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.
What just happened: A Chicago development team has lined up about $96 million in financing to build a 19‑story apartment tower at 1221 W. Washington Blvd. The funding package includes a construction loan of $71.6 million from a bank and roughly $23.9 million in preferred equity from an investment manager. The building will hold 287 units and sit just south of the Fulton Market area.
The project is a joint venture of three local developers. The construction loan and the preferred equity together make up the majority of the deal’s capital stack. The remainder of the equity is coming from the development team and their partners. The lead developer declined to confirm the total development cost for the project; earlier planning documents from 2021 put that figure near $100 million.
The building will rise 19 stories and aims to be completed in late 2026. Exterior materials will include glass and brick. The unit mix will be a combination of studios, one‑bedroom and two‑bedroom apartments, with units described as generally on the smaller side. The ground floor will include about 3,000 square feet of retail space. Rents are planned to start at about $1,799 per month, reflecting an attempt to offer a relatively more affordable option for renters who want to be near the former meatpacking district turned major office and entertainment area.
This project is notable because it is one of only a handful of apartment buildings currently moving forward in the downtown construction pipeline. High construction costs and a tough financing environment have made it hard for developers to start large new residential projects downtown. A period of roughly 18 months with almost no major ground‑up financing for downtown towers ended earlier in the year when another developer secured a large construction loan for a Fulton Market tower, but overall supply remains thin and analysts do not expect a dramatic improvement until at least 2027. Meanwhile, market data shows downtown Class A apartment rents climbed about 6.4% year over year in the second quarter of 2025, suggesting demand pressure even as new supply is limited.
The lead developer on the project said putting together debt and equity for a deal of this size was difficult but ultimately successful, and that the team is confident in Chicago’s apartment demand and rent growth. The developer emphasized that local players understand the market dynamics and that persuading out‑of‑town investors remains a challenge.
The joint venture partners are active in the local market: they’ve worked on other downtown towers and suburban mall redevelopments that added hundreds of apartments. One partner in the venture also recently started construction on a 19‑story apartment tower in the South Loop. A separate local proposal for a 27‑story mixed‑use building nearby was updated recently with details including a three‑story podium that contains parking and a large community center, changes to condo counts, and a rooftop field house to serve an adjacent park, further illustrating the varied types of housing projects moving through planning.
Institutional and international investors have also been active in Chicago’s multifamily market. A notable transaction underway involves a 35‑story luxury tower of 350 units near downtown medical and university centers; that deal is seen as part of a larger push by an international financial firm to expand a U.S. property platform. Elsewhere, an ownership group sold a renovated 28‑story, 274‑unit apartment community in the central business district as part of a portfolio strategy. Recent months have seen some large towers trade at discounts to prior prices, driven by higher borrowing costs and a soft investment market, creating opportunities for opportunistic buyers.
Construction financing is in place and the development team plans to move forward toward ground‑up construction with a target finish in late 2026. The project will continue to proceed through standard city permitting and construction milestones. Market watchers will be watching leasing velocity and rent levels once occupancy begins to gauge how a new product priced below some luxury peers performs near the high-demand Fulton Market area.
The development team secured roughly $96 million in total commitments, including a $71.6 million construction loan and about $23.9 million in preferred equity.
The building will rise 19 stories at 1221 W. Washington Blvd., just south of the Fulton Market area, and will include 287 apartment units plus ground‑floor retail.
The project is targeted for completion in late 2026, subject to permitting and construction scheduling.
The development will offer studios, one‑bedroom and two‑bedroom units, generally on the smaller side, with starting rents expected at about $1,799 per month.
It is one of a small number of new apartment towers moving forward downtown amid a tight financing environment. Rent growth is present but new supply has been limited, so the project aims to capture demand for housing near the Fulton Market area.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Address | 1221 W. Washington Blvd. |
| Stories | 19 |
| Units | 287 apartments |
| Construction financing | $71.6 million construction loan |
| Preferred equity | About $23.9 million |
| Retail | ~3,000 sq ft ground floor |
| Exterior | Glass and brick |
| Target completion | Late 2026 |
| Estimated starting rent | About $1,799/month |
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