Range Group to Build Apartments Near United Center

Range Group’s multifamily redevelopment of a light industrial lot in West Town is moving forward.

The Chicago-based firm plans to demolish the vacant, two-story industrial building at 455 North Carpenter Street to construct a five-story building with 72 multifamily units and 3,600 square feet of retail, Urbanize Chicago reported. The firm received variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals recently.

The building, designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, will include a mix of studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments. Fourteen units will be reserved as affordable housing.

The residential portion will be accessible from North Carpenter, while the retail component will be found around the corner on West Grand Avenue. Thirty parking spaces will be positioned at the rear of the building.

Range Group, led by co-founders Seth Halpern, Brett Katz and Jared Rubin, was granted a reduction of the rooftop setback, a reduction in the transparent window area facing the street, and a special use permit.

West Town is near the $7 billion redevelopment that the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families — owners of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks — are planning around the United Center. They are seeking zoning approval for 9,500 apartments, more than 1,300 hotel keys and a residential high-rise that would redefine the city’s skyline.

Industrial leasing was down slightly in the third quarter, as deliveries and spec development dropped off. Meanwhile, the apartment market in Chicago is among the strongest in the country, although it’s not without pitfalls related to interest rates, construction costs and lending. The region has been leading the country in rent growth, making it an investment hotspot, and developers are increasingly building apartments for would-be buyers who choose to rent.

— Andrew Terrell