Magellan Backs Fulton Market Project Getting Bank OZK Loan

As Chicago’s construction spigot largely runs dry, the developers of the multifamily project at 410 North Elizabeth Street finally found an oasis — and brought on a heavy-hitting reinforcement to reach it.

A joint venture initially led by Rodrigo d’Escoto of Reflection Window + Wall and Ted Weldon of Weldon Development Group secured a nearly $102 million construction loan from Bank OZK to kick off their multifamily project in Fulton Market, according to public records.

Notably, the partnership now includes Chicago-based Magellan Development Group led by David Carlins and J.R. Berger, according to people familiar with the arrangement. Magellan, the prolific firm that developed Lakeshore East, including the St. Regis Chicago, adds a layer of institutional heft to the project, though it’s unclear exactly how much of an equity stake the company acquired. It’s also unknown whether Mark Goodman is still involved in the project. The Chicago-based investor originally spearheaded a plan to develop a 500,000-square-foot life sciences office on the property before the ownership pivoted to apartments a couple of years ago.

The financing marks a pivotal milestone for a site that spent years in developmental limbo. However, the debt amount is being met with a healthy dose of skepticism. While a nine-figure loan today is a feat in Chicago’s capital-starved environment, industry observers suggest the math likely only covers the first of the two residential towers pitched to the city for the site. That would leave the project’s ultimate vision of two towers reaching 33 stories and 31 stories partially on the drawing board for now. The development team originally wanted to build 724 apartments and received city approval to do so, and it’s unclear how many could be included in a first phase.

Splitting large-scale multifamily projects into phases is also being tested in Fulton Market by LG Group for its sites at 170 North May and 175 North Racine Streets, as well as by Crescent Heights for its site at 420 North May, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Magellan declined to comment, with Berger saying he’d defer to Weldon. Representatives of d’Escoto and Weldon didn’t immediately return requests for comment, and neither did a Bank OZK spokesperson.

Bank OZK’s move signals its continued dominance in Fulton Market, even as the bank navigates recent turbulence. The lender recently played a role in the unraveling of Sterling Bay’s Lincoln Yards, where the bank seized a key portion of the land and sold it at a discount to Jim Letchinger’s JDL Development and Kayne Anderson. The Elizabeth Street deal proves that while Bank OZK may have taken a loss at Lincoln Yards, it isn’t retreating from Fulton Market.

It is a path recently blazed by Vista Property Group, which managed to navigate the same tight lending climate to score its own $173 million in financing for a 32-story, 494-unit tower currently rising nearby at 370 North Morgan Street.

The projects on Elizabeth and Morgan streets, along with Shapack Partners and CRG’s recently completed 29-story, 308-unit apartment complex at 220 North Ada Street, show the few developments that are getting funding are concentrated in Fulton Market.

With downtown Chicago’s apartment vacancy dropping to 4.1 percent at the end of 2025 following historically low supply additions, the market is primed for significant rent spikes at existing buildings, as available units approach their lowest level in decades, according to Chicago-based Integra Realty Research. Although construction debt is accessible, developers have remained stalled by a persistent lack of equity, ensuring no substantial new additions of supply will be ready to lease until 2028, Integra projects.