Cedar Street Buys Development Site in Chicago’s Fulton Market

Cedar Street scored a discount on a Fulton Market property, setting the stage for a 300-unit apartment project in one of the city’s hottest development corridors.

The Chicago-based firm paid $6.5 million for the former Leslie Hindman Auctioneers property at 1332 and 1338 West Lake Street, Crain’s reported citing public records. A venture led by auctioneer Leslie Hindman was the seller.

The two connected buildings span roughly 36,000 square feet on just over half an acre at the northeast corner of Lake and Ada streets. Hindman listed it for sale in mid-2020 with an $11 million asking price.

The purchase pencils out to about $260 per square foot for the 25,000-square-foot lot, well below the $400 to $500 per square foot paid for nearby development deals before the pandemic and the Fed’s interest rate hikes. It’s also less than half what a neighboring site was expected to fetch five years ago.

“We think in the near horizon that development capital will come back, and we love the opportunity here,” said Cedar Street CEO Will Murphy, noting that the firm has not finalized development plans but is considering a multifamily project with up to 300 units.

It would be Cedar Street’s first ground-up project in Fulton Market. The firm owns about 10,000 apartment units nationwide, including roughly 3,000 in the Chicago area.

The deal highlights softening land values even in vibrant submarkets like Fulton Market, where leasing momentum is strong but investor caution is lingering. The site can be rezoned to allow for up to 193,000 buildable square feet, according to a 2020 marketing flyer from SVN Chicago Commercial.

The property sits in a cluster of residential development activity at the western edge of Fulton Market. Shapack Partners and CRG are finishing a 308-unit apartment building one block east, while Sulo Development is planning a 240-unit condo project immediately north. Domus Real Estate Group recently ditched its plans for an office tower in Fulton Market in favor of a 30-story, 347-unit apartment tower at 215 North Racine Street.

— Judah Duke