Next week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is expected to announce a new initiative offering tax-increment financing money and other public incentive programs to developers that convert outdated LaSalle Street properties into housing, Crain’s Chicago Business reported, as long as at least 30% of the units created are affordable.
The goal is to add at least 1,000 new residential units (300 affordable) to the Loop by 2027. The City will be soliciting proposals from developers and supporting the effort with funds from the LaSalle Central TIF District.
Vacant office properties along LaSalle Street will be targeted first, but several details are still unclear, such as the number, types and sizes of properties that will be eligible, as well as how much TIF money could be dedicated to them, according to Crain’s.
It’s been a challenge since COVID-19 to get businesses back to the Loop—and keep them there—but Lightfoot is hoping the initiative will bring the area back to life and add to the recent momentum generated by Google’s announcement regarding its purchase of the James R. Thompson Center.
But as with any public initiative, there are skeptics. People wonder whether it will be enough to entice real estate investors to gamble on the future of LaSalle Street and the Loop, Crain’s reported. Developers were not too fond of last year’s ordinance requiring at least 20% of units in new residential projects to offer rents below market rates, so it’s safe to assume the 30% affordable component in the new initiative would be even less desirable, but aid through TIF could help offset various costs.
