Union Station redevelopment back to the drawing board

A Chicago developer's plan to revamp Union Station is heading in a new direction after its first proposal flopped with downtown residents.

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) announced in a neighborhood email Thursday that Riverside Investment & Development's plan to reshape the transportation hub with a mix of hotel rooms, offices, apartments and new retailers "was deemed unacceptable by the community and the Alderman due to architectural and traffic concerns," the email said. "As a result, the development team decided to completely revise their vision for the project. Their revisions respond directly to the community feedback gathered at the first community meeting."

Details of the new plan are unclear and neither Reilly nor Riverside CEO John O'Donnell could be reached Thursday night. Riverside and its development partner, Convexity Properties, will present their revised plans at a community meeting on Sept. 11.

The developer's initial proposal unveiled in June drew plenty of criticism. Riverside, which was selected last year by Amtrak to take on the ambitious project, presented a plan to put a boxy glass-and-steel 404-unit apartment building on top of the historic Union Station head house, which would house 330 hotel rooms on its upper floors. The plan also called for redevelopment of much of the station's now vacant retail space along Van Buren, Clinton and Jackson streets, while a later phase would include construction of a 1.5 million square foot office tower just south of the station.

The crown-like addition drew jeers for its juxtaposition with the landmark, neo-classical base below, which was originally proposed by Daniel Burnham in his 1909 "Plan of Chicago."

O'Donnell didn't anticipate having to drastically alter plans for the head house after the initial presentation. "I don't think we'll change it significantly, but we may tweak it," he said the day after unveiling the plans publicly. He suggested some changes in the traffic plan were likely.

The developer said at the time he aimed to begin construction within a year, though its unclear how that timeline would be impacted by a delay in winning city approval for the plan.

Ald. Reilly would need to sign off on the planned development before a full City Council vote. Aldermanic votes for the remainder of the year could face extra scrutiny heading into elections in February.

Riverside has been one of the most prominent developers in the city in recent years. The firm developed the 54-story office tower at 150 N. Riverside and is part of a joint venture behind the 1.4 million square foot tower under construction at 110 N. Wacker Drive, the former site of General Growth Properties.

Convexity Properties is the real estate development arm of DRW Holdings, the firm founded by trader Don Wilson.

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