Living the micro life: Tiny apartments getting more popular in Chicago

Chicago tied for Manhattan for 2nd-smallest average apartment size in the country: report

Apartments inside Lawrence House (Credit: Lawrence House)
Apartments inside Lawrence House (Credit: Lawrence House)

Chicago apartments are getting tinier.

The city tied with Manhattan for second-smallest average apartment size in the country, at 733 square feet, according to a RentCafe study cited in the Chicago Tribune. Seattle came in first, with an average of 711 square feet per unit.

Rentals are shrinking across the country, according to the report. New apartments delivered nationwide last year measured 941 square feet on average, about 5 percent smaller than they did a decade earlier.

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The “micro-apartment” trend has especially caught on in Chicago, where Cedar Street Companies advertises studios measuring less than 300 square feet each at its redeveloped Lawrence House complex. Rents start at $1,100 per month, according to its website.

At CA Ventures’ SONU Digs on the Near North Side, units start at 336 square feet, and Lincoln Property Residential’s Gateway West Loop has studios starting at 399 square feet.

About 9,500 new apartments are scheduled to come online across the Chicago area this year, holding down rent growth throughout the region.[Chicago Tribune] — Alex Nitkin