Permit points to upcoming construction of River North condo tower

The upcoming Bentham will deliver just 31 high-end residences to the corner of Erie and LaSalle

By AJ LaTrace Sep 14, 2017, 1:28pm CDT

Another luxury tower will soon rise over River North’s kitschy stretch of LaSalle Street. The tower, dubbed The Bentham, will eventually stand at 15 stories and deliver just 31 upscale units, but for now, workers have been cleared to begin laying the foundation for a tower crane at 146 W. Erie Street. Longtime area residents may know the site best as being the former home of old Erie-LaSalle Body Shop, a well known commercial anchor of the corridor for many years. The old body shop was demolished earlier this year to make room for the new tower.

The project comes from developer Sedgwick Properties, a firm that typically builds in more affluent areas in Chicago. And the 31-unit development for the Erie and LaSalle corner is not alone in the bustling River North neighborhood. The project is just one in a string of new condos proposed for River North and yet another sign of the rental-heavy downtown market creeping back towards condominiums. Other projects include the new developments No. 9 Walton, 351 W. Huron, 360 W. Superior, 356-366 W. Erie, 57-61 W. Erie, 56 W. Huron, and 300 W. Huron.

Marketing materials for the new Bentham tower claim that the completed development will “provide five-star hotel amenities” such as a 24-hour concierge, drop-off dry cleaning, a 15th-floor outdoor pool deck, and a fitness center. A promotional video from Segdwick and Jameson Sotheby's boldly claims that the upcoming tower is “five steps above what is currently available” in the River North area.

And as one would expect, the tower’s units, which will all feature three-bedroom, three-bathroom layouts, aren’t cheap. Starting prices on the large, high-end residences are reportedly starting well over the $1 million mark.