Seven floors of the high-rise at 79 W. Monroe St. would be converted from office space to 117 mixed-income residential units through $28 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) support proposed to City Council today by Mayor Brandon Johnson.

City support for the $64.2 million Brown Derby LLC project would enable 35% of the project – 41 units – to be priced as affordable for households earning an average of 60% of the area median income.

Plans for the building also include a rooftop deck, renovation of the basement and ground floor, and creation of a lower-level retail space. Current tenant spaces occupied by Walgreens and Intrinsic Schools would not be impacted by the work.

Known as the Rector building upon its completion in 1906, the 14-story steel and masonry structure was designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt. A Holabird & Roche-designed addition was completed to its south in 1924. In 2013, the building was included in the West Loop-LaSalle Street Historic District listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The building’s distinctive weather prediction clock, installed in the 1950s by Bell Federal Savings & Loan, would be restored during the project, and the building’s exterior elevations would be subject to a future City of Chicago landmark designation.

79 W. Monroe is one of four Loop office conversion projects approved for TIF assistance by the City's Community Development Commission earlier this year. City support for all four projects will create more than 300 affordable apartments with funding provided through the LaSalle/Central TIF district and a variety of other financial incentives.

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