Development

CHICAGO — Friedman Properties has completed the first phase of renovations at the Reid Murdoch Building in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. The improvements included renovations to the lobby, corridors, restrooms and elevator cabs, as well as a new fully furnished, riverfront speculative office suite. Friedman acquired the eight-story, 320,000-square-foot building in 1998 and completed initial redevelopment in 2002. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a Chicago Landmark. The Reid Murdoch Building was originally constructed in 1914 as office, warehouse and manufacturing facilities for Reid, Murdoch & Co., one of the country’s largest wholesale grocers. The city purchased the property in 1955 to house traffic courts and other municipal offices, a use it retained until Friedman’s acquisition. Designed by George Nimmons, the building is a notable example of the “Chicago School” of architecture, with a red brick façade and decorative terra-cotta embellishments covering a steel-and-concrete skeleton. In 1926, the property’s symmetry was adjusted to accommodate the widening of LaSalle Street, reducing the side of the building west of the central tower to five window bays, while the east side retained its original six. The lobby now features a mix of exposed ceilings …