CHICAGO— Today, Mayor Brandon Johnson joined R2 Development, Ald. Bill Conway, Department of Planning Development Commissioner Ciere Boatright, and Department of Housing CommissionerLissette Castañedato cut the ribbon on the Bellwether Residences at 79 W.
Monroe St. in the Loop, celebrating the completion of a $64.2 million office-to-residential adaptive reuse project at the landmark building.
The opening marks a significant milestone in the Johnson administration’s ongoing effort to transform the Loop into a 24-hour live, work, play neighborhood by converting underutilized office space into affordable housing.
“When the pandemic and societal shifts changed the way people work, my administration refused to accept decline,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “Instead, we thought boldly and advanced the LaSalle Corridor Revitalization effort to bring new housing to our city while incubating the environment needed to drive further investment.
With more than two-dozen active office-to-residential conversion projects across the downtown area, it’s clear that our investments are paying off.”
Led by developer R2 with the support of City funding, The Bellwether converted 11 floors of vacant office space at the 1905 high-rise, known as the Rector building, into 117 mixed-income residential units and lower-level retail space. 41 units are designated as affordable for households earning an average of 60% of the area median income.
“The Bellwether is about much more than the transformation of a single building,” said Gary Stoltz, R2 Partner. “It demonstrates what is possible when we look at Chicago’s historic downtown assets with fresh eyes and invest in their next chapter.
We are incredibly proud to take a building that has been part of the Loop for more than a century and give it new life as 117 homes for Chicagoans.
This project reflects our belief that the Loop’s future will be defined by a dynamic mix of people who live, work and spend time here.”
City support for the project includes $28 million in Tax Increment Financing as well as a landmark designation approved in 2025 to facilitate $7.8 million in federal historic tax credits.
“The Bellwether is the vanguard for downtown office conversions that are reimagining what it means what it means to live, work, and play in the heart of Chicago,” saidDPD Commissioner Boatright.
The Bellwether features studio, one- and two-bedroom residences, along with indoor and outdoor amenity spaces.
Additional improvements include restoration of key architectural features, including the building’s iconic “weather bell” sign.
The project was one of six advanced through LaSalle Street Reimagined, a DPD led initiative seeking adaptive reuse proposals to convert vacant and underutilized office space along the LaSalle Street corridor into mixed-income residences and other neighborhood amenities.
Valued at more than $900 million, the projects will repurpose more than two million square feet of space into 1,765 homes.
The projects are complimented by nearlytwo-dozen private conversionefforts underway across the downtown area—more than the last 20 years combined. Valued at $1.8 billion, the projects are creating 3,900 units while repurposing approximately 4 million square feet of underutilized commercial space.
Built by restaurateur Charles E.
Rector, the 14-story building is the oldest surviving commercial high-rise designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt.
Adorned with classical and modernist Prairie School design elements, the building housed several financial institutions in the 20th century, including Bell Savings & Loan Association, which added the “weather bell” sign to the corner in 1951.
For more information on the City’s LaSalle revitalization initiative, visit Chicago.gov/LaSalleStreet.