Chicago Construction News staff writer
A seven-story office building at 223 W. Erie Street in River North will be converted into 66 residential units under an $18.4 million redevelopment led by Concord Capital, city officials announced. The project received approval from the Chicago City Council.
The building, located at the southeast corner of N. Franklin Street and W. Erie Street, currently has ground-floor retail with six floors of office space. The redevelopment, designed by Kennedy Mann Architecture, will convert the underutilized offices into rental housing to meet growing demand for urban living.
The new units will include 31 studios, 24 one-bedroom apartments and 11 two-bedroom units, some with dens. Each of the six floors will house 11 units. The basement will be transformed into amenity space with a fitness center and coworking lounge for residents.
The project will not provide car parking, reflecting its central location and access to public transit. Instead, the building will include 35 secure bicycle parking spaces in the basement, supporting the city’s shift toward transit-oriented development.
Construction will involve a combination of specialty trades under the oversight of Concord Capital. Demolition and interior strip-out crews will remove office partitions and systems, while structural engineers will adapt the building’s load-bearing capacity to the new layouts. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contractors will install residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems. Carpenters and drywall installers will build the new units and provide soundproofing, and finishing trades will complete flooring, tile, painting, and cabinetry.
To allow the conversion, the site was rezoned from DX-5 to DX-5 with a Type 1 amendment, eliminating parking, open space, setback, and loading berth requirements.
The project is expected to generate significant work for local construction trades and consulting services while adding much-needed housing stock to River North.
Demolition of the remaining office interiors is scheduled to begin in early 2026, after which the building will be transformed into a modern residential community. The project is seen as a model for adaptive reuse and sustainable redevelopment in Chicago.
