River North's Two-tower Plan Begins Construction in January

The developer of One Chicago Square across from River North's Holy Name Cathedral is planning a January groundbreaking after securing a joint venture partner according to Chicago Curbed.

JDL Development will team up with local developer Sterling Bay on the $850 million, two-tower project at 740 N. State Street. The plans call for 859 rental units and condos, offices and retail including a Whole Foods Market and a 100,000 square foot Lifetime Fitness. 

Goettsch Partners and Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture have designed the two towers. One will reach 654 feet and the other will be 1,011 feet which will make the 76 story structure Chicago's sixth tallest building when it opens in 2022. Zoning was approved by the City's Plan Commission and financing is nearly finalized. 

One Chicago Square will breathe new life into an otherwise underutilized downtown block and will contribute $13.2 million to the city's Neighborhood Opportunity Bonus system and partially fund infrastructure upgrades on Chicago Avenue. It will also fund improvements to Streeterville's Seneca Park. 

In addition, the project will be contributing $11.37 million into Chicago's affordable housing fund and finance 22 affordable units at the Lawson House YMCA building at 30 West Chicago Avenue.

Per The Real Deal, the project is expected to include about 200,000 square feet of commercial space. It will rise over what is now a parking lot. The Archdiocese of Chicago sold the parking lot to JDL in 2017 for a reported $110 million.

When Sterling Bay teamed up with JDL, it solidified their presence in the residential and multifamily market. Sterling Bay has grown dramatically in the downtown office market. In one block alone, they plan 1.7 million square feet of new office space and recently launched a $500 million funding round with plans to use the money for more acquisitions.

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In the meantime, JDL has put quite a few properties up for sale while finishing up on its successful No. 9 Walton luxury condo tower in the Gold Coast which stands at the top of the list of most expensive residential sales for last year.

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