(Above) Merchandise Mart from Franklin Street Bridge in 2007.

August 15, 2014 – There is money in getting consumers to write reviews of local businesses. The online “urban guide” Yelp will open its seventh worldwide office in River North, signing a lease at Merchandise Mart for 50,000 square feet on the fourth floor.

The mayor’s office made the announcement on Thursday.

“The Merchandise Mart’s proximity to the L and its location on the Chicago River were integral to Yelp’s decision to locate its Chicago office there,” said Rahm Emanuel, “as the company searched for a location that would be good for commuters, have easy access to lots of local businesses and restaurants, and pay tribute to the rich history of Chicago.”

The company says it will hire as many as 300 Chicagoans over the next year-and-a-half. Most of those jobs will be in sales. Yelp will move into their new offices in January.

Founded in 2004 in San Francisco by two former employees of PayPal, Yelp has about 2,000 employees and its revenue last year was $233 million.

With 61 million reviews affecting the bottom lines of businesses, the site is not without controversy. According to a study in 2013 by a Harvard business administration professor, 20 percent of reviews on Yelp are not genuine.

Some reviewers have filed a class action lawsuit against Yelp, claiming they are owed wages for their services. The company calls it “a textbook example of a frivolous lawsuit.”

Another lawsuit claims the company’s top three executives inflated Yelp stock prices with false and misleading statements, then sold $20 million worth of shares.