Old Chicago Daily News Building Gets Landmark Status

A joint venture led by Chicago-based Blue Star Properties won preliminary approval for a $28 million property tax break to facilitate the revitalization of a historic riverfront office tower.

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks designated 2 North Riverside Plaza as a city landmark on Thursday, recommending it for Cook County Class L status. Crain’s reported that the recommendation will now have to go before the City Council for final approval.

The designation paves the way for public subsidies to support a planned $70 million overhaul. The Art Deco icon, which has eluded landmark status for decades, is currently about 57 percent vacant, according to the outlet.

Blue Star and partner Wolcott acquired the 26-story, 579,000-square-foot building in July for just under $28 million. Principal Craig Golden outlined a “hospitality-driven” strategy to attract new corporate tenants to the West Loop site, according to the publication. Planned amenities include a four-lane bowling alley, a lounge, a music room and a revamped auditorium.

The ownership group also intends to activate the building’s riverfront plaza with public events, such as farmers’ markets and live music.

Landmark status will protect the building’s most significant architectural features, including its exterior facade and the 200-foot-long second-floor concourse. The Jazz Age lobby spaces, which connect to the Ogilvie Transportation Center pedestrian bridge, are also included in the protections, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Designed by Holabird & Root and completed in 1929, the tower was the first in Chicago to utilize air rights over train tracks. Its riverfront plaza predates New York’s Rockefeller Center as one of the earliest examples of a private office building providing public space, according to the landmark designation report. The Daily News operated out of the building until 1959 when it was acquired by Field Enterprises.

The property was previously owned by the late real estate mogul Sam Zell, who maintained his personal office there for decades. Following Zell’s death in 2023, the estate collaborated with lender Voya Financial to bring the building to market, according to Crain’s.

Architect Thomas Leslie told the Sun-Times that the landmark designation is “long overdue” for what he considers one of the most important buildings of Chicago’s Modern movement.

— Eric Weilbacher