Mayor Richard M. Daley proposed landmark status and a property tax incentive for the Old Republic Building today as part of an ongoing rehabilitation of the iconic 23-story building.

Completed in 1924 at 307 N. Michigan Ave., the Old Republic was one of the first tall buildings constructed south of the Chicago River following the construction of the Michigan Avenue Bridge. If landmark status is approved by City Council, the building would be protected from demolition or significant alteration and would be elegible for a variety of preservation incentives.

"The Old Republic helped set the standard for many other notable buildings on Michigan Avenue. It's been a visual focal point for decades and it deserves consideration for landmark status and its related benefits," Mayor Daley said.

The building's Classical Revival design by K.M Vitzthum & Co. features a tripartite division of base, shaft and capital. Clad in glazed terra cotta, it rises 264 feet, the full height allowed by zoning at the time for a building without a set-back tower, according to the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, which recommended the building's designation last month.

The high-rise initially served as headquarters of the Bell and Zoller Coal Co. before being sold in 1956 to Old Republic Life Insurance Co. The insurance company maintains its corporate headquarters in the building and has 290 employees in Chicago.

The owner requested the landmark designation as part of a $12.37 million rehabilitation project involving the building's exterior, building systems and common spaces. The landmark designation would make the building eligible for Cook County's Class L property tax incentive, which lowers the tax rates on designated landmarks for a 12-year period. The tax savings are estimated at approximately $3.5 million.