CMK lands $147M in financing for South Loop apartment tower

CMK Companies landed $147 million in financing for its latest South Loop project, a 349-unit rental tower.

Two entities tied to the Chicago-based developer secured identical $73.5 million loans related to the project at 717 South Clark Street. One of the loans is for the ground under the building and the other for the leasehold interest in it, according to Cook County records.

Developers and investors sometimes split buildings from the land under them in order to land more financing than they could have on the combined property.

A CMK spokesperson declined comment on the financing.

The building will rise 31 stories — up from the 29 stories originally proposed — and the 349 units are one shy of the number that would have required CMK to seek a zoning change. That means the developer didn’t need any extra city permissions to build the complex, and CMK in February secured its first city permit to start construction.

The building, designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, also will include 192 parking spaces.

CMK bought the former printing plant on the property last year for $14 million, Crain’s reported at the time.

CMK’s developments in the South Loop include the two-building Coeval complex at 14th Street and Wabash Avenue, which will include 261 apartments and a retail portion. It is set to open next year.

It’s also behind a condo building at 1345 South Wabash and an apartment complex at 1333 South Wabash. In addition it has plans for the massive Riverline project on the South Branch of the Chicago River, though that project has yet to break ground.

CMK’s Clark Street rental project will have plenty of competition for renters in the South Loop, where thousands of new apartments are coming online in the next few years — including at Crescent Heights’ 900-unit NEMA Chicago tower.