Ross RE Services plans Rogers Park residential complex

Ross Real Estate Services is building a 54-unit apartment complex in Rogers Park.

The Northbrook-based firm landed a permit for the project, which is expected to cost $13.3 million, according to documents filed with the building permit application.

The four-story building, at the corner of Clark Street and Estes Avenue, is designed by local firm Worn Jerabek Wiltse Architects and being built by Walsh Construction. It will feature three floors of apartments above 3,300 square feet of retail and a garage on the ground floor.

The firm bought the vacant property in June for $1.75 million, according to Cook County property records, but has had plans for the project since 2016. Ross President Douglas Ross had a contingent contract to buy the property pending city approval of the project, along with awarding of affordable housing tax credits from the state, DNAinfo reported at the time.

The building would reserve most of its units for people earning 60 percent or less of the area median income, and reserve the rest for those making 30 percent or less of the area median income. It’s not clear if those plans have changed.

The project is the latest entry in the Chicago-area’s robust multifamily market, where occupancy rates are essentially holding steady despite accelerating construction, a potential sign that the city will avoid slowing rent growth being observed on both coasts.

Cornerstone LLC and Watermark Equity Group are also building a transit-oriented development at 1531 West Howard Street in Rogers Park. And just to the south, Uptown is a surge in multifamily development that will add hundreds of apartments to the neighborhood.