Ted Weldon

Founder, Weldon Development

Over the last three decades, Weldon’s name has been attached to $4 billion worth of development projects throughout Chicago.

Before launching his own firm, Weldon Development, he worked under some of the industry’s biggest names: Related Midwest, Lendlease and Sailrock Development, and took on large, expensive projects across sectors, from pure residential and hospitality, to mixed-use.

Today, Weldon’s firm has emerged a bettor on infill projects, particularly in Fulton Market. In 2024, Weldon partnered with Mark Goodman to earn city approval on an apartment project at 400 North Elizabeth Street, a property initially slated for a life sciences development. The move signaled refreshed confidence in residential demand.

Weldon has enjoyed partial backing from Chicago-based Rodrigo d’Escoto, whose family controls a major commercial glass manufacturing and supply business — the relationship brings both capital support and construction expertise to Weldon’s firm.

Yet, rising interest rates and lender caution have lately forced tighter timelines and creative financing, such as Goodman’s, Weldon’s and d’Escoto’s effort to secure a $17 million bank loan in 2024 to replace a $20 million debt owed to Don Wilson’s Convexity to help move along the Elizabeth Street project. These hurdles have slowed Weldon’s pace of delivery.