South Loop’s Eleven40 apartment tower opens for business

The 320-unit development has been under construction since January 2017

By Jay Koziarz Aug 7, 2018, 1:50pm CDT

Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood added another 320 apartments on Monday with the grand opening of the Eleven40 rental tower. Named for its approximate address of 1140 S. Wabash Avenue, the glassy 26-story project has been under construction since early 2017 and replaces a former parking lot near the Roosevelt CTA station.

Unlike many other recent South Loop developments hoping to lure luxury buyers with views of Grant Park and the lake, Eleven40 offers a more attainable option with studios priced from $1,500 per month. Starting at 389 square feet, these units are certainly cozy but do offer a degree of flexibility should renters opt for the built-in Murphy bed. Half of the building’s apartments are studios with the remainder split between 80 one-bedroom and 80 two-bedroom layouts.

Like most new downtown buildings, Eleven40 is big on amenities. It features more than 22,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor communal space including a rooftop pool, landscaped terrace, grilling stations, and fire pits. The building’s fifth floor is home to a gym with a yoga studio, a business center with private workspaces and a coworking lounge, media and gaming rooms, a music “jam” room, and an outdoor dog run with a grooming station.

Despite it’s proximity to CTA trains and buses, the transit-oriented development still sports a substantial amount of parking in its 141-vehicle podium. These garage spaces are available for use by both residents and the general public. Eleven40 also features roughly 5,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. The project comes from co-developers CA Ventures and Keith Giles and architect Solomon Cordwell Buenz.

Even with Eleven40 opening, the South Loop is still a virtual forest of construction cranes working to deliver even more rental apartments. Notable projects include the 479-unit Essex on the Park, the 500-unit project dubbed Paragon, the soaring 800-unit skyscraper known as Nema Chicago (formerly One Grant Park), and the massive multiphase Riverline and Southbank developments.