Richard A. “Richie” Stein, the developer whose firm helped redraw major pieces of downtown Chicago, died Saturday, June 6, at 87. Over a long career that ran from convention-center expansions to soaring office towers in the Loop, Stein became known for chasing big, complicated deals and for pushing minority and women owned contractors into high profile work. His fingerprints are on McCormick Place, the United Center and several prominent Loop buildings.
As reported by The Real Deal, Stein & Company was one of the firms behind those marquee projects and later became part of Mesirow. The outlet notes the company’s role in expanding McCormick Place and lists the AT&T Corporate Center and the United Center as among Stein’s highest profile deals that helped define Chicago’s modern skyline.
According to Stein’s own development site, he sold Stein & Company to Mesirow years earlier and, after nearly two decades with the firm, stepped away at the end of 2014 to pursue other projects. That shift capped a career that moved back and forth between large civic contracts and ambitious private developments.
Big Bets, Big Footprint
Stein was known for taking financial swings to get marquee deals across the finish line. The Real Deal reports he personally guaranteed roughly $375 million in debt on the AT&T Corporate Center and used the project to meet an early goal of steering 25 percent of construction contracts to minority owned firms and 5 percent to businesses owned by women. Julia Stasch, a former president and COO of Stein’s company, told the publication, “Nothing gave him more pleasure than the thrill of the chase and the satisfaction of landing a deal.” That blend of risk tolerance and attention to inclusive contracting left a visible mark on downtown development.
From Selling the Firm to Building Mesirow’s Home
After Stein & Company’s sale, Mesirow enlisted Stein to develop a tower on Clark Street that later became the firm’s headquarters; Mesirow now lists its corporate address at 353 North Clark Street. Over the decades, his teams expanded convention and event space and took on consulting assignments that tied private projects to civic and cultural efforts across the city.
Stein’s death leaves behind a skyline packed with projects that echo his dealmaking style and his relatively early push for inclusion in construction contracting. Colleagues and city watchers say those developments still underpin how Chicago hosts conventions, sports and business gatherings, and they stand as markers of a developer who was not shy about betting big on the city.
