Tandem Partners to build 23-story mixed-use project in River West

Tandem Partners is starting work on a 23-story mixed-use project along bustling Milwaukee Avenue in River West.

The Chicago-based firm received a construction permit this week for foundation work on the building planned for 730 North Milwaukee Avenue. The project is set to include 226 apartments, office space, 97 parking spaces and 2,300 square feet of ground-floor retail.

Tandem submitted a zoning application for the project in October and officially bought the property in March for $11.35 million, Cook County records show.

Curbed in December reported the developer will be on the hook for a $1.6 million payment into the city’s Neighborhood Opportunity Fund and will be subject to revised affordable housing rules that will require 20 percent of the units to be reserved for tenants earning up to 60 percent of the area’s median income.

Tandem also has plans for two towers with 343 apartments along the north side of the Eisenhower Expressway in the West Loop, according to Crain’s. One, at 1050 West Van Buren Street would rise 21 stories, while the other, at 1125 West Van Buren, would be 15.

According to a recent Marcus & Millichap report, though, demand for rental units in the Chicago area has not kept pace with the torrid rate of apartment construction. Vacancy rates in the metro area rose to 6 percent in the first quarter, up from 5.4 percent year over year.