New Union Station Office Tower to become BMO Harris Bank Headquarters

A 1.5 million square foot office tower south of Union Station is part of an over $1 billion redevelopment project that is under advanced negotiations to become the new U.S. headquarters for BMO Harris Bank per the Chicago Tribune. Harris Bank will be leasing about 500,000 square feet in the new office tower that will be located south of the railway station. That kind of space would accommodate thousands of workers.

When talks are finalized, it will kick off construction of yet another major office building downtown. It would still require zoning approval from the City Council and would be part of a multiphase redevelopment proposal by Chicago developers Riverside Investment & Development and Convexity Properties. This new plan would call for a 715 foot tall office tower that would include 1-5 million square feet of space on top of the 400 below ground parking spaces. 

The tower is being designed by Goettsch Partners and would replace a parking garage that is presently there. The plan also calls for a large public plaza that would extend underneath a portion of the tower and would be supported by huge, triangular shaped structural columns. 

BMO Harris, which is a Toronto based bank, presently leases more than 800,000 square feet combined in three downtown buildings. One is at 115 S. LaSalle Street, one at 111 W. Monroe Street and the third one is at 200 W. Adams St. 

The meeting later today will be hosted by Alderman Brandan Reilly, 42nd ward, comes more than 2 months after the initial plans were unveiled but were not very well received by city officials. That plan had called for a 330 room hotel and 404 apartments. 

The developers would also like to add a food hall and other retail at street level of the rail station and increase the number of hotel rooms.

According to Chicago Business, if this deal is finalized, it could help Riverside get the financing it needs for its proposed redevelopment of the train station and add another new office building to the downtown area. 

See our other article on Union Station Project. Click here.