Related Midwest Restarts Long-Stalled Chicago High-Rise on Venture

A couple of weeks ago, many were surprised at Related Midwest’s restart of developer’s Chicago Tower downtown. In fact, this was a long awaited journey for the developers since 2008, when the Chicago high-rise was left stagnant.

Related Midwest’s original plans were to build a 950,000-square-foot, 60-story, LEED Silver tower which included 504 luxury apartments (from studios to three bedrooms), street-level restaurant, retail space, and 470 parking spaces, but the construction had stopped after the property already gotten to the 28^th floor. But the previous owners, Waterview L.L.C. had their hearts set on Waterview Tower, a 90-story building that featured 233 luxury residential condos and 200-room Shangri-La hotel.

The long-stalled property was taking over by Related Real Estate Recovery Fund, the previous owner of Waterview L.L.C. The good news is that Related has joined together with Clark Wacker L.L.C. to restart to development with the help of the joint venture.

According to Commercial Property Executive, “While the condo market is making a return, the high-end rental market is still a desired commodity for many Chicagoans,” said Curt Baily, president of Related Midwest. “The flexibility that renting provides continues to make renting a good option for many downtown.”

Many can look forward to a new luxury rental high-rise being built by Related Midwest in the inner suburb at 500 North Lake Shore Drive, along with marketing One Evanston, but that’s not all, the company will soon add three marquee condo projects to its portfolio.

The completion of 111 W. Wacker Drive on the Chicago River’s south bank is scheduled for spring 2014.