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Working Lunch

Friday, January 17, 2025

It's lunchtime, Chicago.

The Chicago Plan Commission on Thursday endorsed the first phase of a plan by the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families to remake the Near West Side neighborhood around the United Center.

This initial step will include the privately financed construction of a 6,000-seat music hall, a boutique hotel and nearly 10 acres of green space, including play areas for all age groups. The initial phase also includes several parking garages topped by elevated parks open to the public, with retail spaces and cafes on the ground floors.

And over in Winnetka, the red brick Georgian Revival mansion made famous by the 1990 film “Home Alone” sold on Thursday for $5.5 million — slightly above its $5.25 million asking price.

Read that story and more in today's Working Lunch.

There will be no Working Lunch newsletter Monday, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

Get news alerts | Top business stories | Real estate

Bulls’ and Blackhawks’ plan to begin remaking the neighborhood surrounding United Center wins commission approval

The first phase of development will be the centerpiece of a 15-year, $7 billion plan dubbed the 1901 Project that could eventually add 9,463 new homes, with 20% reserved for affordable housing.

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Winnetka house made famous by the movie ‘Home Alone’ sells for $5.5M

The five-bedroom mansion has gotten its first new owners in 13 years — and seven years after the current owners renovated and expanded it.

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Chicago Reader sees layoffs and CEO exit as alternative weekly struggles to survive

Driven by an “urgent need to reduce costs” and the “imminent risk of closure” amid financial challenges, the Reader announced the layoffs of six nonunion employees, organizational restructuring and the resignation of CEO Solomon Lieberman.

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Chicago business owner Mellody Hobson to step down as lead independent director at Starbucks

Hobson has been a Starbucks board member for more than 20 years and has served as the board’s vice chair, chair and, most recently, lead independent director.

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Chicago Housing Authority ordered to pay $24 million in lead poisoning lawsuit brought by two residents

The residents alleged the defendants knew their unit had lead-based paint and that their children suffered “severe lead poisoning.”

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Yellow Banana-operated Auburn Gresham supermarket reopens after more than two years of pushed dates

The city announced a $13.5 million grant for Ohio-based Yellow Banana to reopen the Auburn Gresham supermarket and acquire and renovate five other Save-A-Lots on the South and West sides in 2022.

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