13-Sep-20 – Pandemic or no pandemic, construction has started of a 47-story tower in the Loop that will have stores, residences, and a hotel.

300 North Michigan Avenue will have 25,000 square feet of retail space, 289 residential units, and 280 hotel rooms.

Developers Sterling Bay and Magellan Development Group got the money for the tower on July 16 – $174.5 million in construction financing – from sources that include Monroe Capital LLC and Pearlmark Real Estate Partners of Chicago, as well as crowdsourcing.

“In order for Chicago to come through this recent turmoil, we need more of these projects and more jobs to put folks back to work,” said Sterling Bay CEO Andy Gloor at a groundbreaking ceremony on September 10. “This is our hometown. We’re not going anywhere. And we look forward to doing a whole lot more in this city.”

(Left) Construction site at 300 North Michigan Avenue on September 10. The site is the former location of a Walgreen’s. Frame from video provided by Sterling Bay.

CitizenM, a hotel chain based in the Netherlands, will buy the hotel portion of 300 North Michigan Avenue when it is completed in about two years. The 280-room hotel will occupy 11 lower floors.

The residential units will be on 29 floors toward the top of the tower.

Money generated by the city from the $250 million project will go to the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, which invests in businesses and real estate projects in underserved neighborhoods on the south, southwest, and west sides of Chicago.