Harris Trust & Savings Bank
built 1911, 1960 and with current city data crediting Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge; Skidmore,Owings, Designated as a Chicago landmark on June 18,...
Watchlist Blog
Interior demolition moves 111 West Monroe into its conversion phase
The landmark former Harris headquarters has crossed from city-backed conversion proposal into physical work, with an interior-demolition permit tied to 345 mixed-income homes.
April 16, 2026
Harris Trust & Savings Bank, Chicago
Updated 2026
An April permit advances the transformation of twelve floors at 111 West Monroe while the larger project combines apartments, affordable housing, a hotel, retail, and public space.
The conversion of the Harris Trust complex is now visible in the permit record. An interior-demolition permit issued in April covers work associated with turning twelve floors of 111 West Monroe into 345 mixed-income residences.
That threshold matters for LaSalle Street Reimagined. The former bank headquarters is not merely one of several renderings meant to illustrate a more residential Loop; it is becoming a construction site inside a landmark designated less than a year earlier.
Read the architectural and landmark record for Harris Trust & Savings Bank.
Track other Chicago-area changes in Watchlist Blog.
A permit turns the Loop conversion strategy from a promise into a construction record.
What The Permit Advances
The permit covers interior demolition associated with the residential conversion of twelve floors. Current project descriptions place those homes within a larger mixed-use program that also includes affordable units, a luxury hotel, retail, amenities, and an outdoor plaza.
The work is unfolding within the 1911 banking building and its 1960 addition, a combined complex that Chicago designated as an individual landmark on June 18, 2025.
A Test For The LaSalle Strategy
Chicago's downtown conversion policy depends on projects moving beyond approvals while retaining their promised affordability and public benefits. At 111 West Monroe, landmark review and public financial support add further accountability to that transition.
The building is especially useful as a case because it combines monumental banking spaces, modern office construction, and a deep central-business-district footprint. Its solutions will not apply everywhere, but they will reveal what the city and developers consider transferable.
What To Watch Next
Construction financing, final unit counts, the affordable-housing mix, hotel timing, and landmark-reviewed exterior alterations remain the decisive milestones.
The proposed plaza should also be followed closely. A conversion can add residents while still failing at street level; the public edge along Monroe will show whether the project contributes to a more active district outside its doors.