Mavrek Adopts Residential Conversion of Chicago Office Building

Plans for an office-to-residential conversion at a historic Loop office tower are moving forward.

Chicago-based Mavrek Development has partnered with Acres Commercial Realty, a real estate investment trust, to convert the 24-story tower at 65 East Wacker Place into 200 apartments, Crain’s reported.

The partnership follows Acres Commercial’s acquisition of the property through a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure agreement in March. Intersection Realty Group, a Rochester, New York-based developer, had acquired the building with plans for 144 apartments in 2022.

The redevelopment will create several floor plans ranging from studios to two-bedroom apartments. The nearly century-old building will also be updated with a coworking lounge, fitness center and rooftop deck.

The residential conversion highlights a growing trend in downtown Chicago, where older, underutilized office buildings are being repurposed into apartments. With reduced demand for office space due to remote work trends, developers are increasingly looking to adapt existing buildings to meet high demand for residential rentals.

Recent proposals include F&F Realty and Base 3 Development’s separate plans to transform two warehouse buildings in the West Loop into hundreds of apartments, and Commonwealth Development Partners’ plans to redevelop a largely vacant office tower at 500 North Michigan Avenue into 320 residential units. The city’s LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative also aims to convert four office buildings into 1,000 apartments.

Alderman Brendan Reilly, whose ward includes 65 East Wacker Place, is involved with gathering community feedback on the proposal. The building was constructed in 1928 and renovated in 2011.

Mavrek’s other projects include plans to redevelop the low-rise brick structure at 925 West Belmont Avenue in Lakeview into an 11-story, 210-unit apartment building with 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The firm also developed the Saint Grand, a 21-story apartment building in Streeterville, in a joint venture with GW Properties, Luxury Living Chicago Realty and Double Eagle Development.

— Andrew Terrell