Old Loop office building at 30 E. Adams begins residential conversion

Chicago’s old Hartman Building at 30 E. Adams Street is ready to begin its transformation from office space into new apartments. Yesterday, the City of Chicago issued developer Cedar Street Cos. a $15 million permit to start work on the downtown adaptive reuse project. Originally designed by Alfred Alschuler—the same architect behind the London Guarantee & Accident Building that later became the posh LondonHouse hotel—the Hartman Building first opened in 1925 and is perhaps best known to Chicagoans for being home to Miller’s Pub.

Overseen by SPACE Architects + Planners, the conversion calls for a total of 176 rental units. Expected to be on the smaller side (roughly 500 square feet) of the size spectrum, the apartments will rent for an estimated $1,600 to $2,200 per month, reported Crain's last Summer. The transit-oriented project will also see the addition of amenity spaces on the 13th and 14th floors and a new elevator penthouse on the 15th floor. The work is anticipated to take between 12 and 18 months to complete.

The Hartman conversion is just one of several ongoing projects designed to give old Loop office buildings a second life as apartments. In August, Marc Realty began work to turn the 1927 Insurance Center Building at 330 S. Wells into 132 residential units. Developer CA Ventures plans to bring hundreds of apartments to Chicago’s historic Century & Consumers Buildings on State Street while Florida-based Dolce Living Communities Residential is in the midst of remodeling the offices at 29 S. LaSalle Street into roughly 200 new rental units.

• Renovation/alteration permit at 30 E. Adams Street [Chicago Cityscape]
• Developer Taps Uptown Synagogue and Loop Office Building For Adaptive Reuse [Curbed Chicago]
• 30 East Adams [Cedar Street Cos.]