AMLI lines up 56-story resi tower for the Mag Mile

AMLI Residential is proposing a 56-story residential makeover for a prime corner in Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, potentially the first new tower in the area in years.

According to a newsletter from 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly, the Chicago-based developer is seeking to build a 498-unit tower at 669 North Michigan Avenue, Crain’s reported. The project would stack nearly 27,000 square feet of retail across its first two floors, topped by a garage with 199 parking spaces. AMLI’s plans also include a rooftop deck and pool. Roughly 10 percent of the apartments would be priced as affordable, with the developer making an in-lieu payment to meet the city’s full requirements. The proposed apartment building was designed by the firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz.

The site is currently home to a 57,000-square-foot retail property anchored by a Nike store. A predecessor of Mark Capital Management paid $295 million in 2015 for that building and two others on the block. The London-based firm did not respond to requests for comment on AMLI’s proposal.

Reilly cast the plan as a vote of confidence for a corridor still shaking off its pandemic funk. The Mag Mile’s retail vacancy rate is hovering around 30 percent, according to Kirsch Agency data, though landlords have seen some leasing momentum.

“This project represents continued private investment along the Magnificent Mile,” Reilly told constituents, arguing it will help keep the strip “an active and attractive corridor.”

AMLI, which developed several large Chicago rental complexes in the South Loop and River North previously, carries a portfolio of tower projects in various corners around the country. The developer didn’t disclose the tower’s estimated cost or timeline. The proposal still requires Chicago City Council approval.

The move comes as apartment rents continue to climb downtown, fueled by limited supply. With few projects scheduled to deliver in the next 18 months, net rents at top-tier buildings have reached $3.99 per square foot, according to Integra Realty Resources.

If greenlit, AMLI’s tower would join a wave of residential reinvestment creeping onto Michigan Avenue. At 500 North Michigan Avenue, a 320-unit office-to-apartment conversion is also in the works. The projects suggest developers are betting the Mag Mile’s future lies not just in retail but in a fuller blend of uses.

— Eric Weilbacher