Proposed 19‑story, 287‑unit apartment tower at 1221 W. Washington in the West Loop.
West Loop, Chicago, September 13, 2025
A local development team secured roughly $96 million to build a 19‑story, 287‑unit apartment tower at 1221 W. Washington Blvd. The financing package includes a $71.6 million construction loan and $23.9 million in preferred equity. The glass‑and‑brick building will offer studios, one‑ and two‑bedroom units, about 3,000 sq ft of ground‑floor retail and rents starting near $1,799 per month. Targeted for completion in late 2026, the project marks one of few major downtown apartment starts amid tight construction costs and a cautious financing market and could influence future downtown development activity.
A local development team has secured about $96 million in capital to build a 19‑story apartment tower with 287 units at 1221 W. Washington Blvd. The funding package includes a $71.6 million construction loan from a major lender and $23.9 million in preferred equity from an institutional investor. The site sits just south of the former meatpacking district now known for offices, restaurants and entertainment.
The project is one of the few large apartment buildings moving forward in downtown Chicago’s pipeline. Developers have struggled to start ground‑up projects amid high construction costs and a tight financing market. The deal breaks through a long stretch with few major new starts and follows a separate financing win in May that restarted activity on another large tower.
The development is a joint venture led by a Chicago developer and two local partners. The team plans a glass‑and‑brick exterior and a mix of studio, one‑bedroom and two‑bedroom units described as generally on the smaller side. The building will also include about 3,000 square feet of ground‑floor retail. Rents are expected to begin near $1,799 per month, positioning the project as a more affordable option for people who want to live close to the commercial hub to the north.
The capital stack is led by a construction loan just over $71 million and nearly $24 million in preferred equity. The development team is contributing the remainder of required equity alongside partner capital. The lead developer noted that assembling debt and equity for projects of this size has been difficult, but the team is confident in local apartment demand and future rent growth. The developer declined to confirm the total development cost for the project; early estimates from when the proposal was first filed pegged total costs at roughly $100 million.
The tower is targeted for completion in late 2026. Industry data show rent growth in the downtown Class A market has been strong year over year, and a recent uptick in financings has helped end an almost 18‑month drought for major downtown ground‑up projects. Still, overall supply remains thin and many analysts do not expect a significant pipeline recovery until 2027.
The lead developer has completed several high‑profile projects in the neighborhood and suburbs, including mixed‑use towers and mall redevelopments that added hundreds of apartments. Partners on the venture recently broke ground on a separate 19‑story apartment tower in the South Loop. Executives with the partner firms did not provide additional comment on the West Loop project.
The financing win comes amid active investment and repositioning across the downtown market. A large suburban and city apartment asset recently changed hands as part of a new investment platform launch by a major international financial firm; that 35‑story building contains 350 units and sits close to medical and university campuses. Separately, a 28‑story downtown property with 274 renovated units was sold last year as part of a portfolio move by an institutional real estate fund. Market conditions have also produced opportunistic purchases of towers at discounts to prior prices.
Nearby, a proposed 27‑story mixed‑use tower has been revised after several years in planning. The updated plan reduces the unit count slightly, increases the number of condominiums aimed at families, and adds a three‑story podium that includes a parking garage with room for roughly 70 vehicles and a 30,000‑square‑foot community center intended to serve the park across the street. The community center would be fully funded and maintained by the developer, and a contract would keep the space publicly accessible for a set number of hours over the long term. That project still needs aldermanic and city approvals and the team expects a year of condo presales before breaking ground.
Key items to watch are final permitting, how the development team allocates remaining equity, whether any construction timelines shift, and how rents perform as new units are absorbed. The project will be a test of demand near the commercial district and could influence other developers’ willingness to pursue similar deals in the near term.
A 19‑story apartment tower with 287 units, ground‑floor retail and a glass‑and‑brick exterior.
About $96 million in total, including a $71.6 million construction loan and $23.9 million in preferred equity.
The target completion date is late 2026, subject to permitting and construction schedules.
The building will include studios, one‑ and two‑bedroom apartments described as smaller unit sizes, with starting rents expected around $1,799 per month.
It is one of a small number of new apartment starts downtown and follows a recent uptick in financings that helped restart activity after a long slowdown. The broader pipeline is still limited and not expected to expand significantly until around 2027.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Address | 1221 W. Washington Blvd. |
| Stories | 19 |
| Units | 287 |
| Financing | $71.6M construction loan + $23.9M preferred equity |
| Exterior | Glass and brick |
| Retail | ~3,000 sq ft ground‑floor space |
| Unit mix | Studios, 1BR, 2BR (smaller sizes) |
| Rent | Starting around $1,799/month |
| Target completion | Late 2026 |
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