Chicago Development News

A Chicago-based developer hopes to bring two new high-rise buildings to the Gold Coast, combining to add more than 450 new apartments and thousands of square feet of new retail space to the area. Newcastle Limited wants to build the properties on State Street at the site of some vacant commercial buildings and a Barnes & Noble bookstore.

The first building would go on the corner of Division and State where some low-rise structures currently exist. This 11-story building would feature around 100 rental units, amenity space, a garage and ground-level retail space.

A much larger, 39-story tower is slated to go in at the site of the bookstore on State Street. Here, developers plan to add more than 360 rental apartments, more commercial space and more parking.

A new 56-story apartment high-rise is now open on Michigan Avenue. Essex on the Park just welcomed its first residents two years after the project originally broke ground.

The new tower includes an impressive four-story enclosed atrium, infinity-edge swimming pool and valet parking. In addition, the building offers a fitness center, a dog run and pet grooming station, a demonstration kitchen and a party room.

The property includes space for nearly 480 luxury apartments with floor-to-ceiling glass in everything from a traditional studio floor plan to a penthouse duplex with private terraces. Essex on the Park also holds the honor of a Well Certification, the first apartment building in Chicago to receive the distinction.

Located just across from Grant Park,

The West Loop is about to gain a new condo project. The same developer behind the 1000M high-rise plans for a seven-story condo building across from Skinner Park.

That 42-unit building will bring condos to an area that’s been much more focused on rentals lately. The new glass and gray brick building plans for the option of a two- or three-bedroom floor plan with designs ranging from 1,200 to 2,000 square feet of living space.

Plans call for a more affordable entry price, delivered with more limited amenities than other buildings in the area. The West Loop location, however, is expected to be an enticing extra, with the nearby park and dog park.

Located at Loomis and Monroe, the condos take the place of a former nursing and treatment center. Developers hope

Chicago was the leader in new construction activity last month, according to two key measurements outlined in a recent report from BuildFax. As noted, Chicago was just one of four metro areas that saw a major jump in new construction and work on existing homes, ranking ahead of New York City, Washington D.C., and Dallas in terms of year-over-year increases in both categories.

Maintenance activity in Chicago spiked 20 percent in February compared to the same month last year, and new construction increased by a whopping 60 percent. For comparison, New York registered just a 51 percent increase in new construction and Washington D.C. only a 15 percent increase in maintenance work to existing homes.

Despite the positive new construction numbers overall,

Just days after its unveiling, changes may be coming to a massive new development slated for an area close to Soldier Field. Originally, plans called for constructing skyscrapers and a transit center to top train tracks in the area.

The location of One Central sits just to the west of Lake Shore Drive, between the Field Museum and McCormick Place. While the Wisconsin-based developer hasn’t said how large or how tall those skyscrapers would be, at least one area leader is already working to reduce density and building height on the 34-acre property. Some area residents are concerned about losing lake views.

At the same time, a new platform covering Metra tracks could give those same residents and tourists easier access from an area west of the tracks to the

A new hotel development is reportedly being planned for another surface parking lot in Chicago’s booming River North neighborhood. According to Crain’s, developers are looking to add the first Andaz Hotel in Chicago, which will be located at 430 N. LaSalle Drive if all goes according to plan.

As noted in the report, a timeline for the project is still unknown, but renderings show a towering glass structure that could potentially rise 18 stories high and hold 199 hotel rooms.

The hotel market in Chicago has gotten considerably more crowded in recent years and hotel room supply has apparently spiked by roughly 10 percent just since the project was approve by the City Council.

Should the development move forward, Illinois would be just the sixth U.S. state

Chicago-based developer Draper & Kramer has officially started work on a new 24-story, 275-unit apartment tower at 2111 S. Wabash Avenue. Despite securing City Council approval back in 2016, the firm was apparently waiting on other development near McCormick Place to happen before starting construction for their latest South Loop project.

Major development throughout Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood certainly isn't lacking and has actually been fairly widespread in recent months and years. The new Wintrust Arena project and a number of hotels have recently been added to the area’s landscape, and high-profile projects like NEMA, Essex on the Park, and 1326 S. Michigan are also getting closer to being finished as well.

Renderings on the new 2111 S. Wabash

As work continues on the mega-overhaul of Chicago’s former main post office, new tenants seem to be signing leases at a more regular pace. According to one of the more recent reports from the Chicago Tribune, the latest company that appears to be heading for 433 W. Van Buren Street is Chicago-based ad agency AbelsonTaylor.

As noted in the report, AbelsonTaylor will make the move from 33 W. Monroe by March 2020, at which point their new 15-year lease at The Old Post Office begins for a roughly 85,000 square foot space.

Back in June of last year, Walgreens announced a 200,000 square foot lease inside the building, and since then, activity has definitely picked up.

Oakbrook Terrace-based Ferrara Candy Co. also has plans to move into a 77,000 square foot

One of the most ambitious new projects in recent memory is reportedly in the works, and it’s a development that could drastically alter the lakefront landscape as we know it. According to a report from Crain’s, plans could potentially call for a mix of residential, office, and retail space that would encompass roughly 34 acres OVER the railroad tracks just west of Solider Field.

As mentioned in the Crain’s report, Wisconsin developer Bob Dunn, along with Chicago developer Gerald Fogelson, who purchased the air rights over the railroad tracks over 20 years ago, are part of the development group leading the effort, and their proposal will also be presented to the public by Alderman Pat Dowell, whose ward includes the development site.

If approved, the

No. 9 Walton has been one of downtown Chicago’s hottest buildings over the past couple years, and some of the Windy City’s premier celebrities and CEOs have all purchased a unit inside the building since construction wrapped up last year.

According to a recent report from The Real Deal, the building’s newest buyer is John Groetelaars, CEO of Chicago-based hospital bedmaker Hill-Rom Holdings.

As mentioned by The Real Deal, the unit was purchased from a trust for nearly $3.5 million and has right around 2,700 square feet of total living space. The Tribune also ran a story that the 3-bedroom, 3.5 bathroom condo was purchased directly from JDL Development and was originally listed for $3.65 million back in November.

With so much interest in the building, some