MORE THAN A LOT

The surface parking lot at River North's Clark and Hubbard holds sentimental value for Friedman's Albert Friedman: It's the first site he owned and the only site where he ever tore down a building—an old rooming house that gave him an appreciation for the historic neighborhood 40 years ago. (If only he learned to ride a bike there, he'd have the sentimental trifecta.) But for other people, it's about to become a lot more.

We snapped AMLI CEO Greg Mutz and Albert, along with the development team from Walsh Construction and Alderman Brendan Reilly, broke ground on a new 50-story apartment tower, AMLI River North, on the site Monday. Albert says this is about the 10th iteration of the plan for this site—he wanted to get it just right to fit into the historic character of the neighborhood, while still leaving room for a spectacular amenity floor and roof deck on top of the building.