More boutique offices headed to Chicago’s booming West Loop

If Chicago’s West Loop wasn’t already a sea of construction cranes, yet another boutique office development has been cleared for takeoff at the north edge of the hot Fulton Market neighborhood. The City of Chicago has just issued an $8.5 million building permit for a new five-story, 52,000-square-foot commercial building at 450 N. Morgan.

Located at the northwest corner of Morgan and Hubbard, the project comes from MAB Capital Management—a firm headed by Chicago real estate investor and restaurateur Marc Bushala. MAB also acquired the 86,000-square-foot building at nearby 401 N. Morgan that housed Bushala’s now-closed Brass Monkey restaurant.

Pappageorge Haymes Partners

Chicago-based architect Pappageorge Haymes Partners designed the upcoming structure to give the appearance of three smaller industrial buildings clad in brick, oxidized steel, and concrete. Thanks to its metal-framed sash style windows, the renderings definitely comes across as very “West Loop.”

Other notable highlights include a ground floor retail space, a hidden second floor parking garage for 35 vehicles, and two rooftop decks. While the website of commercial broker Nelson Hill notes a late 2017/early 2018 delivery target, it’s clear that the previously quoted timeline has lapsed.

In addition to drawing large tenants like Google and McDonald’s, the popularity of Chicago’s West Loop has led to a number of speculative, smaller scale office developments. Upcoming projects include a warehouse-style office structure at 801 W. Fulton Market, a glassy seven-story project at 1201 W. Lake Street, and the so-called McDonald’s “Vendor Village” at 210 N. Carpenter.

• New construction permit at 450 N. Morgan Street [Chicago Cityscape]
• Brass Monkey owner plans Fulton Market building [Crain’s]
• Previous West Loop coverage [Curbed Chicago]