WORTH ITS SALT: The Three Top Lounge, connected to the Salt Shed via skybridge, provides views to the Chicago skyline (Josh Druding)
Property includes 5,000-capacity outdoor concert space; 3,600-capacity indoor hall
Chicago’s Three Top Lounge, with panoramic, floor-to-ceiling rooftop views of the Windy City, is the latest venture from 16 on Center’s Bruce Finkelman and Craig Golden, the team behind the Salt Shed and other prominent Chicago-area venues.
“One of the things that is an amazing touchstone for Craig and myself as entrepreneurs, and builders and developers — as people who like to build cool stuff — is getting to see people in your space, utilizing the space how you intended it to be,” said Finkelman, managing partner of 16 on Center.
The adaptive, rooftop indoor/outdoor space at the Salt Shed is the newest addition. Ownership declined to say how much it cost to build it.
The property also features the 5,000-capacity Fairgrounds, an outdoor concert space on the Chicago River, and the Shed, a 3,600-capacity indoor performance hall in the old Morton Salt complex.
When it opened in February 2023, the $20 million Shed featured multi-level seating and premium offerings with access to balcony opera boxes, custom bars and expedited entry. It was an ambitious leap from the smaller 16 on Center properties including Empty Bottle (400 capacity) and Thalia Hall (800) but, like the mineral it’s named for, fans pour into the facility.
In 2024, according to Pollstar data, The Shed hosted 48 shows with 138,113 tickets sold and a gross of $7,253,990.
The larger outdoor Fairgrounds space hosted 29 events between May 20 and Sept. 15 with 139,456 tickets sold and a gross of $8,985,672.
Refurbishing historic buildings, like the 100-year-old Morton Salt facility, into community centers for food, art and music is central to the mission. The name 16 on Center is the construction term for a center mark that creates the strongest build, which is how Finkelman and Golden approach each project. Three Top Lounge was no exception.
RE-STORAGE: Three Top Lounge’s interior was previously a salt storage room at the old Morton Salt industrial complex. (Courtesy venue)
“We are the owners, developers, general contractors and operators,” said Golden, president of Blue Star Properties and partner in 16 on Center. “Because we control the construction process, we are able to stand there and adapt to whatever happens that day. We can react to our own desires.”
Originally designed to house local salt packing and distribution, Morton Salt production ceased in 2015. It opened the door for 16OC and Blue Star Properties, alongside R2 and Sky Deck, to protect the architectural integrity while transforming the space into an entertainment destination. They kept as much of the original structure as possible, including the conveyor belt that moved salt from boats on the river to the warehouse.
During development and construction, the concert hall was the focus, but the former salt storage locker which is now the Three Top Lounge captured Golden’s imagination.
“When you walked out onto the roof, it had such a beautiful view of the Chicago skyline,” Golden explained. “A lot of it was practical, which means we didn’t know we could do it until we figured out how to do it. It wasn’t planned in advance.”
The resulting space, which is connected to the Shed by a skybridge, feels like it’s been there all along with rich tones, wood, leather and a bar stocked with all the partners’ favorite brands. Finkelman calls it “high-touch service” with plans to host private events.
“We were trying to make it into a comfortable, warm, elegant, unique experience,” said Golden. “Not unlike The Shed or other venues that we do; we like to have a moment when you walk in and your heart skips a little beat and you think, ‘I did not expect this to be here.’ This place does that well.”
The lounge can be programmed inside and outdoors with a retractable roof planned for the future and a patio setting that overlooks the Fairgrounds.
The Three Top Lounge officially opens this month, and according to Finkelman by the end of 2024, most of the available space elsewhere in the complex will be leased.
Three Top Lounge “was a shed of some type, much like the one next door, and it looks like it’s been there a long time,” said Golden. “It’s a warm, wonderful experience to be in the place; and how can we ask for more than that?”
