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Pittsfield Building

Coordinates: 41°52′59″N 87°37′33″W / 41.8830°N 87.6257°W / 41.8830; -87.6257
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Pittsfield Building
The Pittsfield Building as seen from the northeast
Map
General information
TypeOffice
Location55 E. Washington St.
Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates41°52′59″N 87°37′33″W / 41.8830°N 87.6257°W / 41.8830; -87.6257
Completed1927
Height
Roof551 ft (168 m)
Technical details
Floor count38
Design and construction
Architect(s)Graham, Anderson, Probst & White
DesignatedNovember 6, 2002

The Pittsfield Building is a 38-story skyscraper located at 55 E. Washington Street in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, that was the city's tallest building at the time of its completion.[1][2] The building was designated as a Chicago Landmark on November 6, 2002.[1]

History

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The property was developed by heirs of Marshall Field, and is named after Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where Marshall Field obtained his first job.[3] While it is located in the Jewelers' Row Landmark District, the original design and occupancy was for medical & dental professionals, including offices, laboratories, and medical supplies.[4] The nearby Burnham Center, at the intersection of Clark Street and Washington Street, was originally named the Conway Building after Conway, Massachusetts—the birthplace of Marshall Field.[5] Marshall Field III presented the property as a gift to the Field Museum of Natural History in honor of the museum's 50th anniversary in 1944. The museum held the property until September 1960 when the museum sold it.[3]

In 2000, Florida-based Morgan Reed Group acquired the entire building for $15 million.[6] During that period, the building was used mostly by doctors, dentists and jewelers.[7] In 2008, the Skokie, Illinois-based Alter Group bought floors 13 through 21[8][9] and converted it into a student dormitory known as Fornelli Tower, which was attached to Roosevelt University and Robert Morris University. Morgan Reed retained ownership of the remaining 30 stories and began exploring redevelopment options around the same time.[10] In 2012, Morgan Reed placed the lower floors for sale.[9]

Redevelopment plans

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The Chicago government gave Chicago Hotel Partners the right to construct a hotel in the building in June 2015.[11] Morgan Reed and Alter separately agreed to sell their respective sections of the building to Adam David Lynd, who wanted to develop a hotel there, but the deals fell through. Lynd sued both Morgan Reed, for misrepresenting whether the building could be converted to hotel use, and Alter, for misrepresenting the size of its ownership stake.[12][13] The next year, the Chicago City Council rezoned the site to prevent it from being used as a hotel;[11] subsequently, Chicago Hotel Partners sued its own law firm, which had advocated for the rezoning.[11] In April 2017, Akara Partners offered to pay $16 million for Morgan Reed's section of the building, allowing these floors to potentially be converted to apartments.[12][14] The next month, New York-based firm Pioneer Acquisitions bid $16.5 million for the building.[15][16]

Morgan Reed filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017 and alleged in a lawsuit that the city of Chicago had illegally downzoned the property.[6] A Toronto businessman, Xiao Hua "Edward" Gong, acquired Morgan Reed's portion in a bankruptcy auction, paying $20.8 million that June.[17][18] Gong's assets were frozen later that year due to criminal securities fraud charges in Canada,[6][19] and a restraining order was placed on the building to prevent it from being redeveloped.[20] A 2019 lawsuit by Marc Realty, which controlled floors 13–21, alleged that an investor called Andiamo One had subleased rooms to Pangea, which had illegally rented them out as hotel rooms.[21] In the meantime, the Pittsfield Building began to decay, and scaffolding was placed around the building in 2020 after pieces of the facade began to fall off.[22] The restraining order was lifted in February 2021;[20] the building was in receivership at the time, and its receiver Courtney Jones sued Gong to recover unpaid bills of $5 million.[20][23] Gong attempted to block a foreclosure sale in 2023 but ultimately dropped the case.[6][24]

The investor Tom Liravongsa of Grand Rapids, Michigan, acquired Gong's 30-story ownership stake in April 2023.[23][22] In 2025, Liravongsa announced plans to convert his portion of the building into 214 residences,[6][25] documenting his renovations on TikTok.[26] At the time, Marc Realty had already converted floors 13–21 into 177 apartments.[6] Morgan Reed sued the city the same year, claiming that the city council's decision to ban hotel uses from the Pittsfield Building was a violation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and that the building's value had decreased significantly as a result.[27][28] Morgan Reed's attorneys alleged that several potential buyers had withdrawn their bids for the building after it was rezoned, but city officials claimed that the ban on hotel uses did not preclude the building from being redeveloped for some other purpose.[27]

Architecture

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Designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, the structure combines both art deco and Gothic detailing, while complying with a 1923 zoning ordinance which mandated skyscrapers setbacks.[3] The interior of the building features a five-story atrium, lined by balconies and shops, that is detailed with glowing marbles, gleaming brass and Spanish Gothic style carvings.[1][2]

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Position in Chicago's skyline

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The skyline of a city with many large skyscrapers; in the foreground is a green park and a lake with many sailboats moored on it. Over 30 of the skyscrapers and some park features are labeled.311 South WackerWillis TowerChicago Board of Trade Building111 South WackerAT&T Corporate CenterKluczynski Federal Building333 South WabashChase TowerThree First National PlazaMid-Continental PlazaRichard J. Daley CenterChicago Title and Trust Center77 West WackerPittsfield BuildingLeo Burnett BuildingThe Heritage at Millennium ParkCrain Communications BuildingIBM PlazaOne Prudential PlazaTwo Prudential PlazaAon CenterBlue Cross and Blue Shield Tower340 on the ParkPark TowerOlympia Centre900 North MichiganJohn Hancock CenterWater Tower PlaceHarbor PointThe ParkshoreNorth Pier ApartmentsLake Point TowerJay Pritzker PavilionBuckingham FountainLake MichiganLake MichiganLake Michigan

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Pittsfield Building". City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division. 2003. Archived from the original on March 7, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2007.
  2. ^ a b Kamin, Blair (February 28, 2006). "The list gets longer on shortcuts". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c "Pittsfield Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on December 28, 2006. Retrieved August 4, 2007.
  4. ^ Fuller, Ernest (February 7, 1959). "Pittsfield Building". chicagology.com. Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  5. ^ "Burnham Center". Emporis. Archived from the original on September 10, 2004. Retrieved August 4, 2007.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Herzog, Rachel (March 11, 2025). "Investor pitches office-to-residential conversion for Pittsfield Building". Crain's Chicago Business. Archived from the original on April 6, 2025. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  7. ^ Gallun, Alby, "Pittsfield to get college dormitory," Crain's Chicago Business, p. 16, January 28, 2008.
  8. ^ "Pittsfield Building to house college students". Crain's Chicago Business. January 23, 2008. Archived from the original on November 7, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Lower Floors of Pittsfield Building Up for Sale". GlobeSt. September 27, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  10. ^ Gallun, Alby (November 25, 2015). "Pittsfield Building owners sued over soured $91 million in deals". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c "Hotel developer sues his law firm, claiming it helped his opponents scuttle deal". The Real Deal. June 10, 2019. Archived from the original on January 29, 2025. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  12. ^ a b Sudo, Chuck (April 12, 2017). "Akara Partners In Talks To Buy Pittsfield Building". Bisnow. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  13. ^ Gallun, Alby (November 25, 2015). "Pittsfield Building owners sued over soured $91 million in deals". Crain's Chicago Business. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  14. ^ Gallun, Alby (April 12, 2017). "Apartment developer to buy Pittsfield Building". Crain's Chicago Business. Archived from the original on September 20, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  15. ^ Sudo, Chuck (May 31, 2017). "Another Bidder For Pittsfield Building Emerges". Bisnow. Archived from the original on April 22, 2025. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  16. ^ Gallun, Alby (May 30, 2017). "New Yorkers make a run for Pittsfield Building". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  17. ^ Gallun, Alby (June 29, 2017). "Winning bidder mum on plans for Pittsfield Building". Crain's Chicago Business. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  18. ^ Sudo, Chuck (July 5, 2017). "Chinese Investor Submits Bid For Pittsfield Building". Bisnow. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  19. ^ Rothstein, Matthew (February 10, 2021). "Inside How A Government-Seized Commercial Building Gets Sold". Bisnow. Archived from the original on April 24, 2025. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  20. ^ a b c "East Loop landmark with troubled past hits market". The Real Deal. June 15, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  21. ^ Gallun, Alby (March 6, 2019). "Pittsfield Building lawsuit alleges forgery, drugs, illegal rentals". Crain's Chicago Business. Archived from the original on September 15, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
  22. ^ a b "Mysterious Grand Rapids investor seizes Pittsfield Building". The Real Deal. May 16, 2023. Archived from the original on October 14, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  23. ^ a b Gallun, Alby (May 15, 2023). "Michigan investor takes over Pittsfield Building stake, but court battle drags on". Crain's Chicago Business. Archived from the original on April 19, 2025. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  24. ^ Lounsberry, Sam (November 14, 2023). "Pittsfield Building's ex-owner Gong backs off receiver, dodges sanctions fight". The Real Deal. Archived from the original on November 4, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  25. ^ "Investor pitches office-to-resi for embattled Pittsfield Building". The Real Deal. March 12, 2025. Archived from the original on March 14, 2025. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  26. ^ Upton-Clark, Eve (April 18, 2025). "TikTok is obsessed with this investor who bought 30 floors of a Chicago skyscraper". Fast Company. Archived from the original on April 19, 2025. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  27. ^ a b "Morgan Reed gets day in court over Pittsfield Building rezone". The Real Deal. January 28, 2025. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  28. ^ Herzog, Rachel (January 27, 2025). "Did a city rezoning strip the Pittsfield Building of its value? A jury could decide". Crain's Chicago Business. Archived from the original on January 29, 2025. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
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