Old Chicago Tribune Site Could Become Massive Mixed-Use Development
While the future of the Chicago Tribune’s Freedom Center printing facility is still unknown, the Tribune property to its north at the corner of Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street in River West is slated to undergo a massive redevelopment. Curbed Chicago spotted ambitious plans for the property before they were curiously removed from the developer’s website.
According to the plans, Riverside Investment & Development’s may transform the property at 700 W. Chicago Ave. into a 1.5 million-square-foot residential and office campus with about 4.5 acres of publicly accessible greenspace and riverwalk. Tribune Media announced its partnership with the company in 2015.
After making the announcement, Riverside removed its plans for the mixed-use towers from its website. It’s unclear as to why the information was taken down.
"The plan for 700 West Chicago has not been finalized and is very much a work in progress. We continue working closely with the city planning department to secure the necessary input and approvals for the development of this area,” Tribune Media spokesperson Gary Weitman told Chicagoist. “This early version of a possible proposal for the area was placed on Riverside’s website by mistake and has since been removed."
According to that initial release of information, the first phase of the project is expected to be a mid-rise building with 435,000 square feet of office space. The development team also announced that it would be working with local architecture firm Goettsch Partners. The team worked together in the past on skyscrapers 150 N. Riverside and 110 N. Wacker, and on the redevelopment of Union Station.