“A $184 million plan to turn most of a Loop office tower into apartments is a step closer to reality after Chicago officials deemed the property worthy of being designated as a city landmark, a move that would push the proposal forward despite a pair of legal challenges to the project.

“The Commission on Chicago Landmarks today granted preliminary approval to landmark the 41-story Art Deco tower at 105 W. Adams St. The sign-off moves the proposed designation forward to the City Council, which could finalize the building’s landmark status this month.

“That ultimate approval would be a crucial win for a venture of Chicago-based Primera Group and Bloomingdale-based investor Marc Calabria, which bought floors 11 through 40 in the building last year. The landmark designation would be a key step in the duo’s plan to convert those highly vacant office floors into 400 apartments with the help of a nearly $68 million taxpayer subsidy.

“The project is one of the largest of six downtown office towers slated for redevelopment into apartments under the city’s LaSalle Street Reimagined program, an initiative launched in 2022 by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration to help bring more regular foot traffic to the city’s urban core following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“But city approvals aren’t the only hurdles Primera and Calabria may have to clear to move forward. The development team is also facing a lawsuit from other developers who alleged Primera and Calabria illegally cut them out of the project, and the threat of legal action from the current and pending new owners of the Club Quarters Chicago hotel on the building’s lower floors.

“Neither of those opposition groups testified against the landmark designation today during the Commission on Chicago Landmarks meeting at City Hall. Attorneys for both groups did not respond to requests for comment from Crain’s on the landmark panel’s approval.

“Attorney Liz Butler, who represents the Primera-Calabria venture, encouraged the landmark designation today and told members of the commission that the designation ‘advances the landmark ordinance’s broader purposes of preserving the character and vitality of the central area, promoting economic development through rehabilitation and conserving and strengthening the city’s property tax base.’

“Originally dubbed the Bankers Building and known today as the Clark Adams Building, the tower at 105 W. Adams was completed in 1927 and designed by the sons of famed architect Daniel Burnham. Members of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks today agreed the property met three of seven potential criteria to be designated a city landmark, including having a prominent architect, an important style of architecture and its value as a representation of Chicago’s heritage.” (Ecker, Crain’s Chicago Business, 10/9/25)

Preservation Chicago supports this adaptive reuse project. We’ve testified multiple times in support of Chicago Landmark Designation.

Read the full story at Crain’s Chicago Business

• Loop tower wins landmark panel OK as legal challenges loom, Danny Ecker, Crain’s Chicago Business, 10/9/25
• Lender seizing distressed hotel in Loop tower set for conversion, Danny Ecker, Crain’s Chicago Business, 8/20/25
• Loop office-to-residential conversion faces fresh challenge, Danny Ecker, Crain’s Chicago Business, 9/16/25
• Preliminary landmark approved for Bankers Building at 105 W. Adams; Floors 11-40 of the building will be converted into 400 apartments, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 7/8/25
• Community Development Commission Approves Funding For 105 W Adams Street, Ian Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 5/15/25
• CDC approves $67.5 million in TIF for 105 W. Adams, Floors 11-40 will be converted into 400 mixed-income apartments, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 5/15/25
• City panel OKs subsidy for 400-unit office-to-apartment conversion, Danny Ecker, Crain’s Chicago Business, 5/13/25
• Bankers Building, 105 W. Adams St. Preliminary Landmark Designation Report, June 2025