New 427-Unit Apartment Tower Set for River North

According to this ChicagoRealEstateDaily article, AMLI Residential is partnering up with developer Friedman Properties to build a 49 story apartment building in the Southeast corner of Clark and Hubbard.  The building isn’t slated to begin until spring of 2011 at the very earliest but a completion date of 2013 seems to be a good bet.

Taking advantage of having the Greenway Self Park right next door, the AMLI building’s residents will enjoy a large landscaped roof deck on top of the garage. Amenities will include a swimming pool, a jogging path and dog runs.  Pretty cool!

As long as they keep saving the old three story buildings in River North and keep building on surface parking lots, I’ll be a happy camper.

Check out the full ChicagoRealEstateDaily article by clicking HERE!

Village Green seeking TIF money to redevelop a historic Loop highrise!

I really really hope this building gets started soon.  I have a friend who lives in another Village Green rental building and let me tell you that they did an amazing job with the apartments and I’m confident that Village Green will do the same for 188 W. Randolph.  Now I just gotta try to get in to one of those below market rent apartments!

Tower seeks public financing

20% of landmark would be set aside as lower-rent units

January 13, 2010

DAVID ROEDER – droeder@suntimes.com

Partially masked by nets and scaffolding for months, the Jazz Age skyscraper at 188 W. Randolph looks like a wounded veteran of the real estate crash. To restart its renovation, the owners are in hot pursuit of public financing.

Apartment builder Village Green Cos. has asked the Illinois Housing Development Authority to issue tax-free bonds on its behalf. And City Hall has begun to move on Village Green’s request to establish a tax-increment financing district that could help the project.

The 188 W. Randolph building, known in its early life as the Steuben Club Building, is remembered more recently for its falling terra-cotta. Village Green, which bought the building out of bankruptcy for $10 million in 2005, fixed the worst of it and put up the scaffolding to protect pedestrians. But the richly ornamented terra-cotta is what makes the building special and contributes to its status as a Chicago landmark.

Kenneth Barnes, senior vice president for development at Village Green, said public support is justified by the historic preservation.

Twenty percent of the apartments would be set aside at below-market rents, calculated as affordable for families with 50 percent of the city’s median income.

The office building would be converted to 310 apartments, Barnes said. Village Green will occupy lower-floor commercial space, turning it into its Chicago regional office….

Check out the full Chicago Sun Times article by clicking HERE!

Trio in the Fulton River District and Mondial in River West likely to go rental soon.

Another Crain’s Chicago Business article about the most recent industry troubles.  Mostly because of very poor sales figures, two more condo buildings, Trio, located in the Fulton River District and Mondial, located in the River West neighborhood may go rental very soon.

2 downtown condo projects may switch to apartments

By: Alby Gallun Oct. 28, 2009

(Crain’s) — With the condominium market stuck in a funk, two more downtown condo developers are considering replacing “For Sale” signs with ones that say “For Rent.”

The Mondial, a 141-unit condo project in River West, and the 100-unit Trio high-rise under construction in the West Loop could go rental in the coming months, a switch that has become increasingly attractive in an overbuilt and cutthroat downtown condo market.

“We’re just trying to figure out how fast all the other guys who are dumping units will clear the marketplace,” says Jack Berger, the developer of the Mondial, a nearly finished 15-story building at 900 W. Huron Street.

Mr. Berger says he recently canceled about 50 purchase contracts for condos in the project and gave the buyers their deposits back. Yet he hasn’t given up completely on condos, saying he expects to make a final decision by the end of the year on whether to switch over to apartments.

“Do you think someone who has a contract for a $450,000 unit that they signed two years ago is going to close?” Mr. Berger asks. “They aren’t going to close, so why alienate the marketplace? We have to do the responsible thing.”

Many condo buyers nowadays can’t get a loan to finance a new condo purchase, one reason downtown developers are sitting on so many unsold units. Switching to apartments could make sense for projects close to completion, allowing developers to trade a risky condo market for a more stable, albeit still sluggish, downtown rental market….

To read the full Crain’s article, click HERE!

Developer Sean Conlon proposes a 7 story River West apartment building!

Thanks again to Crain’s Chicago for this article about developer and real estate veteran Sean Conlon’s proposed apartment building in Chicago’s River West neighborhood, located at 1100 W. Grand Avenue.  This location used to house a gas station but after purchasing the property for $1.9M, the existing building and underground gas tanks have been removed.  This proposed rental building will include 4,000 square feet of ground floor retail and 59 parking spaces.  The amount of apartments is unknown at this point.

I’m pretty excited about this proposed building, not only because I live a couple blocks away but I truely believe this neighborhood has so much potential and Mr. Conlon is helping it reach that potential.  I would love to see a contemporary building with floor to ceiling windows which will take advantage of the amazing skyline view. 

Check out the full article by clicking HERE!

514 luxury apartments proposed for Crowne Plaza parking lot in the West Loop

At a time when barely anything is being proposed in Chicago, let alone the West Loop, this article coming from Gazette Chicago speaks about a 514 luxury apartment development planned for Crowne Plaza’sparking lot.  Included in the development, proposed by Skokie developer F&F Realty, Ltd., is 10,000 square feet of retail space fronting Halsted Street.  The parking lot is located at the Southeast corner of Halsted and Madison Streets.

This parking lot was just begging for something of this magnitude for such a long time.  Now, lets all say a prayer that the design will be good.

Check out the full Gazette Chicago article by clicking HERE!

Huge retail transformation for Presidential Towers in the West Loop!

Retail leases launch Presidential Towers redevelopment

By Eddie Baeb, Aug. 12, 2009

(Crain’s) — A health club and a trendy breakfast restaurant have signed leases to become the first new retail tenants at Presidential Towers in the West Loop, paving the way for a major redevelopment to take place beginning later this year.

Chicago-based Fitness Formula Ltd. has leased 52,043 square feet that will be spread over two levels along Clinton Street, where a glass-enclosed, three-story atrium will be built to replace a loading dock there now.

The restaurant Yolk has leased 4,200 square feet just south of the new gym that will also front Clinton between Madison and Monroe streets.

A big thanks to ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com for the article.  I am 110% for this project and only wish it could start construction earlier than they’re saying.  Right now, the Presidential Towers retail and parking podium is a huge, blank, brick wall and is basically an indoor mall but now, this will make it so the storefronts are facing the outside…the more modern version of a mall. 

Check out the full article by clicking HERE!

 

The Roosevelt Collection hit hard…switching from condos to apartments!

Word broke around a week ago that The Lofts at Roosevelt Collection, located around 150 W. Roosevelt Road in Chicago’s South Loop.  Developed by Centrum Properties, The Lofts at Roosevelt Collection was set to include 342 loft condominiums in addition to a 300,000 square-feet of retail space.  With around 60% of the homes under contract, this is a hard hit…but at least these homeowners received their earnest money back.  According to this ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com article, the development will be anchored by a 16 screen Kerasotes Showplace movie theater and a David Barton gym with the remaining retail space at about 50% leased.  Centrum is in “serious negotiations” with tenants for another 40% of the space which is great news.  So if you’re in the market for a brand spankin’ new loft apartment, check out their website or give the leasing office at call at 312-588-1688.  Rents start at $1,375/month for a one-bedroom and $2,300 for two bedrooms.

Check out the full article by clicking HERE!

Millennium Park Plaza expansion. Filling up a final piece of Millennium Park real estate.

When first proposed, I found that this building was called Millennium Park Plaza but unfortunately, that name is already taken by the building right behind this proposed residential building.  The address also says it is at 151 N. Michigan Avenue which is the address for the current building.  It wasn’t until I did a little more research and found out this building would be an addition to the 26 year old Millennium Park Plaza apartment building. 

According to this ChicagoRealEstateDaily article, the developers originally wanted 74 luxury apartments but the plan has now changed to more than double the original amount…now 185.  The building will also include retail on the first floor, a restaurant on the second and third floors as well as a winter garden and thirty foot tall terrace overlooking Millennium Park.  From the looks of it, the existing Millennium Park Plaza’s first few floors will also be reclad.

Does anyone have any updated information they can contribute?

Village Green plans for a $141M apartment conversion in a historic Loop building!

This article from ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com, talks about an upcoming apartment conversion from Village Greenin the historic Gothic Revival office building, located at 188 W. Randolph Street, in the Loop.  This 45 story building served as office space but became obsolete and went into terrible disrepair.  As recent as a few years ago, pieces of terra cotta facade from the tower portion of the building dislodged and fell to the street below…not good.  Since then, much of the tower has been covered to prevent more from falling.

When open, the building will be named Randolph Tower City Apartments and judging from other Village Green properties, including MDA Chicago City Apartments and the Fisher Building, this new building will be amazing when complete.  Because of the major overhaul needed, and the lack of available financing, Village Green is looking to the City of Chicago to provide TIF financing for this project. 

According to the article, there will be 313 apartments with a cost of $450,000 per unit when renovation and conversion is complete.  Because of this extremely high cost, the buildings original owner planned to demolish the building because the cost to build an entirely new building would be much less than converting to apartments.  Construction is slated to begin in early 2010 and should be complete in 2012!

Check out the full article by clicking here!

New rental tower to replace a parking garage eyesore in the Loop. Score!

There’s not a lot of information going on about this proposed apartment tower, located at 171 N. Wabash Avenue, but what we do know is that it went to Chicago’s Plan Commission in August 2008 and was approved.  This rental tower is being developed by M&R Development LLC and will include up to 321 apartments in 44 stories.  Approximately 25,000 square feet of retail and office space will also be included in addition to 431 parking spots.  You’ll see in the pictures that the parking garage wraps around the neighboring building, MDA Chicago City Apartments, a very nice Village Green rental community. 

Anyone have further information?  It would be much appreciated!

Looking to the Southwest.

Looking to the Northeast from Wabash Avenue.