Friedman Properties, a Chicago-based real estate investment and development firm, today announced it has retained brokerage firm Savills to lead leasing efforts for Medinah Temple, its landmark property in Chicago’s River North neighborhood.
Located just steps from the Magnificent Mile at 600 N. Wabash Ave., Medinah Temple features approximately 132,600 square feet of interior space over five levels. The Moorish Revival building, which is currently home to the temporary Bally’s Chicago casino, is defined by its distinctive domes, arches, stained glass windows and arabesque ornamentation.
“Medinah Temple belongs to a small class of buildings that instantly captures your attention the moment you see it,” said Albert Friedman, CEO and chairman of Friedman Properties. “We’ve worked carefully to preserve the details that make it so distinctive, and we believe the right user will recognize the opportunity to create something equally memorable within it.”
The open, multilevel layout, which centers around an atrium showcasing the property’s original domed ceiling, provides an unusual degree of flexibility for a building of its size. Each floor is capable of serving a distinct function while contributing to a unified experience, giving users the ability to think vertically in how they activate the space. That structure supports a wide range of concepts and makes the building particularly well suited to operators who want to deliver a full brand experience rather than a single-use environment.
“River North has become a destination for first-to-market concepts that tap into not only local residents but the millions of visitors that come to this neighborhood each year,” said Friedman. “Medinah Temple epitomizes that vibrancy with an irreplicable sense of character that will give its new user immediate scale and visibility in the market.”
Bally’s Chicago will occupy the property until it relocates to its permanent location in 2027. The Savills team of Todd Siegel, Philip Golding and Kimberly Wiskup will lead the search for a new user. Siegel helped bring Starbucks Reserve Roastery to the Magnificent Mile and Eataly across from Medinah Temple, adding to a growing cluster of large-format experiential concepts. Combined with venues like the recently opened Theater of the Mind and The Hand & The Eye, they reinforce River North’s active, multifaceted character.
“In the modern luxury landscape, the most successful global brands are no longer just selling products; they are choreographing cultural experiences,” said Siegel. “Medinah Temple offers a rare, high-visibility stage in the U.S. market where a global brand can transcend traditional retail, transforming a historic architectural gem into a singular destination that resonates with both local loyalists and the global luxury consumer.”
Designed by architects Huehl and Schmidt and completed in 1912, Medinah Temple originally served as a 4,200-seat amphitheater for the Shriners. Over the years, the venue hosted events like the annual Shriner’s Circus, while its outstanding acoustics led to its use as a recording site, including by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Following a period of vacancy, the building became dilapidated to the point where it was listed as an endangered structure by the World Monument Fund. Friedman Properties acquired the building in 2000 and partnered with state and local agencies to save it from demolition. Following a thoughtful restoration of the exterior brick, central cornice, proscenium arch, stained glass windows and many other key decorative elements, Medinah Temple reopened in 2003 as the nation’s first Bloomingdale’s Home Store, which operated on the site until 2020. It was replaced by Bally’s Chicago in 2023.
Medinah Temple is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a Chicago landmark.
