LG Group Proposes Multifamily at Edge of Hot Fulton Market

A Chicago developer is testing how far Fulton Market’s housing boom can stretch.

LG Group filed plans with the city for a five-story, 66-unit residential building at 1201-19 West Kinzie Street, on the northwestern edge of the fast-growing district. The project, which needs Chicago City Council approval, would total 65,000 square feet with a mix of studios through four-bedrooms, Crain’s reported. Twenty percent of the units would be set aside as affordable under city rules. The plans don’t specify whether the building would be apartments or condos.

The site belongs to Sterling Bay, which has been slimming down its portfolio while sorting through financial strain tied to Lincoln Yards, once planned as a $6 billion megadevelopment. The developer recently sold off a site at 350 North Morgan Street, where it had zoning for a 39-story tower, and it is marketing others in and around Fulton Market. CBRE has been shopping the Kinzie parcel for over a year, along with two nearby sites, and a marketing brochure now lists it as under contract. A Sterling Bay spokesperson declined to comment.

If it lands approvals, LG’s project would be one of several mid-rises just outside Fulton Market’s traditional borders. Other proposals in the area include a seven-story, 79-unit building at 450 North Morgan Street and a 72-unit complex at 455 North Carpenter Street. Developers have already packed Fulton Market proper with a wave of towers and mid-rises, and the spillover to its northern and western edges signals that momentum isn’t slowing.

LG is already a familiar player in the neighborhood. The firm delivered a 368-unit high-rise at 210 North Aberdeen Street this spring, and a 166-unit building on West Jackson Boulevard in the West Loop. It also has towers on deck at 1143 and 1150 West Lake Street.

— Eric Weilbacher