Wrigley rehab wins another preservation award

(Left) Wrigley Building at sunset from Wacker Drive east of Michigan Avenue on October 30, 2007. (Click on image to view larger version.)

October 10, 2014 – The rehabilitation of Wrigley Building has won an award from Landmarks Illinois, the state’s leading advocate of historic buildings and sites. The 92-year-old River North building won the 2014 Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award. It is the second preservation award the building has won this year.

After purchasing the building from Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in 2011, Zeller Realty Group’s rehab included extensive work both inside and outside. Terra cotta was restored, windows replaced, offices and lobbies renovated, and the plaza between Wrigley’s two buildings on North Michigan Avenue was enhanced for pedestrian use.

The city granted Wrigley Building official landmark status in 2012.

“The work done at the Wrigley Building has energized commercial activity along Michigan Avenue and further legitimized landmark designation as a means of making economic development happen in Chicago,” said Landmarks Illinois on Thursday.

Bonnie McDonald, president of Landmarks Illinois, said this year’s winners “are truly inspiring and monumental in their own way. Each winner – demonstrating the catalytic impact of stewardship, activism, and continued investment – has proven that preservation is a key revitalization strategy.”

The award includes $500 and a trophy, a small replica of the entrance arch and trading room of the Chicago Stock Exchange building, which was demolished in 1972. The fight to save the structure led to the founding of Landmarks Illinois.

Also winning was the restoration of the Indian Boundary Park fieldhouse and stewardship of The Fortnightly of Chicago. The three projects will be honored at a special ceremony on November 1 at InterContinental Chicago on Michigan Avenue.

Among the seven judges this year was William Tippens, a vice president of Related Midwest.

It is the second such award for Wrigley Building. On May 15, it was among 13 recipients of the 2014 Preservation Excellence Award presented by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks for notable rehabilitation of historic architecture.