A proposed rendering of a renovated Morton Salt building. (Credit: Chicago Department of Planning and Development)

Themetamorphosis of the land along the North Branch of the Chicago River from an industrialpowerhouse into Chicago’s newest community area is poised to take another giant step forward at Wednesday’s full City Council meeting.

The City Council’s Zoning Committee unanimously advancedon Tuesdayplans to transform the city’s set-to-be-landmarked Morton Salt buildingon Goose Islandinto a4,000-seat performancevenueandofficesthat will be visible from the Kennedy Expressway.

The project is backed by Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward), who said during the Jan. 21 Plan Commission meeting that it would “bring some culture to our city” at a time when the city’s entertainment industryhas been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While keeping the instantly recognizable MortonSaltsign intact, the$30million project would create 200 construction jobs and about 50 permanent jobs and will generate $4.5 million in annual tax revenues, according to planspresented to the Plan Commission.

The Chicago Commission on Landmarks has already granted preliminary landmark protection to the sign and brick building. That decision must also be approved by the PlanCommission, Zoning Committee and City Council.

MortonSaltopened its Elston Avenue factory in1929, andshuttered it in 2015. The property was sold in 2017.

The redevelopment required special permission from cityofficialsbecause the4.2-acreproject is within 100 feet of the Chicago River.

But the project would not have been allowed under the city’s rulesthat roped off residential and commercial development on the 760 acres betweenthe Chicago River on the east, Kennedy Expressway on the west, Kinzie Street on the south andWrightwood Avenue on the north.

In July 2017, the City Council changed those rulesand set off what Ald. Brian Hopkins(2nd Ward) predicted would be an era of fast and furious development “on a scale rarely seen, probably since the Great Chicago Fire.”

The change that laid thegroundworkfor the new Salt District, which will include61,000 square feet of office space,also allowed city officials to approve the Lincoln Yards developmentless than a half mile to the north.

The Morton Salt building is also 1.5 miles north of plans approved by the City Council for three office buildings and a residential tower with 330 apartments to be built at 700 W. Chicago Ave., near the Tribune’s printing plant on land that is now home to a vacant industrial building.

Contact Heather Cherone:@HeatherCherone| (773) 569-1863 |[email protected]