River North
Merchandise Mart, gallery district, creative office.
The River North Read
River North sits north of the Chicago River, west of Michigan Avenue — anchored by The Merchandise Mart, one of the largest commercial buildings in the world by floor area, now operating primarily as tech/design creative office. The gallery district along West Superior and Franklin gives the submarket its identity.
Ground-floor retail and street-level dining are dense. Multifamily has been the growth story of the last decade — high-rise residential filling in between the office and the river. Northern Trust and other financial-services anchors on the eastern edge extend the Loop's financial character across the river.
- The Merchandise Mart4M SF adaptive-reuse creative office + tech + design showrooms + Chicago Sun-Times.
- Northern TrustFinancial-services corporate anchor on the eastern edge.
- AMA Plaza (formerly IBM Plaza)Mies van der Rohe-designed office tower on the river.
- Nobu HotelBoutique hospitality anchor.
- Wells Street (retail + dining)
- Franklin Street (gallery district)
- West Superior (gallery district)
- Hubbard Street
- CTA Brown/Purple Line — Merchandise Mart, Chicago
- CTA Red Line — Grand
- Riverwalk pedestrian access to the Loop
- Creative office (design, tech, media)
- Financial services (east edge)
- Ground-floor restaurant + gallery retail
- High-rise multifamily
Everything River North Commercial Real Estate
Substantive guidance for the entire Cook County CRE journey — buy-side, sell-side, investment strategy, leasing, financing, and 1031 exchange. Each spoke is a county-level resource applied to River North.
Frequently Asked Questions — River North
What kind of tenant does River North attract vs. Fulton Market?
Both are creative-office markets, but River North skews more design-and-media (advertising, PR, architecture, showrooms, media production) while Fulton Market is more tech-and-restaurant. River North has deeper historic gallery character; Fulton Market has newer restaurant density.
Is The Merchandise Mart still relevant?
Very much so. It's been progressively repositioned — trade showrooms remain (the design and residential-furniture trades still anchor floors) but tech tenants (Motorola Mobility, PayPal historically, Braintree) plus 1871 tech incubator have redefined its identity. It's the single largest office asset in the submarket.
Who covers River North for the Linton Global Expansion Team?
The founding Illinois operator seat is open. River North transactions run through the Linton Global Solutions referral-partner network. Contact mike@lintonglobal.com for an introduction to a licensed Illinois broker in the LGS network.
Adjacent Cook County Submarkets
Working a deal in River North?
Contact Linton Global Solutions and we will introduce you to a licensed Illinois referral partner in the LGS network. Michael R. Linton is Florida-licensed (BK703722) and does not personally represent Illinois transactions — the LGS network handles Chicagoland execution while the founding Illinois operator is being recruited.
Request an Introduction