Chicago Tribune: South Loop Poised for Big Residential Building Boom

In case you missed it on Friday, the Chicago Tribune weighs in on the flurry of residential projects being proposed (behind their paywall):

The South Loop, which has worked to reinvent itself in fits and starts, is poised to become the next big thing in Chicago's housing market. 

Four developers announced plans recently for high-rise apartment buildings at the south end of Grant Park along South Michigan Avenue, including a striking 86-story tower designed by star architect Helmut Jahn that would be the 6th tallest in the city. 

Other lofty rental projects include a 76-story tower and two nearly 50-story buildings that, if approved, will flood the South Loop with some 2,000 upscale apartments over several years. On top of that, hundreds of condominium units also are on the drawing board. 

Once home to rail yards and printing presses, the South Loop saw its last wave of residential development dry up as a result of the recession. With the new proposals, developers are placing even bigger bets that the neighborhood bordering the Museum Campus can rival pricier downtown locales and become the city's next residential hot spot.

While it's a pretty long article (which is great) there probably isn't much new news if you're a reader here or are actively involved with neighborhood news.

However, it does have some good historical background for people unfamiliar with the neighborhoods development.

It also has some interesting quotes about the developers perspective on the market and their projects.  Here is one from John Murphy who is behind the 48-story building at 1326 S. Michigan:

"If you play the economy game and you're a renter, every dollar is important," said Murphy, CEO and chairman of Murphy Capital Management. "So you start looking around in Chicago, you're in River North, you're looking for a significant amenity building in a great location. It's just natural, if you look at the dynamics of the South Loop, that this will be the next one to go and you're seeing a huge propagation of properties being developed now to capture that."

While it's a good read, it doesn't even really reference all the other projects that are actually being built or have been proposed throughout the neighborhood (and as a reminder you can check those out at our development tracker).

Some good PR for the Sloop across the broader Chicagoland area!