The former Rainforest Cafe building in Chicago’s River North, once known for the 27-foot-long red-eyed frog perched atop it, is set to go back on the leasing market after plans to open a cannabis dispensary to replace the longtime restaurant fell through.
Owners of the two-story, 22,000-square-foot building at 605 N. Clark St. plan to formally start marketing the space to retail tenants in the coming days, Sean Conlon confirmed to CoStar News. He and another longtime investor in Chicago real estate, Joe Scoby, have owned the property since buying it for about $13.7 million in 2015.
The resumption of leasing efforts for the high-traffic location comes more than a year and a half after Progressive Treatment Solutions announced plans to take over the space.
Earlier this month, PTS and partner Bio-Pharm told the Chicago Tribune that they no longer plan to open in the space because of delays including two lawsuits challenging the legality of the dispensary, which is within 1,500 feet of other dispensaries.
Conlon said the building’s owners recently terminated the PTS lease “because of abandonment of the space,” after the tenant never took significant steps toward building out the space or opening the shop. Conlon said the long-term lease had no contingencies for zoning or other approvals.
“We were very patient with them, but eventually our patience ran out,” Conlon said. “The expression ‘high on their own supply’ jumps to mind.”
Conlon declined to say whether the tenant had been making lease payments, citing potential litigation.
PTS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CoStar News.
Broker Steve Horvath of CRE Advising said he plans to put the space on the for-lease market in the next few days. He said there already have been inquiries from prospective tenants since the news that PTS was backing out.
Horvath said the owners are seeking a single tenant to lease the building. Potential tenants include quick-service retail such as nearby Portillo’s and McDonald’s flagship restaurants, or a high-end, international restaurant group looking for a first or second U.S. location. Other possibilities include medical uses or interior design companies looking to move from the nearby Merchandise Mart, he said.
PTS first disclosed plans for the River North dispensary in April 2022, and the plan was approved by local and state agencies. Because it is within 1,500 feet of other cannabis dispensaries, the PTS plan has been the subject of two lawsuits, one by a neighbor and another by the owner of one of the weed shops in the neighborhood, Green Rose.
A lawyer for PTS cited those legal challenges as a reason for backing away from its River North plan, the Tribune reported earlier this month, with PTS saying it would pursue other potential sites.
Landry's-owned Rainforest Cafe had leased the River North building since 1997 before shutting down in August 2020, just a few months into COVID-19. Much of the Rainforest’s jungle-like motif, including the massive frog and animatronic creatures inside, has been removed.
Although the area is known for residential high-rises, Conlon said there are no plans to build anything taller on the former Rainforest site.
“We love it as a long-term asset,” Conlon said.
Conlon, an Ireland native who arrived in Chicago as a janitor, over several years acquired properties throughout the city and eventually throughout the country. He also is known for a longtime role in the house-flipping reality TV show “The Deed.”
The CEO and founder of merchant bank Conlon & Co. is now based in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.