"With landmarks designation, the city will have preserved some of the River North neighborhood's most historic and distinctive buildings," says Commission Chairman David Mosena.

Tax increment financing is providing $12.5 million for the Medinah Temple/Tree Studios project. Historic Preservation Associates, with help from preservationist Albert Friedman, and Bloomingdale's is working on a project that will open the entire 600 block of N. State Street to the public for the first time. Bloomingdale's plans to open its first-ever 130,000-sf Home Store in four stories of Medinah Temple. Restoration of the Temple's distinctive architectural features and redevelopment of the building's interior features would begin this fall, with the store's opening scheduled for spring 2002.

Medinah Temple, built with Islamic Revival-style architecture, sits at the corner of Wabash and Ontario. It has been the Chicago headquarters for the Shriners organization since 1912. The Tree Studios, originally built in 1894 with annexes added in 1912 and 1913, are next door. The artists' colony has been long-sought by developers.