Homebuilder Lennar is looking to sell a site in Chicago’s South Loop where it once planned a 344-unit apartment tower, testing developers’ appetite for new projects after years of reduced multifamily development in the city.
Lennar’s Quarterra multifamily division has hired CBRE brokers to seek a buyer for the 27,443-square-foot site at 410 S. Wabash Ave., according to a brochure.
Quarterra previously planned a 25-story tower on the site after buying the land for $18.25 million in October 2019, according to Cook County property records. That deal came just months ahead of the arrival of COVID-19.
But after starting initial work on the site, Quarterra never proceeded.
The firm is now looking to sell the site after years of reduced construction in the city because of high borrowing and construction costs. That dearth of new units has led to the Chicago area leading the nation’s largest markets in rent growth.
Those factors have pushed Chicago towers with thousands of combined units onto the for-sale market to test demand from buyers. In one recent example of an existing tower hitting the market, the 474-unit rental portion of the Jeanne Gang-designed, 82-story Aqua at Lakeshore East skyscraper went on the market for sale last week.
Quarterra is hoping that its construction-ready site will stand out as developers eye the potential next wave of multifamily projects in downtown Chicago. The site’s current owner already has invested $2 million readying the site for construction, including already digging foundations, according to the CBRE materials.
CBRE also is emphasizing another factor that could help make a new project profitable. Because the Wabash Avenue project was zoned and started before the city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance was implemented in October 2021, no units with below-market rents are required in the building, increasing the potential revenue.
The buyer could develop as many as 399 units on the site obtain new zoning approvals, according to CBRE.
It’s not clear how much Quarterra is expecting in a sale. The firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CoStar News on Monday.
Crain’s Chicago Business earlier reported the lot listing.
Quarterra has been selling existing buildings throughout the country since the multifamily business dragged down Lennar’s earnings in 2024. Yet Quarterra also has been lining up new developments in several markets, including multiple projects in Seattle.
In 2024, Quarterra sold the 176-unit Marlowe building in Chicago’s River North, the 288-unit Brook on Janes Apartments complex in Bolingbrook, Illinois, and the 270-unit Emerson building in Oak Park, Illinois.
For the record
The seller is represented by CBRE broker Tom Svoboda.