“An investor who took over part of the Pittsfield Building has proposed an office-to-residential conversion, marking the latest attempt to turn around an East Loop landmark that’s experienced a series of legal and financial struggles over the years.

“A venture led by Tom Liravongsa, an investor from Grand Rapids, Mich., is seeking approval from the Chicago City Council for a plan to convert the building’s vacant office space into 214 residential units, according to a zoning application.

“Liravongsa acquired 30 of the 40 floors in the vintage high-rise at 55 E. Washington St. through a foreclosure sale in April 2023. His company, L’Cre Global, is an investment boutique firm that focuses on “engaging ground-up development and undertaking large-scale repurposing projects within key metropolitan markets,” according to its website. Liravongsa didn’t immediately return a call today.

“The office-to-residential proposal follows other efforts to breathe new life into downtown Chicago’s underutilized workspace amid remote work trends and strong rental demand, including conversion plans at 65 E. Wacker Place, the Magnificent Mile, and on and near LaSalle Street. Part of the Pittsfield Building is residential already, with 177 apartments owned by Chicago-based Marc Realty that fill floors 13 through 21.

“While a fresh use of downtown office space makes sense, a revitalization of the Pittsfield Building has so far eluded investors, and any project now will take a major investment in a tight lending environment. Previous developers proposed a hotel and residential units for the space, but after challenges that included multiple lawsuits, a bankruptcy and aborted deals, the space suffered years of neglect while waiting to be redeveloped.

“The hybrid art deco and Gothic-style tower was the tallest building in the city when it opened in 1927. A Florida investor, the Morgan Reed Group, acquired the entire tower in 2000 and divided it up into two pieces. The firm sold off floors 13 through 21, retained the rest, then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2017.

“Marc Realty authorized the Liravongsa venture to file the zoning application and take any action in connection with it as long as the rezoning and development don’t impact the existing apartments, according to a letter from the firm’s president. (Herzog, Crain’s Chicago Business, 3/11/25)

Read the full story at Crain’s Chicago Business

• Investor pitches office-to-residential conversion for Pittsfield Building, Rachel Herzog, Crain’s Chicago Business, 3/11/25
• Residential conversion planned for office space at Pittsfield Building; The 1920s-era skyscraper is already partially converted into apartments, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 3/13/25
• Did a city rezoning strip the Pittsfield Building of its value? A jury could decide, Rachel Herzog, Crain’s Chicago Business, 1/27/25
• Is the Pittsfield Building cursed? There’s no reason the historic Loop landmark couldn’t be another LondonHouse or Chicago Athletic Association hotel—well, except for a long string of bad breaks that now includes allegations that its Chinese-Canadian majority owner is guilty of running a financial scam, Alby Gallun, Crain’s Chicago Business, 8/3/2018
• Michigan investor takes over Pittsfield Building stake, but court battle drags on, Alby Gallun, Crain’s Chicago Business, 5/15/23
• Morgan Reed gets day in court over Pittsfield Building rezone; Miami-based developer claims city violated Constitution’s 5th Amendment in zoning out hotel uses, The Real Deal Staff, 1/28/25
• After years of neglect, a downtown landmark goes up for sale; A new owner of the Pittsfield Building could pull the 38-story tower out of its funk, ending a dysfunctional drama that included an international financial scandal and a bitter court battle, Alby Gallun, Crain’s Chicago Business, 6/15/22
• The long-stalled redo of this troubled Loop tower reaches a turning point. Trying to predict the future of the Pittsfield and another prominent property owned by the same investor—the huge Motorola campus in Harvard—has been next to impossible. But that could be about to change, Alby Gallun, Crain’s Chicago Business, 5/21/21
• The History of the Pittsfield Building in Chicago, Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D., Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal, 3/28/20
• Pittsfield Building Chicago Landmark Designation Report 12/12/2001