To revitalize the area, the city has approved three projects to turn vacant commercial space into affordable housing. While some residents are skeptical, the LaSalle Reimagined Initiative is just one of many creative solutions urban planners are raising to fill the space. Chicago's downtown office space posted a 22.4% vacancy rate in the first quarter of 2023, which poses the question: What does the city do with all that vacant commercial office space? The LaSalle Reimagined Initiative: A new housing developmentThree adaptive reuse proposals were selected for the LaSalle Reimagined Initiative, Chicago's ambitious plan to repurpose a portion of LaSalle Street's 5 million square feet of vacant commercial space into mixed-income housing. Marisa Novara, the commissioner of Chicago's Department of Housing, said that the LaSalle Reimagined Initiative hopes to create nearly 600 affordable-housing units.

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Persons: Chicago's, —, Marisa Novara, who's, Amy Masters, Masters, DOH Organizations: LaSalle, Service, Chicago's Department of Housing, Association of Chicago Locations: Chicago's, LaSalle Street's, Chicago, Novara