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Bellwether Residences open in Chicago Loop after $64.2M conversion
The project converts 11 floors of vacant office space into 117 mixed-income units, with 41 affordable homes and $28M in city TIF backing.
Chicago opened its first LaSalle Street Reimagined conversion Wednesday, marking the official launch of the Bellwether Residences at 79 W. Monroe St. The $64.2M project is supported by $28M in city tax increment financing, and the building received a landmark designation to enable $7.8M in federal historic tax credits, according to Bisnow.
Developers R2 and Lagfin converted 11 floors of vacant office space into 117 mixed-income residential units and lower-level retail. Of the total units, 41 are designated as affordable for households earning 60% of the area median income.
The Bellwether is one of six conversion projects the city advanced as part of LaSalle Street Reimagined to revitalize a struggling office corridor. The city council has approved more than $315M in TIF funds for the initiative as of January, with the overall effort expected to add 1,765 apartment units to the Loop and more than $900M in total investment.
R2 partner Gary Stoltz said the project repurposes a Loop building that has stood for more than a century, and he indicated leasing progress for the units. Stoltz said 25 of the 76 market-rate units are leased, applications for all 41 affordable units have been submitted, and R2 expects the building to be fully leased up by early December.