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Chicago Opens Bellwether Residences as First LaSalle Street Reimagined Conversion

The project transforms vacant office floors in the 1905 Rector Building into mixed-income housing to help repurpose downtown office space into a livable neighborhood.

Overview

  • City leaders held a ribbon-cutting for the Bellwether Residences after converting 11 floors of the Rector Building into 117 apartments, the first completed conversion under the LaSalle Street Reimagined program.
  • The project includes 41 deed-restricted affordable units set at about 60% of area median income and a mix of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom homes.
  • Developer R2 led the $64.2 million conversion, which received $28 million in city Tax Increment Financing support to help make the affordable units possible.
  • The conversion preserved street-level retail, including a Walgreens, and restored the building’s Weather Bell sign as part of retaining the 1905 structure’s historic character.
  • LaSalle Street Reimagined remains active as a multi-site effort expected to repurpose more than two million square feet and create over 1,700 homes with an estimated value near $900 million, signaling a long-term shift to more mixed-use density in the Loop.