Last week we noted that attached homes in the West Loop tend to stay on the market longer than their citywide counterparts, according to Multiple Listing Service of Northern Illinois statistics.
That’s why we found it interesting that developer Robert Horner of Winthrop Properties LLC has decided to build an apartment building instead of a condo high-rise in the West Loop, according to a Crain’s Chicago Business article.
The $80-million building, at 1035 W Van Buren St, will have 325 units, according to the article. It’s slated to break ground in the fall.
Horner told Crain’s that he made the switch because in slower market conditions, it’s easier to sell apartments than condos, which he feared would have a longer presale period.
This is the second big announcement we’ve heard about an apartment tower going up in or near the Loop: Midwest Property Group has plans to build a 43-story apartment building with 329 units at the northwest corner of Lake and Wells streets. Are apartments the wave of the future downtown? Click on comments to let us know what you think.
Apartments aren’t the wave of the future per se, but over the next several years, they will certainly constitute a greater proportion of new downtown residential high-rises than they have over the last several. It’s largely due to historically low affordability….look for homeownership percentage to back off a few percentage points as well from its current all-time high – just 2 or 3% would equal a surge in renters – great news for the local apartment building owners and developers…
I gotta agree with Sam. I think for the next few years you will see more apartments being built. Of course if they get built and the market changes the building can always be converted to condos.
How many buildings less than 5 years old got converted between 2000-2006? Many.
My only fear is that the market doesn’t go through any kind of shift back into its robust recent past for the next 20 years. That’s kind of what happened coming out of a similar time in the 1970s. Jobs need to be created in Chicago and by that, I mean good ones. We’re obviously losing lower jobs overseas, but more and more, they’re getting our better jobs too. Too many emerging economies doesn’t help any of our neighborhoods no matter how emerging they are.