CMK buys another South Loop development site for $5.5M

Colin Kihnke’s CMK Companies signaled where it could pursue its next big South Loop development.

An LLC sharing an address with the Chicago developer expanded its development site portfolio with a $5.5 million purchase across two respective deals for land at 1624-1704 South Wabash Avenue last month, Cook County public records show. The seller of both parcels was a trust whose beneficiaries are unclear from the records.

The area, which spans just more than three-quarters of an acre, is in a downtown mixed-use district zoned for high-rise residential or office buildings with a floor area ratio of five, meaning it could hold a structure with a maximum size of well more than 100,000 square feet without seeking any changes to the zoning from the city.

It’s down the street from another site where CMK is building a 30-story, 299-unit luxury residential tower at 1400 South Wabash Avenue on a property it bought for $6 million in 2020.

It’s also not far from other apartment complexes the developer has already built, including the 261-unit Coeval on 14th Street and South Wabash Avenue and 349-unit Imprint at 717 South Clark Street. CMK didn’t return a request for comment about the company’s plans for their most recent land acquisition.

While the South Loop has snagged a growing portion of large Chicago apartment projects in recent years, it’s recently taken a back seat to the West Loop, which has been targeted for 9,000 units spread across proposals in various stages of the development process. Still, the South Loop’s potential remains strong, as Related Midwest has made progress on breaking ground on its megadevelopment site The 78 that would connect the neighborhood to Chinatown with a mix of office, academic and residential buildings.

Meanwhile, multiple downtown residential towers have traded hands or hit the market recently amid a strong multifamily market. Chicago investment firm Waterton dropped $170 million for the 496-unit Alta Roosevelt at 801 South Financial Place earlier this fall, and Newmark brokers are seeking buyers for Next on the Near North Side, the Seneca in Streeterville and Emme in the West Loop, which total 795 apartment units.

Other recently-announced large downtown development projects include Draper & Kramer’s plans for a 129-unit apartment building on the Near North Side and Mavrek Development’s planned 21-story high rise in Streeterville.

Near the South Loop, A.J. Patton’s 548 Capital also recently gained Plan Commission approval to move forward with a 47-unit, solar-powered housing complex at 2556 South Federal Street, just south of the Stevenson Expressway.

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