Landmark Designation Proposed for the Loop’s Bankers Building

The Bankers Building in the Loop would be designated as an official Chicago landmark under a proposal introduced to City Council today by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.

Designed by Burnham Brothers and also known as the Clark Adams Building, the 476-foot-tall Art Deco structure was the tallest building in the financial district at the time of its completion in 1927.

The landmark designation would align with Primera Group Inc.'s planned $183.5 million adaptive reuse project at the property, previously approved for $67.5 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) support as part of the City's Loop Revitalization Initiative. The residential conversion would repurpose approximately 400,000 square feet of underutilized office space as 400 mixed-income residences and neighborhood-oriented commercial space.

The landmark designation would protect all exterior elevations of the building.