More Ca$h For Block 37

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Nov 6, 2008 4:55PM

Mayor Daley has proposed a plan for a $12 million subsidy to pay for a new 354-room Loews hotel at the Block 37 site, specifically the southeast corner of Randolph and Dearborn. Tack the new money onto an existing $42.4 million going towards the project.

The new money would partially compensate the block's lead developer, Joseph Freed & Associates LLC, for cost overruns in the construction of a CTA station beneath the property.

Peter Scales, spokesman for the city's planning department, said the money was needed to make the hotel viable. Without it, Freed would have to pass the cost overruns onto Loews Corp., probably causing the hotel operator to quit the deal, Scales said.

Image of Block 37 cranes by 24gotham