November 13, 2017 – A seven-story office building in the middle of Goose Island, if built, would be Chicago’s first office building made of wood since the 1800s, says the developer that wants to build it. It would be constructed on the site of a former lumber yard.

T3 Goose Island is proposed for the south side of Division Street. It would offer 270,000 square feet of office and retail space.

Houston-based Hines says T3 will be designed “in homage to the history of the site and as a market differentiator in Goose Island’s evolving neighborhood.”

One of the architectural firms, Michael Green Architects, has done this before, designing a wooden office building – now fully leased – for Hines in Minneapolis.

The project will be a joint venture between Hines and Diversified Real Estate Capital, a Chicago-based commercial real estate firm, owners of which include Larry Levy, founder of Levy Restaurants. Big Bay Realty, which owned the lumber yard, is also a partner.

(Right) Google Street View of Big Bay Lumber Company, in business on Goose Island until 2015.

Hines says using wood for the project has the environmental impact of “taking 966 cars off the road for a year.”