Resi boom, adaptive reuse draw local developers to West Loop

Two local developers are breathing new life into historic buildings that have long stood dormant, moving to capitalize on the residential boom in Chicago’s West Loop.

Skokie-based F&F Realty and Chicago-based Base 3 Development are spearheading separate projects that will add hundreds of apartments by redeveloping underutilized commercial spaces, Crain’s reported. 

At the heart of F&F Realty’s ambitious plan is the conversion of a 100-year-old warehouse at 1060 West Van Buren Street into 325 apartments. The development would incorporate 111 units within the existing eight-story warehouse and 214 units in a new 290-foot tower. F&F Realty’s founder, David Friedman, bought the warehouse in December for $12 million, Cook County property records show. 

Just a few blocks away, Base 3 Development is set to undertake a similarly transformative redevelopment at 1220 West Van Buren Street. The developer plans to convert a vacant seven-story building into 112 apartments. This project marks the second attempt to repurpose the building after a previous owner, The Missner Group, failed to lease it as loft office space.

The firm plans to submit a zoning application this fall, with construction expected to kick off early next year. If all goes according to plan, the building will be ready for its first residents by spring 2026. 

Once a gritty industrial area, the West Loop has become a hotbed of development in recent years, attracting residents and major corporations alike. 

The two redevelopment projects reflect a larger movement in downtown Chicago, where developers are looking to repurpose commercial spaces as residential demand soars and office space requirements dwindle.

In recent months, similar proposals for residential conversions have surfaced across the city. In July, a developer proposed converting a mostly vacant office building on the Magnificent Mile into 320 residential units. And in June, a city panel approved subsidies for projects that will turn four office buildings in the LaSalle Street corridor into more than 1,000 apartments.

— Andrew Terrell

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