March 18--Tribune Media may be closing in on a redevelopment partner for vacant industrial property it owns along the Chicago River.
Sources familiar with the process say Chicago-based Riverside Investment Development has the inside track to redevelop Tribune Media's 5-acre site at 700 W. Chicago Ave., near its Freedom Center printing plant. The property houses a former Chicago Tribune insertion plant that ceased operations in 2012.
Tribune Media spokesman Gary Weitman would not confirm a front-runner for the redevelopment project.
"Our search for a (joint venture) partner continues and when things are finalized, we will make an announcement," Weitman said Wednesday.
Riverside was founded in 2010 by Chicago real estate veteran John O'Donnell. A company spokeswoman declined to comment Wednesday.
The potential redevelopment partnership was first reported by Crain's Chicago Business.
Tribune Media said in September it was seeking partners to redevelop the site. While no specific plans have been revealed, it is considering a number of possibilities including a mixed-use development, sources said. An artist's rendering of the project was released in December.
The closed plant is not the only Chicago property Tribune Media is looking to redevelop. The landmark Tribune Tower may become part of a major Michigan Avenue redevelopment project.
Chicago-based Tribune Media, which owns the iconic neo-Gothic tower, is considering a redevelopment strategy that could potentially triple the space on the tower's property with residential, retail and hotel components. A conceptual study released in December shows the addition of a second tower and a shorter third building on the property.
Tribune Tower has 737,000 square feet of space, but is zoned for up to 2.4 million square feet of development. Named a Chicago landmark in 1989, the 34-story Tribune Tower itself would likely remain a centerpiece of any redevelopment, executives said.
Tribune Media spun off the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and eight other daily newspapers in August, retaining a real estate portfolio that includes 77 assets, 8 million square feet and 1,200 acres of land. Tribune Real Estate is looking at redeveloping Times Mirror Square in Los Angeles, as well as sites in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale in Florida, and Costa Mesa, Calif.
In December, Tribune Media sold a 60-acre property in Baltimore, which netted the company $30 million. The property includes the printing plant for Tribune Publishing's Baltimore Sun, which has a long-term lease for the facility.
rchannick@tribpub.com
