RIVER NORTH — The developer bringing a new nightclub to the shuttered Castle club building in River North is poised to get a hefty tax cut from City Hall.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced Wednesday a $2.5 million property tax break for the former Chicago Historical Society Building at 632 N. Dearborn St. Built in 1892, the building at Dearborn and Ontario streets was better known in recent years as the home of the Excalibur and later Castle nightclubs.
The $2.5 million property tax subsidy, which is aimed to encourage the preservation of landmarked buildings, will take effect over the next 12 years, the council said.
A venture led by Chicago-based developer Sterling Bay, which is redeveloping the former Harpo Studios site in the West Loop and Finkl Steel plant in Lincoln Park, among other projects, bought the landmarked building in 2014, about seven months before Castle closed its doors. The venture paid $12.5 million, property records show. The building has been empty since January 2015.
Sterling Bay earlier this year posted renderings to its website of Tao, a restaurant and nightclub out of Las Vegas that is expected to open in the building. The developer has since taken down the webpage, but sources close to the restaurant confirmed that Tao still plans to open a club in the building.
The Tao in Vegas likens itself to an Asian restaurant with waterfalls and Buddha statues and fare such as Peking Duck and Wagyu Beef Shabu. Like other River North spots, Tao transforms into a bumping club at night with upcoming Vegas performers including rapper E-40 and record producer Jermaine Dupri.
"There's always a happy ending at Las Vegas' most beloved nightlife destination for fine Asian cuisine and entertainment, TAO," the club says on its website.
Records show the Sterling Bay venture has paid $133,000 in property taxes in 2015 for the building, and nearly $230,000 in 2014. The venture has paid $73,000 so far this year in property taxes.
Spokeswomen for Sterling Bay and Tao did not return a message seeking comment. The city council said that the developer's "significant rehabilitation" includes adding a new sign, elevators and stairways as well as repairing the building's roof and masonry.
The 30,000-square-foot building was designed in the Romanesque Revival style by architect Henry Ives Cobb. It was named a city landmark in 1997.
The property tax break is set to be approved next month.
