Employmentin Chicago’s construction industry has been declining by 5,000 to 6,000 jobseach month recently, dropping more steeply than any other significantmetropolitan market in the United States. Ironically, the only hope for thenear future arises out of the city’s and nation’s foreclosure debacle – the needfor more rental apartments to house dislocated former homeowners. Though MayorEmanuel has recently announced commitments by such corporate giants as Google,Sara Lee, MillerCoors and United Airlines to move office jobs into the city,much of that workforce will be located in existing vacant office space, such asGoogle’s lease of 400,000 square feet in the Merchandise Mart.
Onthe other hand, new apartment construction in the city is showing some slow buthopeful growth. Recently launched projects in the residential high rise marketinclude the Kennedy family’s 500 unit, 50 story apartment tower on Wolf Point,and the 42 floor, 332 unit Summit on Lake at 73 East Lake Street, now underconstruction. Chris Kennedy describes the family’s Wolf Point project as “abillion dollars coming into the city when all is said and done,” including notonly the 50 floors of small apartments appealing to “young people without cars”and two office towers to be built later. Forty-second ward Alderman BrendanReilly is still dealing with community opposition to the Wolf Point project,which will obstruct the delightful views of neighborhood residents recentlypurchasing expensive condos nearby.
Itwill be years before we know whether these new rental units will be abandonedby their tenants when the housing market finally turns around, if ever, but theapartment developers are betting billions on substantially full occupancy, atleast until their apartment projects can be fully depreciated and sold off ascondos.
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