Demolition is currently underway at 1233 N. Wells St. in Old Town, and construction is set to begin later this month on a 16-story apartment building. It's one of the few large developments currently under construction in Chicago, but so far, we haven't heard a great deal about it. That's partly because the development has a nonexistent web presence, but Jim Letchinger, President of JDL Development, which is partnering with Hines Interests on the project, says a website is scheduled to launch in three or four weeks. The new building will have 250 rental apartments and 30,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Most, but not all, of the apartments will have private balconies, and Letchinger says the building will have an elaborate amenity level with an outdoor pool, a demonstration kitchen that tenants will be able to rent, fitness facilities, and a conference center.
"We're fully financed and breaking ground, and that's hard to say these days," Letchinger says. Today, workers were clearing rubble from the mostly-demolished Grossinger Cadillac dealership. The terra cotta facade just to the north will be maintained, "to preserve the integral Old Town atmosphere," according to a notice posted at the demolition site. How soon will vertical construction begin? "It's imminent," says Letchinger.
· Downtown apartment boom after condo market collapse [Crain's]