Investor Pitches Conversion for Chicago’s Pittsfield Building

Another historic office tower in downtown Chicago could soon join the city’s wave of residential conversions.

An investor group led by Tom Liravongsa has proposed converting the vacant office space in the Pittsfield Building into 214 residential units, Crain’s reported, citing a zoning application.

Liravongsa, an investor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, acquired 30 of the building’s 40 floors through a foreclosure sale in April 2023. His investment firm is L’Cre Global.

The conversion plan is aimed at upper office floors of the building at 55 East Washington Street, leaving untouched the 177 apartments already owned by Marc Realty on floors 13 to 21. Marc Realty has authorized the zoning application so long as the existing residential units remain unaffected. The building was the city’s tallest when it was constructed in 1927.

It would be the latest conversion in a trend that’s touched underutilized downtown office properties as the city grapples with remote work-driven office vacancies and strong residential rental demand.

Other projects in the pipeline, which have won city approval, include Campari Group’s conversion of 79 West Monroe Street, two New York developers’ plans for the Lightner Building at 1006 South Michigan Avenue, and Riverside Investment & Development, DL3 Realty and AmTrust RE’s conversion at 135 South LaSalle Street.

Reviving the iconic Pittsfield Building will require overcoming a tight lending environment and the complexities of redeveloping historic properties.

Besides that, the building is at the center of a legal battle between a developer and the city.

The building’s former owner, Miami-based Morgan Reed Group, filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and later sued the city, alleging that illegal downzoning stripped the property of value. The case was recently set for trial.

Further complicating the building’s history, Chinese-Canadian investor Xiao Hua “Edward” Gong purchased Morgan Reed’s stake during bankruptcy proceedings but faced securities fraud charges in Canada, which froze his assets and stalled redevelopment.

Gong eventually dropped his yearslong lawsuit contesting the foreclosure sale in November.

— Judah Duke