The Bellwether adds 117 mixed-income apartments to Chicago’s Loop and marks the first completed project under the city’s LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative.
Chicago has reached a major milestone in its effort to transform vacant downtown office space into housing.
City officials recently celebrated the opening of The Bellwether, a 14-story historic building in the Loop that has been converted from mostly unused office space into 117 residential apartments.
The project is the first completed office-to-housing conversion backed by the city as part of its broader effort to bring more residents into downtown Chicago.
From historic office building to apartments
Originally known as the Rector building, the 121-year-old property had spent years serving as office space before much of the building became underused.
Developers converted 11 floors of the building into apartments while preserving the historic character of the property.
Of the 117 new homes, 41 are designated for households with an average income of about 60% of the area median income, giving the project a mix of market-rate and income-restricted housing.
The redevelopment received significant public support. The city provided $28 million through tax increment financing, while the building’s historic landmark designation helped make approximately $7.8 million in federal historic tax credits available for the project.
The finished building is now called The Bellwether.
Part of a larger downtown housing strategy
The Bellwether is only the beginning of Chicago’s LaSalle Street Reimagined initiative.
The city has identified six office conversion projects that together are expected to create approximately 1,765 mixed-income housing units in the downtown area.
City officials see the conversions as a way to address two challenges at the same time: a shortage of affordable housing and the large amount of office space that has remained vacant or underused as work patterns have changed since the pandemic.
“The Bellwether is the vanguard for downtown office conversions,” Chicago Department of Planning and Development Commissioner Ciere Boatright said in a city announcement.
The strategy also reflects a broader shift in how cities are approaching older commercial buildings. Instead of leaving underused office properties empty, developers are exploring whether existing structures can be adapted for residential use.
Private developers are also converting offices
Chicago’s office-to-residential activity extends beyond projects supported directly by the city.
Nearly two dozen privately led office conversion projects are also in the pipeline across the city. Together, those developments are expected to add close to 4,000 residential units.
The trend is part of a larger national movement. Major cities have been looking at adaptive reuse as office vacancy rates remain elevated and demand for housing continues to put pressure on urban neighborhoods.
For Chicago, converting existing buildings could also help bring more people into the Loop after years of declining weekday office activity.
A new role for downtown buildings
The Bellwether demonstrates how older commercial properties can take on a different purpose as the needs of a city change.
Rather than demolishing the historic structure or leaving unused office floors vacant, the project gives the building a new residential function while maintaining its place in Chicago’s downtown landscape.
Gary Stoltz, a partner at developer R2, said the project shows what can happen when historic downtown properties are viewed as assets that can serve a new purpose.
As additional conversions move ahead, Chicago will continue to test whether turning vacant offices into homes can help create a downtown with a larger residential population and a broader mix of uses.
The Bellwether is now the first completed example of that strategy. More projects are expected to follow.
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