CHICAGO — Hines and Magellan Development Group have broken ground on Wolf Point West Tower, a $160 million, 48-story multifamily project in Chicago being built along the Chicago River. The waterfront development will feature 509 luxury rental units, more than 400 feet of publicly accessible river walk and green space. Initial occupancy is expected in the fall of 2015.
“Hines, together with Wolf Point owners, Magellan Development Group and all of our project partners, architects, consultants and contractors, is proud to be breaking ground on this exciting new project,” says Greg Van Schaack, senior managing director of Hines.
Representatives at the groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, July 18 included dignitaries from the Illinois AFL-CIO, the Chicago Federation of Labor, the Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council, the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust (BIT), PNC Realty Investors Inc., Hines, Magellan Development Group, the Wolf Point owners and the AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corp.
Wolf Point West is the first of three new buildings to be built on the Wolf Point site, which together is estimated to create more than 2,000 construction jobs. The BIT indirectly provided a $34 million equity investment in the project, and BIT's partners and a third-party lender provided the remaining funds for the development.
“Wolf Point is a continuation of the BIT's strategy to invest in the development of multifamily rental product, and we expect that the BIT will benefit from strong demographic trends and anticipated rental growth in Chicago,” says Kevin McCarthy, president of PNC Realty Investors.
“We are very excited about Wolf Point; it is another example of union pension dollars being put to work and will result in the development of a new residential building along the river,” adds Tom Villanova, president of The Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council.
In the Chicago area, the BIT has committed more than $490 million for the development and acquisition of 18 projects, a total of more than 3,200 housing units and 2.2 million square feet of commercial real estate. BIT development projects in the area total more than $790 million in development costs and have created more than 3,900 union construction jobs.
The BIT and its joint venture partner recently completed a 45-story apartment tower located at 500 Lake Shore Drive one block from Chicago's Navy Pier, representing a $157 million investment that created approximately 750 union construction jobs. The property spans 44 stories, 500 units and 430 parking spaces.
— John Nelson