Parq Development Revives Fulton Market Apartment Project

A shelved Fulton Market tower is back on track with a new team and more density.

Parq Development, led by Darren Sloniger, and Aaron Galvin’s Luxury Living filed plans for an 18-story, 268-unit rental building at 210 North Morgan Street, Crain’s reported.

The venture is under contract to acquire the 17,500-square-foot site from Newcastle, which secured city approval in 2022 for a 204-unit project but never started construction. Galvin declined to disclose terms of the pending sale or why Newcastle exited.

The refreshed plan leans heavily on smaller units, with a majority set to be studios aimed at offering more attainable rents in one of the city’s hottest neighborhoods. Roughly 20 percent, or 54 units, will be affordable under the city’s ordinance. The project also calls for 3,800 square feet of ground-floor retail and 30 parking spaces — fewer than Newcastle’s approved version, reflecting the unit mix and the site’s proximity to the Morgan CTA L station.

Galvin called the site “a tremendous development” opportunity in the heart of Fulton Market. The project is slated for completion in 2027, though financing details are under wraps. He said the venture has seen “strong interest” from equity and debt partners but isn’t ready to name backers.

Apartment construction downtown has slowed sharply amid high interest rates, rising construction costs and broader economic jitters, although several office-to-residential conversions are underway. With only a few hundred units expected this year and next, rents have surged, climbing 6.4 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, according to Integra Realty Resources. Developers willing to brave the financing headwinds may find an undersupplied market waiting.

The project marks the first ground-up downtown development for Sloniger and his new firm after leaving Marquette, where he pushed the West Loop frontier with projects like Parq Fulton and Evo Union Park. Galvin, meanwhile, has expanded his brokerage firm into development, partnering last year on the Saint Grand tower in Streeterville.

The pivot at 210 North Morgan follows other resets in the area. Newcastle recently sold off another entitled site in the Gold Coast, while Sterling Bay offloaded its 39-story plan at 350 North Morgan earlier this month for a loss.

— Eric Weilbacher