If you walk down the canyon of LaSalle Street in the heart of Chicago’s Loop, you can practically feel the weight of old-school finance. It’s heavy. It’s stone. It’s serious. But right at the corner of Madison and LaSalle sits a building that perfectly captures the "what now?" moment Chicago is currently screaming through. I'm talking about 10 South LaSalle Street Chicago. It’s a 37-story tower that shouldn’t be interesting on paper—just another massive slab of office space—but it has become the poster child for the most radical transformation in the city’s urban history.
Honestly, the building is a bit of a chameleon.
It was finished in 1986, designed by Moriyama & Teshima Architects alongside Holabird & Root. But here is the thing: it isn't actually a "new" building from the 80s. It’s a "facadism" project. The architects literally grafted a modern steel-and-glass tower onto the original ornate masonry base of the 1911 Otis Building. You can see the seam if you look closely enough. That weird mix of old-world Chicago grit and 80s corporate ambition is exactly why 10 South LaSalle Street is such a fascinating case study today. It’s a building that has already reinvented itself once, and now, it’s being forced to do it all over again because the world of work basically imploded.
The Financial Cliff at 10 South LaSalle
Let’s get into the messy part. You’ve probably heard people talking about the "urban doom loop." It sounds dramatic, like a bad sci-fi movie, but for owners of high-rise real estate in Chicago, it’s a very real nightmare. 10 South LaSalle Street Chicago has been right in the crosshairs.
For years, this was a prime spot. Law firms loved it. Consultants loved it. Then, the pandemic happened, and the vacancy rates in the Central Loop started looking like a ghost town. By 2022 and 2023, the building was struggling. Hard. The owner, an affiliate of the Feil Organization, faced a massive foreclosure suit. We are talking about a $95 million loan that went into default. When the appraisal came back, the numbers were brutal. The building’s value had cratered from roughly $165 million down to a fraction of that.
It’s a gut-punch for the neighborhood.
But why does this matter to anyone who isn't a real estate developer? Because when a building like 10 South LaSalle fails, it takes the surrounding ecosystem with it. The lunch spots, the shoe shine stands, the dry cleaners—they all rely on those 37 floors being full of people who buy $15 salads. When the building goes into foreclosure, the vibe shifts. It feels stagnant. However, that stagnation is exactly what triggered the city to step in with one of the most ambitious urban experiments in the country: the LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative.
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From Desks to Beds: The Great Conversion
The city of Chicago realized that LaSalle Street was too "office-heavy." If people aren't coming in to work, you have to give them a reason to live there. This is where 10 South LaSalle Street Chicago gets a second (or third) lease on life.
The Feil Organization proposed a massive pivot. Instead of fighting for office tenants who want "Class A" glass boxes in the West Loop, they decided to go residential. We are talking about a $100 million-plus plan to take the lower half of the tower and turn it into hundreds of apartments.
- The Scale: Approximately 380 units.
- The Mix: A blend of studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments.
- The "Affordability" Factor: This is the kicker. To get city subsidies, a chunk of these units (usually around 30%) have to be designated as affordable housing.
Think about that. You could have a school teacher or a service worker living in a historic high-rise on LaSalle Street. That’s a massive shift for a corridor that used to be the exclusive playground of high-frequency traders and corporate lawyers. It’s a total democratization of the Loop.
Is it easy? No. Converting an office building is a construction nightmare. Deep floor plates mean the middle of the building is dark. You have to figure out how to get natural light into bedrooms when the windows are 40 feet away. You have to re-plumb the whole thing. An office building has one big bathroom core per floor; an apartment building needs a bathroom and a kitchen for every single unit. It’s like trying to turn a cruise ship into a fleet of sailboats while it's still in the water.
What it’s Actually Like Inside
If you walked into the lobby of 10 South LaSalle Street Chicago today, you’d see a lot of polished granite and a very "serious business" atmosphere. The elevators are fast. The security is tight. It has that hushed, expensive silence.
But the amenities tell the story of a building trying to stay relevant. There’s a fitness center. There’s a tenant lounge. There’s a conference center. These were all added or renovated to keep people from fleeing to the fancy new towers at Wolf Point or the Salesforce Tower. The views from the upper floors are still some of the best in the city. You’re looking right down into the heart of the canyon, seeing the back-and-forth of the "L" trains and the heavy cornices of the surrounding landmarks.
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One of the biggest perks of this specific spot is the proximity to the Quincy "L" station. It’s one of the most beautifully restored stations in the system, with its old wood and vintage signage. Living or working at 10 South LaSalle means you are basically three minutes away from every major train line in the city.
The Reality of the LaSalle Street Reimagined Plan
Chicago’s former mayor, Lori Lightfoot, kicked off the "LaSalle Street Reimagined" plan, and the current administration under Brandon Johnson has had to figure out how to actually pay for it. 10 South LaSalle is a centerpiece of this. The city is using Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to help bridge the gap.
Critics say we shouldn't be "bailing out" developers. Proponents say if we don't do this, the Loop becomes a dead zone of boarded-up windows and plummeting tax revenue. It’s a high-stakes gamble. If the conversion at 10 South LaSalle works, it proves that the Loop can be a 24/7 neighborhood. If it fails, it’s a very expensive lesson in real estate hubris.
Specifics of the plan for 10 South LaSalle include:
- Removing a large portion of the office "guts."
- Installing new HVAC systems that allow for individual climate control in apartments.
- Creating a "residential" entrance that feels separate from the remaining office space.
- Adding rooftop amenities that might include dog runs or outdoor lounges.
Why You Should Care About the Otis Building Base
I mentioned the Otis Building earlier. It’s worth a second look. When you stand on the sidewalk at 10 South LaSalle, look at the first few floors. That’s the original 1911 structure. It was designed by Holabird & Roche, the legends of the Chicago School of architecture.
The detail in the terracotta and the scale of the windows at the base provide a human element that the rest of the 80s tower lacks. This is "facadism" done right. It keeps the streetscape feeling historical while providing the modern infrastructure that businesses (and now residents) need. Most people just walk by and never realize they are looking at a building-on-top-of-a-building. It’s a literal layer cake of Chicago history.
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The Future: What Happens Next?
Right now, 10 South LaSalle Street Chicago is in a state of flux. The foreclosure process and the conversion plans are moving through the legal and bureaucratic pipes. It isn't going to happen overnight. You won't be moving in tomorrow.
But watch this space.
As the "work from home" trend stabilizes, the buildings that survive will be the ones that offer something unique. 10 South LaSalle has the history, the location, and the sheer grit to make the transition. It represents the "new" Chicago—a place where the lines between where we work and where we live are completely blurred.
If you're a real estate nerd or just someone who loves the city, this building is the one to watch. It’s a test case for whether the American downtown can survive the 21st century.
Actionable Insights for the Curious
- For Office Tenants: If you're looking for deals, the Central Loop is currently a "tenant's market." You can get high-end space at 10 South LaSalle or neighboring buildings for a fraction of the cost of the West Loop, often with massive improvement allowances.
- For Potential Renters: Keep an eye on the city’s housing portal and the Feil Organization’s announcements. The affordable units in these conversions are going to be some of the most sought-after apartments in the city due to their location.
- For Investors: The "LaSalle Street Reimagined" TIF funds are a signal of where the city is putting its chips. Look for undervalued retail spaces nearby that will benefit from a sudden influx of thousands of new residents.
- For Architects and Students: Study the Moriyama & Teshima plans from the 80s. Understanding how they structurally integrated the new steel frame with the old Otis Building foundation is a masterclass in structural engineering that is becoming relevant again as we prioritize "adaptive reuse" over demolition.
The story of 10 South LaSalle isn't over. It’s just starting a new chapter. It's moving away from the era of "greed is good" finance and into an era of urban living that is hopefully more inclusive, more resilient, and a lot more interesting. Stop by the corner of Madison and LaSalle next time you’re downtown. Look up. You’re looking at the future of the American city, for better or worse.