Friedman Properties has outlined its plans for a 29-story office tower at 444 N. Dearborn Street. The property is currently a two-story fire station housing Engine Company 42, which would still be located at the site.
Under the proposed deal, a DLR Group-designed fire station would be built first on an existing surface lot west of the facility so that emergency services remain functioning. The $20 million, three-story building would include quarters for the crew and offices above a fully modernized garage.
Once this phase is completed, the existing station would be demolished, with a 600,000-square foot, 455-foot tall office tower going up on its footprint and above the new station. Designed by Goettsch Partners, the glass and aluminum building would include ground floor retail, an amenity mezzanine for tenants and underground parking set aside for the Chicago Fire Department.
“This is a unique development proposal, unlike any other that I have worked on before,” said 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly at a community presentation. “The public benefit here would be a brand new firehouse for the neighborhood, something the Chicago Fire Department has been seeking for many years now.”
Friedman will acquire the firehouse and adjacent land from the city for $5 million and pay more than $10 million into the Neighborhood Opportunity Bonus program. Once the project gets approval from the city, construction would take between three and four years.
