A family that has owned a half-acre of land in Chicago’s high-demand Fulton Market for decades is renewing efforts to sell the site after a previous deal with a developer fizzled, potentially setting the stage for a shift to a multifamily project.
Cresa brokers have been hired to sell the site at 415-417 N. Sangamon St. There is no asking price.
It is hitting the market after a more than decade-long construction boom has transformed the city’s former meatpacking district into a neighborhood of office, residential and hotel towers. Global fashion designer Rick Owens’ recent lease will bring the first ultra-luxury shop to the area, which is expected to lead to changes to the area’s retail mix.
A few years ago, Fulton Market was the fastest-growing urban office market in the country, according to a CoStar analysis.
Now, with national office demand at historically low levels and Chicago’s multifamily rent growth among the highest in major U.S. markets, Cresa is expecting apartment developers to consider buying the site and seeking a zoning change to allow a large residential project on the property along the northern edge of Fulton Market.
“The one thing that Fulton Market is missing is good corners” for redevelopment, said Marcus Cook, one of the Cresa brokers marketing the property for sale. “Fulton Market is its own ecosystem. It’s completely unaffected by the ebbs and flows that we’re seeing in other pockets.”
Former Chicago resident Grey Bemis-Kelley hired Cresa brokers to market the site after a long-running attempt to sell the property to office-leasing broker-turned-developer Joy Jordan fell through.
Jordan’s development firm, Fortem Voluntas, announced plans in 2022 to buy and redevelop the property — which includes a small brick structure and vacant land — into a 277,000-square-foot office building.
Zoning for the project at Sangamon and Kinzie streets was approved by Chicago’s City Council in early 2023, but Jordan’s firm never completed the land purchase.
That year, Bemis-Kelley sued Jordan’s firm, saying it never made a deposit to complete the $13 million land purchase, even after the price was reduced to $12.2 million.
It’s unclear why Jordan never completed the purchase of the site, but her project was planned at a challenging time to raise debt and equity for a U.S. office development. The project also was complicated by the “character building” classification of the structure on the site.
The designation means that a redevelopment of the site must include a reconstructed version of the facade on the building that now sits on the site.
The sides have reached an undisclosed settlement to end the lawsuit, according to Cresa brokers speaking on behalf of Bemis-Kelley, who they said no longer lives in Chicago. Jordan did not respond to a request for comment from CoStar News.
Bemis-Kelley’s parents long owned the property as a home for artists and other creative users, according to Cook.
“It’s time for this property to go to a new owner and someone with a new vision for the property,” Cook said. “Our client’s desire is to bring seasoned developers to the table. She wants someone who will understand this site and can deliver.”
The site is just south of train tracks running through the northern edge of Fulton Market, less than a block from a sprawling Guinness brewery and restaurant that opened in 2023.
The most likely development plan for the site now is multifamily, according to the Cresa brokers, which would require working with city officials on a zoning change. Those negotiations also would determine the potential size of an apartment tower on the site where the office tower previously was planned.
But entitlement work already done to create the currently allowed zoning density is valued at more than $1 million, the brokers said.
“What previously soured the deal was the capital markets and some issues the previous buyer had in obtaining financing,” Cook said. “The upside is, the entitlement is done. We think the path to a zoning shift won’t be as arduous as what you’d see starting from day one. The heavy lift has already been done.”
For the record
The seller is represented by Cresa brokers Marcus Cook, Patrick Kobilca and Alex Ross.