Domus Special Situations Group and Barnett Capital have secured financing for a west Fulton Market mixed-use project anchored by fallen co-working giant WeWork.
In February, the Domus-Barnett joint venture snapped up the three-property, block-long assemblage on Fulton Street and Racine Avenue in separate transactions for $23.5 million. A month later, they filed plans to gut-renovate a 97,000-square-foot industrial building on Fulton Street, and demolish an adjacent apartment building on Racine Avenue.
Domus and Barnett captured headlines in August when they announced that WeWork would lease nearly 90,000 square feet of office space at 1113-1155 W. Fulton Market, and that they would then develop a 75,000-square-foot boutique office building on Racine Avenue.
Now, Fifth Third Bank has given the developers a cash injection with $43.5 million in construction debt, according to Cook County loan documents recorded late last month.
Domus Group, led by Phillip and Steve Ciaccio, and Barnett Capital could not be reached for comment. The project is under construction.
The partnership joins a growing list of developers who want to get in on Chicago’s hottest office submarket.
Late last month, Chicago developer Mark Goodman & Associates and New York-based developer Tishman Speyer began construction on a 13-story office building with ground-floor retail at 320 North Sangamon Street, five blocks east of the Domus-Barnett project.
Yesterday, New York-based Thor Equities and Vancouver-based QuadReal broke ground on an 19-story office project at 800 West Fulton Market, roughly six blocks east of the Fulton market development.
The Fulton Market and River West neighborhoods surpassed average rents in the East Loop submarket in the second-quarter of 2019, part of an ongoing Westward movement in demand for Downtown office space, according to Q2 Chicago office market report from CBRE.