The National Association of Realtors® today welcomed Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Alderman Brendan Reilly as the association publicly unveiled the completed renovations of its Chicago headquarters. NAR has operated its offices on Michigan Avenue since 1974, and used Tuesday’s celebration as an opportunity to stress its ongoing commitment to the community it has been part of in total for 113 years.
“NAR is excited to be reestablishing our long-standing, successful relationship with the city of Chicago,” said NAR CEO Bob Goldberg. “Today’s announcement is the culmination of a 3-year project, but it symbolizes a century-long commitment that has served our members, staff and the community we have come to know and love so well.”
In total, 350 jobs were created from the project’s inception to completion. The renovations employed over 150 national and local businesses and added $50 million into the economies of Chicago and the state of Illinois.
NAR worked in partnership with Chicago-based real estate companies GNP Realty Partners and One Development to reimagine its headquarters for the 21st century and execute its full redevelopment plan. The project includes new state-of-the-art mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems; biometric security infrastructure; a dynamic new elevator system; a redesigned Plaza of the Americas; and a vertical expansion – the Sky Level – creating an innovative space that includes a world-class circular boardroom and sweeping views of some of Chicago’s most notable architecture.
“This project – and the investment it represents in the Chicago community – would not have been possible without the support and commitment of our 1.5 million Realtor® members,” said NAR President Charlie Oppler. “We were thrilled to welcome Mayor Lightfoot and Alderman Reilly today to highlight our ongoing commitment to this city, and we’re proud to know our members and staff will have a place they can call home for many more years to come.”
Completion of the project coincides with NAR’s broader push to prop up the commercial real estate sector as it recovers from the fallout of COVID-19. Alongside ongoing work in Washington to protect the 1031 Like-Kind Exchange provision – a tool which has been critical to the industry’s growth for 100 years – NAR has fought for months in opposition to the federal government’s broad, nationwide eviction moratorium through a variety of legal and regulatory avenues.
