Jeff Shapack Exits Big Development With Alec Litowitz Buyout

The family office of one of the North Shore’s wealthiest investors bought out developer Shapack Partners’ interests in Chicago sites collectively known as NOMA, which had been slated for more than 2,200 apartments and a hotel, The Real Deal has learned.

Jeff Shapack, one of the visionaries of the Fulton Market District’s real estate boom, was previously the face of the project — named for its location “north of market” in relation to Fulton.

But recently, Glencoe-based investors Alec and Jennifer Litowitz harnessed full control of the collection of NOMA properties spanning Grand and Milwaukee avenues between North Des Plaines and Halsted streets near the Ohio Street feeder ramp for the Kennedy Expressway.

The development sites were assembled for $60 million between 2017 and 2022 through a series of purchases led by Shapack with the financial backing of the Litowitzes.

A spokesperson for the Litowitz family confirmed it had acquired full control of the properties and would oversee their development without Shapack’s assistance.

“The family will continue to be closely involved in crafting the vision and strategy of the project and collaborate with suitable partners on execution,” the Litowitz spokesperson said.

The amount Shapack was paid to sell its interests to the family is unknown as each side declined to disclose the price.

“We continue to focus our development efforts in and around the Fulton Market District and look forward to NOMA’s future evolution as a project that will further strengthen the 27th Ward,” Jeff Shapack said in a statement.

The Litowitz family had always been the majority owners of the development venture but Shapack served as its real estate expert through land purchases and the city approval process.

Since getting the multi-phase project entitled, Shapack has turned its attention to other developments, such as its partnership with CRG on 220 North Ada Street, where they’re close to completing a 29-story apartment project. CRG and Shapack also kicked off construction this summer on a student housing project in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Shapack is partnering with KMW Communities to build a 79-unit apartment building at 450 North Morgan Street in Chicago.

City officials signed off on the NOMA plans in 2022.

The land sites total about 3.3 acres, and were packaged together through a string of deals starting back in 2017, when 451 North Union Avenue was purchased by an LLC tied to the NOMA development team for $8 million.

The acquisition spree was capped off by the $25 million purchase of the former Salvation Army building at 509 North Union Avenue, the largest deal within the assemblage and where a 141-room hotel is being planned as part of the project.

It’s unclear how large Shapack’s ownership stake was, but the same Delaware-based LLCs that began the assemblage still own the parcels, public records show.

“The former partnership was focused on land acquisition and entitlements. Both goals were accomplished, hence the natural conclusion,” the Litowitz spokesperson said. The rezoning for the project is a first in terms of the density allowed within this area of Chicago.

The sites appear to be carrying relatively little debt compared to their development team’s purchase prices. There’s a $4.3 million mortgage from Northbrook Bank & Trust on the 441 North Milwaukee Avenue property taken out in 2022, and modified by Litowitz to extend its maturity another two years as the original due date was approaching in 2024, records show.

Other than that, there’s less than $1 million in mortgage debt owed to the same bank for 709 West Grand Avenue.

The vision included plans to transform the Salvation Army site into lodging with a ground-floor restaurant as part of the team’s launch of redevelopment in the area.

Just to the east of the Salvation Army building, a separate set of properties had been set to be redeveloped into 1,110 rental units, mostly within a 625-foot-tall tower.

To the south of Grand Avenue, the development team made a separate application to the city with plans for 708-732 West Hubbard Street, 456-476 North Milwaukee, 461-483 North Milwaukee, 448-470 North Union and 449-467 North Union. Shapack had proposed building another 1,159 apartments across these sites, with three towers rising from them. The tallest would have been 487 feet, with the other two hitting 326 and 270 feet.

Shapack and Alec Litowitz have paired on successful Chicago real estate projects previously. They sold a seven-story office building developed at 811 West Fulton Street to Boston-based investor Intercontinental Real Estate for $50.3 million in 2019, setting a Chicago record for price per square foot of $775. Last year, Shapack and Litowitz also listed the West Loop building they transformed into Barstool Sports’ offices featuring a basketball court, recording studio and other unique amenities.

The trendy Shapack-developed office building at 167 North Green Street in Fulton Market was refinanced for $247 million earlier this year despite a harsh lending environment for commercial workspace.