Convexity Revives Stalled Gold Coast High-Rise Site

A long-dormant Gold Coast development site could finally get moving again.

Convexity Properties wants to build a 28-story apartment tower at the corner of State and Elm streets in Chicago, reviving a prominent parcel where a previous owner’s high-rise plan stalled for four years. Crain’s reported that the developer unveiled its proposal during an online community meeting Monday hosted by 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins’ office.

Convexity, the real estate arm of Chicago-based trading firm DRW Holdings, is planning a 307-unit apartment tower at 1120 and 1130 North State Street. The firm bought the site for $39 million in August from Newcastle Investors, which had secured Chicago City Council approval in 2021 for a slightly taller project, but never broke ground.

Newcastle’s approved plan called for a 304-unit, 345-foot tower. Convexity’s version would top out at about 312 feet and feature a different design: two interlocking L-shaped towers rising from a multi-story podium containing nearly 24,000 square feet of retail space.

Why Newcastle walked away remains unclear, but interest rates, surging construction costs and a tougher capital markets environment have knocked out numerous Chicago proposals since the pandemic. The result has been a thin development pipeline, with fewer than 600 new rental units expected to deliver across downtown in 2026, the outlet reported.

Convexity is now shopping for financing, director Chris Oakley told the publication, though he declined to disclose estimated development costs, adding that the Gold Coast site is in a prominent locale.

The site is currently occupied by a vacant two-story former Barnes & Noble that has sat dark for years, along with a Lou Malnati’s restaurant at 1120 North State Street. That lease expires in summer 2026 without an extension option, though Oakley said the pizza chain could reappear in the new retail space.

The apartment mix would include studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Convexity plans to designate eight apartments as affordable and pay roughly $4.5 million in in-lieu fees under the city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance, rather than providing more on-site affordable housing.

Because the zoning was already approved for Newcastle’s project, Convexity does not need a new City Council vote. The plan still requires administrative approval from the Department of Planning and Development to confirm zoning compliance.

Hopkins said the earlier proposal faced some neighborhood resistance, forcing a height reduction, but there’s broad agreement that the long-languishing vacant retail site has become a problem.

If approved, Convexity aims to start construction in June and complete the tower in spring 2028. The firm has a track record nearby, including the Viceroy Hotel next door and the condo building at 4 East Elm Street.

— Eric Weilbacher