Top 10 development projects in Chicago in 2021

Biggest developments ranked by cost; top five are nine-figure projects

From left: The Cascade, the Obama Presidential Center, The Reed (bKL Architecture, Obama Foundation, The Reed at Southbank)

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Spending on the top 10 construction projects in Chicago for 2021 totaled more than $1 billion, and the top five developments are all nine-figure projects.

At $150 million, a 37-story luxury apartment tower being built by Lendlease and Magellan Development Group in Chicago’s Lakeshore East neighborhood was the most expensive project of last year. The 503-unit Cascade will also include a publicly accessible green space that will connect the property to the lakefront and Chicago Riverwalk.

Favorite son Barack Obama’s presidential library is number two on the list based on the initial cost estimate of $145 million listed in the permit, but that figure has since ballooned to $830 million. The project sparked controversy with its placement on 19 acres of Chicago’s historic Jackson Park, and was delayed by a lawsuit calling it an appropriation of public space. But the Obama Presidential Center won’t be a conventional presidential library, as the 44th president’s papers will be digitized rather than archived there, and the venue is geared more towards hosting concerts, cultural events, summits and similar programming.

The Reed, a 41-story residential tower, placed third with its $130 million price tag. It will be split between 224 rental units on floors nine through 22 and 216 condominiums from floors 23 through 41.

A 43-story, $112 million tower in Fulton Market will reach 495 feet into the sky in West Loop. It will include ground-floor retail and 300 rental units, 60 of which will be earmarked as affordable.

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Power Construction Company is building a $100 million, four-story medical office building in Irving Park for Northwestern Medicine.

Onni Development Group’s $99 million, 33-story residential tower will bring 373 rental units to the Fulton River District.

An $82 million project in Portage Park will feature senior living facilities, with 114 independent living units, 98 assisted living units, and 46 memory care units.

A $68 million 22-story mixed-use building is going up in the Illinois Medical District.

Sterling Bay’s $64 million project in Lincoln Yards will feature 280,000 square feet of Class A medical research lab space.

The $59 million Joint Public Safety Training Campus is going up in Humboldt Park.