BJB Partners gets OK for demolition near Millennium Park

A commercial building will soon replace a vacant restaurant at the corner of West Randolph Street and North Michigan Avenue.

BJB Partners secured demolition permits for the building at 151 North Michigan Avenue, near Millennium Park, Urbanize Chicago reported. The new three-story building will be designed by Lamar Johnson Collaborative.

The new 15,000-square-foot building will include 5,300 square feet of retail on the ground level while the second and third floors will be available for restaurant or commercial tenants.

A few miles south, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks is trying to decide whether to grant the Century and Consumers buildings on State Street landmark status or move forward with plans to demolish the towers. There’s a call to raze the centenarian buildings due to safety and security concerns for the adjacent Dirksen Courthouse at 219 South Dearborn Street.

The Millennium Park project, which will preserve the existing parking levels on site, calls for the second level to connect into the adjacent tower — a task that will require a 5,500-square-foot renovation of the base of the structure.

The third floor of the building will include a 1,000-square-foot outdoor terrace that overlooks North Michigan Avenue and Millenium Park. On top of the third floor, the roof will be designed to support a future roof deck that could be used as an amenity space for the adjacent residential building.

The main entrance of the top levels will open onto North Beaubien Court in an effort to not impact traffic, while the ground floor will have entrances along North Michigan Avenue.

The City Council recently approved rezoning the site from Planned Development to DX-16. No construction timeline has been set yet, but McDonagh Demolition has been hired to oversee the work.

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— Victoria Pruitt