The long-quiet former Central YMCA in the heart of the Loop is finally getting its comeback tour. With key zoning variations approved and a fresh city renovation permit in hand, the landmark building at 19 S. LaSalle is cleared for a major conversion into a hybrid hotel-and-apartment hub.
The 16-story William LeBaron Jenney high-rise is set to become 32 hotel rooms, 175 residential units and about 6,600 square feet of ground-floor retail, under plans from Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture. In a very downtown move, the project skips car parking entirely and instead leans on a 105-space bike room split between the ground floor and basement. Developer Envoi Partners has tapped Power Construction to lead the build once remaining permits and incentives fall into place.
As reported by Urbanize Chicago, the Zoning Board of Appeals signed off on a variation that allows alternative compliance with minimum on-site open space rules, plus another variation that trims the required transparent window area from 194 to 179 square feet. The new renovation permit covers interior work that will set the stage for separate unit build-out permits and additional construction approvals.
What the Project Will Contain
Local coverage has been tracking this deal for a while. Envoi Partners bought the property in October 2024, and the overall conversion clocks in at roughly 207 combined lodging and residential units, according to Chicago YIMBY. The plan slots 32 hotel rooms on the second and third floors, while floors four through sixteen turn into 175 apartments. The second floor also picks up leasing offices and a fitness center as part of the entry experience.
Design, Amenities And Parking
Project documents filed with the Zoning Board of Appeals lay out a fairly packed amenity lineup. Residents are in line for coworking space on the fifth floor, a theater on the seventh and an outdoor rooftop deck with grilling stations on the sixteenth floor. The plans also show two ground-floor retail spaces totaling about 6,600 square feet.
What you will not find is a parking garage. Instead, the building doubles down on transit-oriented living with a 105-space bike room shared between the ground floor and basement, a strategy that fits neatly into the Loop’s car-light lifestyle and the city’s push for adaptive reuse of older office buildings.
Landmark Status And Approvals
This overhaul follows the building’s formal landmark designation late last year, which locked in protections for its exterior while giving the interior room to evolve. In December 2025, the City Council passed an ordinance granting historical landmark status, safeguarding the building’s elevations while still allowing them to be reworked for the new hotel-and-residential program. The legislative history for that move is posted in the city docket through the Chicago City Council.
Part Of A Wider LaSalle Makeover
The 19 S. LaSalle conversion is one piece of the broader LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative, which aims to bring residents, retail and cultural life back to the Loop’s financial canyon. Preservation advocates and city officials have pitched these adaptive-reuse plays as a way to put people back into buildings that once hummed with office workers.
Groups like Preservation Chicago point out that the program marries landmark protections with subsidies and tax credits that help make these complicated conversions financially workable. The old YMCA-turned-mixed-use project fits squarely into that template.
Next Steps And Timeline
With the ZBA sign-offs and a renovation permit secured, general contractor Power Construction can start phased work and chase the remaining unit build-out permits, Urbanize Chicago notes. The roughly $64 million project does not yet have a public completion date, and the team still has to coordinate landmark-sensitive restoration work along with any final public incentives before construction really ramps up.
Old Loop YMCA Gets 207-Unit Makeover was first detailed last fall, when Hoodline reported on the interior demolition permit and early budget outline. Expect more eyes on permit filings and construction notices as this once-sleepy Loop landmark heads for a very active new life.
