DOWNTOWN — A key city panel has signed off on an ambitious redevelopment of Navy Pier, one including a new rooftop bar and "lake overlook" hanging over Lake Michigan.
The Chicago Plan Commission on Thursday also approved plans for new high-end retail on Oak Street and two high-rise hotels in River North, one of them connecting to the landmarked Reid Murdoch Building on the Chicago River:
Commission OKs plan for a 32-story tower at 322 N. Clark with 500 hotel keys; behind the Reid-Murdoch Building pic.twitter.com/aPplNHxMHP
— Chicago DPD (@ChicagoDPD) August 18, 2016
Approved earlier today by the Plan Commission: this 18-story, 199-key hotel at 430 N. LaSalle St. pic.twitter.com/mafICmSW4v
— Chicago DPD (@ChicagoDPD) August 18, 2016
Plan Commission approves four-story commercial building at 65 E. Oak St. in #GoldCoast pic.twitter.com/42VzHxFD8m
— Chicago DPD (@ChicagoDPD) August 18, 2016
Navy Pier, the state's largest tourist attraction, unveiled the Lake Overlook and a bevy of other new tourist draws last month as it continues to push a revitalization driven by its 100th anniversary.
The upgrades are reminiscent of other city sites, from a new "concert lawn" resembling Millennium Park's Pritzker Pavilion to a "Lake Mirror," or shallow pool, similar to Crown Fountain. Navy Pier debuted a new Ferris wheel and an outdoor ice rink earlier this summer.
The commission also signed off on a new 240-room hotel to be built along the pier's southern dock.
RELATED: Navy Pier 'Lake Overlook' Would Offer Curved Walkway Soaring Above Lake
The 32-story, 500-room hotel approved for 322 N. Clark will rise behind and connect to the Reid Murdoch Building, a vintage red brick building with a familiar clock tower on the Chicago River. The glass-and-metal structure will include six floors of office space and a hotel separated by an eighth-floor "sky lobby" that would allow guests to step out onto the roof of the new hotel's historic neighbor.
The proposal also called for street-level retail along Clark Street, a spa and gym, and two floors of meeting venues before reaching the hotel rooms topped with a 31st-floor rooftop terrace. The developer is a venture of River North landlord Albert Friedman, who owns the Reid Murdoch Center.
The new tower also requires approvals from the the city council and the city's landmarks commission because of its impact on a historic building.
Influenced by both the Chicago and Prairie schools of architecture, the Reid Murdoch building is "one of the city's finest examples of industrial design and a rare reminder of the type of buildings that once lined the Chicago River," according to the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. The building also served as a makeshift morgue in the aftermath of the Eastland Disaster, fueling urban legends that it is haunted.
RELATED: New River North Tower Would Connect To City Landmark
A Michigan developer got approval to build an 18-story hotel at LaSalle and Hubbard streets. The 199-room hotel will include a street-level restaurant and a rooftop lounge leading down to an indoor pool.
Developer Jake Porritt, of Troy, Mich.-based Porritt Group, said in June that he was negotiating with a "4.5-star hotel" and two restaurants including The Smith out of New York to occupy the tower.
RELATED: New River North Hotel Would Bring Rooftop Lounge, Maybe New York Restaurant
A venture led by New York-based Jenel Management paid about $70 million for the Oak Street buildings that it plans to tear down and replace with a new four-floor collection of shops, according to Crain's. It's unknown what retailers Jenel plans to sign as tenants at the development. A Jenel executive did not return messages seeking comment.
The River North hotels still require approval from the city council. The Navy Pier and Oak Street projects do not require approval because they sit in the city's lakefront protection district, according to a spokesman for the city's Department of Planning and Development.
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