With land at River North quickly becoming scarce, we're seeing more unlikely players enter the real estate game. The newest entrant is the Archdiocese of Chicago, which retained Eastdil Secured to handle bids on the parking lot across the street from Holy Name Cathedral.

It's a unique redevelopment opportunity in the right hands. The lot measures 90k SF and its proximity to the Red Line subway makes it ideal for TOD. Other options for repositioning the lot could include mixed-use residential, retail and hotel, it could have a new greenspace component and have improved pedestrian access, Curbed reports.

Speculation now turns to how much money Eastdil can get for the lot. Analysts predict it could sell for $50M to $100M. Given all the construction activity in River North and the declining availability of land, we would think the higher number is realistic. The Archdiocese isn't the only religious institution dipping its toes into the real estate pool. Moody Bible Institute wants more flexible rezoning of parts of its campus to court developers seeking redevelopment opps in River North. [Curbed]