Crain's Chicago Business
April 8, 1996

Rookery restoration veteran to guide Marina City face-lift
By Betsy Wangensteen

John McDonald, who has built a niche renovating and repositioning such historic downtown properties as the Rookery and the Marquette Building, has been named development manager for the $75-million renovation of Marina City.

Mr. McDonald, 35, and his newly formed Knightsbridge Co. will oversee the revamp of the prominent 1960s development.

The commercial portion of the property, which had sat in Bankruptcy Court for years, was sold in late 1994 to real estate investor and developer John Marks for $3.35 million.

The condominiums in the celebrated corncob residential towers are owned separately, but Mr, Marks' purchase included public space at the base of both buildings and two parking garages. Fix-ups are planned for both areas.

“What's interesting about this project is that there are so many different uses and entities involved. It will be a challenge just to coordinate everything,” says Mr. McDonald.

Im Hoeppner, director of real estate finance for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which owns the Marquette Building, says Mr. McDonald is up to the challenge.

“He listens to ownership and to other constituents and he's able to take what he's heard and formulate a viable action plan,” Mr. Hoeppner says.

Mr. McDonald will need such juggling skills at Marina City.

Many observers, including the Marina City condominium owners and local planning aficionados, are scrutinizing Mr. Marks' redevelopment for heresy against original architect Bertram Goldberg's groundbreaking design.

Mr. Marks already has a bevy of plans, centered on blues music, for the 370,000-square-foot landmark property. Already under way is a $25-million renovation of Marina City's former theater building to house the 40,000-square-foot House of Blues, but that's just the start.

The developer says he is close to closing a deal “with a major national hotel operator” to redevelop the 16-story Marina City office building into a blues-themed hotel.

For those who prefer their blues with water, Mr. Marks will offer a Blues Cruise.

Non-blues aspects of the Marina City blueprint include a 50,000-square-foot sports-themed entertainment facility and three or four restaurants. Mr. Marks says he's close to deals with a national chain on the sports facility and with a number of restaurateurs – including one “prominent local player.”

As Much as 2 million square feet of downtown office space may flood the market in the next several years, says a new survey by CB Commercial Real Estate Group Inc.

Among those responsible: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, which will give up 700,000 square feet at Two Illinois Center, and the American College of Surgeons, which will market 400,000 square feet of previously shelved space at 633 St. Clair Place.