraper that would house a 200-key luxury hotel, 439 apartments and 125 condos.

Below street level would be 10,700 square feet of retail space and 430 parking spaces accessible from lower-level streets.

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Zoning allows for 1.6 million square feet on the full site. CIM and Golub’s plans call for about 2 million square feet, and they plan to “buy” permission for the extra space by paying about $14 million into a commercial development fund. They also plan to pay another $12 million into the city’s affordable housing fund in lieu of including affordable housing on site.

The project would include a four-story addition on top of one of the existing buildings on the property, work that will be covered by the construction permit issued this week. The developers propose 47,500 square feet of retail space in the existing buildings, some of it fronting Michigan Avenue and Pioneer Square, the open plaza anchored by an Apple Store at the opposite end.

Fronting Pioneer Square is a massive, white Chicago Tribune sign that will remain after a deal reached after the developers initially sued to keep it.

Work on the new tower could start in late 2019 or early 2020. It would displace Trump Tower (1,389 feet) as the city’s second tallest, and would rank behind only the Willis Tower (1,451 feet). The Vista Tower under construction in Lakeshore East would be fourth at 1,191 feet, followed by the Aon Center at 1,136 feet and the former John Hancock Center at 1,128 feet.

CIM and Golub are also behind a plan to build a condo tower at 1550 North Clark Street in Old Town. They recently sold a South Loop apartment tower to an investment arm of the Mormon church.