An upstart Chicago firm locked in a construction permit for one of the city’s most closely watched office-to-resi conversions without public financing.
WindWave Real Estate and Path Construction secured a full building permit for their $64 million plan to convert six floors of the mostly vacant 111 West Illinois Street into 153 apartments, Urbanize Chicago reported. The former Salesforce hub was acquired by WindWave and Path in a discounted deal last month, marking one of the largest River North office trades of the past year.
The project spans roughly 144,000 square feet across floors five through 10 and will include a new residential lobby, a coworking lounge carved out of a former WeWork space, a pet spa, a 2,600-square-foot rooftop terrace and a fitness center.
Floorplans will range from studios to three-bedrooms. No affordable units are planned; the $64 million conversion estimate comes to $418,000 per apartment unit.
The development team includes architecture firm Pappageorge Haymes and general contractor Path. The second through fourth floors, owned by the Erikson Institute, are not part of the deal.
WindWave, founded last year by former Lendlease exec Jon Cordell, partnered with equity backer Landrock LP to close on the $17 million purchase. The price represented a steep discount from the building’s $75 million sale in 2015 after Salesforce’s departure sent vacancy soaring.
In contrast to most downtown conversions today relying on city subsidies or tax increment financing in exchange for affordable units, WindWave’s project is privately financed and market-rate, taking advantage of existing zoning and a strong pipeline of demand in River North.
Work is expected to begin this summer, with leasing likely to start by next year. WindWave is among several smaller firms capitalizing on Chicago’s discounted office environment and high barriers to ground-up multifamily development, though not all successfully.
The building is emblematic of Chicago’s office-to-resi wave, despite its relatively young age — 111 West Illinois was completed in 2008.
— Judah Duke
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