“Friedman Properties has announced it completed reconstruction of the riverwalk at the Reid Murdoch Building in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Together with renovations at River Roast, the forthcoming opening of The Carlyle Club and prior ground-level improvements and activations, the updates represent approximately $15 million in recent investment at the landmark property.

”Originally constructed in 1914, the Reid Murdoch Building long served as the office, warehouse and manufacturing facilities for Reid, Murdoch & Co., one of the country’s largest wholesale grocers. The building hosted traffic courts and other municipal offices for decades, following the city of Chicago’s purchase of the property in 1955.

”The Reid Murdoch Building features a 300-foot riverwalk connecting Clark Street to LaSalle Drive. Friedman Properties’ latest renovation nearly doubled the width of the previous riverwalk and introduced a series of 10-foot-tall double doors in the south elevation, creating new opportunities for outdoor dining and improving pedestrian circulation. The work also included new precast piers, railings, lighting, integrated planters and improved access from the river level for visitors arriving by boat.

”Coinciding with the redevelopment of the riverwalk, operator Levy Restaurants has completed renovations of River Roast, the 28,000-square-foot riverfront venue located in the Reid Murdoch Building. The restaurant’s main event space, which has been rebranded RR Events, now features a new riverside entrance with a curved grand staircase, dual-sided bars and upgraded lighting fixtures, furniture, flooring, tableware and features to improve the guest experience. The renovation also added Corner Roast, a new coffee concept with its own entrance that further diversifies the building’s food and beverage lineup.

”Friedman Properties also closed a lease with The Carlyle Club, scheduled to open at the Reid Murdoch Building in September. Developed by Group LV Hospitality, The Carlyle Club will feature classic American fare and a curated drink menu.

”The restaurants are joined at the building by ‘Theater of the Mind,’ an experiential installation co-created by musician and artist David Byrne that debuted in March 2026. Collectively, these offerings reflect a commitment to programming the building and its riverfront in a way that supports the kind of mixed-use, activated neighborhood that draws people to River North to work, live and visit.

”Over the past year, Friedman Properties has completed interior renovations at the Reid Murdoch Building to support office tenants. These include a lobby transformation, 5,388-square-foot speculative office suite and fourth-floor lounge with kitchen, flexible seating areas, conference rooms and a fitness center with locker rooms, showers and towel service.” (Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 8/21/26)

”325 N LaSalle, constructed in 1914, was designed by George C. Nimmons for Reid, Murdoch & Co. one of the country’s largest wholesale grocers. The riverfront site enabled Reid, Murdoch & Co. to ship and receive goods via a supply chain that connected steamers on the building’s south side to railroad spurs on the northside. Under LaSalle Street, the building’s shipping platform was used to load trucks that delivered to merchants all over the city. The building even connected with the city’s downtown freight tunnel system, 60 feet below street level.

”A notable example of the ‘Chicago School’ of Architecture, the building’s design features a red brick façade with decorative terra-cotta embellishments covering a steel and concrete skeleton. Originally the building was symmetrical, with 6 bays of windows flanking the center tower on both sides. In 1926, one bay on the west end was removed allowing the City to widen LaSalle Street.” (Friedman Properties)

Preservation Chicago applauds Albert Friedman and Friedman Properties for their continued investment in the Reid Murdoch Building. George C. Nimmons’s 1914 Chicago School masterwork, with its red brick facade, terra cotta ornament and commanding clock tower, is one of the great buildings on the Chicago River, and Friedman Properties has been its steward since 1998.

The riverwalk reconstruction has yielded a meaningful public benefit. Doubling the width of a 300-foot public riverwalk, adding river-level access for boats, and opening the south elevation to outdoor dining connects the building to the river in a way that serves both the property and the city.

Preservation Chicago has long advocated for an accessible, continuous riverfront, and the Reid Murdoch Building is an excellent example of a Chicago Landmark contributing to that vision.

Read the full story at Urbanize Chicago

• Riverwalk and dining offerings completed at Reid Murdoch Building; The landmark building at 325 N. LaSalle was originally built in 1914, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 8/21/26
• Developer completes first phase of renovations at Reid Murdoch Building; The landmark building at 325 N. LaSalle was originally built in 1914, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 3/7/25
• Developer completes renovations at Reid Murdoch Building, Urbanize Chicago
• The Reid Murdoch Building; Friedman Properties
• WIN: First Phase of Renovations at the Reid Murdoch Building Complete; Preservation Chicago, 2/2025
• WIN: Owner Albert Friedman Plans the Next Adaptive Reuse of the Landmarked 1912 Medinah Temple as Bally’s Prepares to Move Out; Preservation Chicago