Huge, $1 Billion Union Station Revamp Calls For New Hotel, Residential Towers

By Stephen Gossett in News on May 25, 2017 4:20PM

Amtrak lifted the lid on an ultra-ambitious redevelopment plan for Chicago's iconic Union Station as it announced a development firm on Thursday morning.

Plans call for some 110,000 square feet of added retail space, which will include a new food hall; a new hotel above the station's Great Hall; two new 12-story residential towers, to be constructed above the terminal's headhouse; two 750,000-square-foot office towers; and a fifth tower, a retail-and-residential mixed-user that will stretch above tracks at Jackson and Canal. Overall the project would add 3.1 million square feet of commercial space, according to a release.

The three-phase construction project, if approved, would likely take six years to finish and cost some $1 billion.

The folks in charge of the formidable task will be Riverside Investment and Development, who recently unveiled the massive 52-story 150 N. Riverside tower to acclaim from the local architecture community. They're also co-partners on the much-anticipated, 51-story riverfront tower at 110 N. Wacker Dr., along the eastern bank of the Chicago River.

John O'Donnell, of Riverside Investment & Development, said the massive redevelopment is "a transformative project for the West Loop and for Chicago."

"Adapting such an iconic building and transportation hub that serves so many is a responsibility we take very seriously," he said in a release.

As Curbed notes, the project still needs to be approved be a host of gatekeepers: the Chicago Plan Commission, the Landmark Commission, the Zoning Committee, and City Council. But given that the area has so boomed in recent times and Rahm appears to be on board, it seems to have the early wind at its back.

The mayor and Amtrak are expected to announce further details on Thursday. Meanwhile, you can check out the renderings above.