WATCH: Mike Reschke dives into Loop office conversions and Chicago’s outlook

Mike Reschke of Prime Group in Chicago has had a hand in making and remaking the city, from converting an office building in the Loop to a 610-key J.W. Marriott hotel in the wake of the Great Recession to his current bold plan to revive the Thompson Center between Clark and LaSalle into a hub for Google employees.

But he’s never dealt with anything like the post-pandemic blows to office or Chicago’s problems — the real concerns as well as public relations hits the city has been taking on cable TV and social media these days.

In a talk with The Real Deal’s National Managing Editor Jerry Sullivan, Reschke defends the Windy City’s national standing. He has good reason to do so: Reschke’s planning two more big office-to-residential conversions in the Loop at 208 South LaSalle and 111 West Monroe Street, the latter where he’s partnering with Quintin Primo, as he is on the Thompson Center.

Reschke dives into the numbers developers figure make for successful conversions, and the assets of the Windy City as it faces questions about the future of office districts, its new progressive mayor and crime in big cities.

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