National Association of Realtors cleared for $45M HQ expansion

The National Association of Realtors will add two floors to its 12-story national headquarters as part of a $45 million expansion and renovation of the building.

The city last week granted the NAR a permit to start work on the project, which will add a 13th and 14th floor and will including a glass-walled conference room overlooking the Magnificent Mile, according to Curbed.

The building at 430 North Michigan Avenue also is home to the Chicago Association of Realtors. The project will expand the building to a total of 18,000 square feet.

After the building’s new crown is finished next year, workers will turn their attention to renovating the remaining building.

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 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 earlier this year paid $255 million for the iconic Wrigley Building.

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. [Curbed] — John O’Brien