ZOM, Verde can begin work on 357-unit Union West complex

The partnership with Verde Communities will develop 2 towers in the West Loop

Union West Chicago (Credit: bklarchitecture)
Union West Chicago (Credit: bklarchitecture)

The city has granted a demolition permit for the planned Union West apartment complex in the West Loop, clearing the way for construction to start on the large project.

ZOM Living and Houston-based Verde Communities are developing the 357-unit apartment complex at 933 West Washington Boulevard. It will include more than 12,000 square feet of retail space and 255 parking spaces, according to Curbed.

Orlando-based ZOM said the project will consist of two 15-story towers atop a three-story podium. The units will range from studios to three-bedrooms and cover between 501 and 1,377 square feet, with an average of 737 square feet, the developer said.

When the project was introduced in 2016, it had 405 apartments in three towers, ranging from eight to 17 stories, but the developers scaled it back in the face of community opposition.

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The complex, designed by Chicago-based bKL architects, is two blocks from the Morgan stop on the CTA’s Green Line. Pre-leasing in Union West is expected to start in the second quarter of 2019, with delivery of the first units expected by the end of next year. The project is being funded with a $92 million construction loan from Union Labor Life Insurance Company.

It is among a number of high-rises proposed in the booming Fulton Market district in the West Loop. Tucker Development and Related Midwest are now proposing a 495-foot tower at 900 West Randolph Street.

While the John Buck Company has plans for two 17-story towers on the site of the old H20 Plus facility at 845 West Madison Street. Fifield Companies and F&F Realty are building the 44-story One South Halsted project along the Kennedy Expressway. [Curbed] — John O’Brien