$113M secured for landmark office-to-residential conversion on Chicago’s Mag Mile

CHICAGO, Sep 21, 2026 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it arranged $113 million in construction financing and joint venture equity for 500 North Michigan Ave. on behalf of Commonwealth Development Partners (CDP). The 500 North Michigan Avenue project is the largest office-to-residential conversion project currently underway in Chicago and will involve a 25-story office-to-residential conversion delivering 320 luxury apartments in Chicago's premier Magnificent Mile district.

Commonwealth has completed several large-scale office-to-residential conversion projects around the country, and the 500 North Michigan project fits well with Commonwealth’s strategy of pursuing attractive adaptive reuse projects in supply constrained urban infill markets.

Following Commonwealth Development Partners and Triangle Capital Group’s off-market acquisition of the property in August 2025 for $5 million, JLL was engaged and secured a $71.5 million non-recourse construction loan through Santander Bank, N.A., and arranged $41.8 million in joint venture equity with Washington Capital Management on behalf of one of its institutional clients. The investment reflects Washington Capital’s continued focus on thoughtfully selected real estate opportunities for its institutional clients, including projects utilizing union labor in major U.S. markets.

“We are pleased to partner with Commonwealth Development Partners and Triangle Capital Group on the transformation of 500 North Michigan Avenue,” said Robin Dean of Washington Capital Management. “This investment brings together an experienced sponsorship team, an irreplaceable location and a thoughtful adaptive reuse strategy that we believe is well positioned to meet long-term demand for high-quality housing in downtown Chicago. It also reflects our continued focus on identifying compelling real estate opportunities for our institutional clients, including projects that utilize union labor across the country.”

The project plans to benefit from the Illinois Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program (AHSAP) and the project is also pursuing Federal Historic Tax Credits. This dual incentive structure will enhance project returns while preserving the architectural character of this iconic Michigan Avenue building.

Construction on 500 North Michigan Ave. began in May 2026 with completion expected by March 2028. Upon completion, the adaptive reuse project will feature 253,024 rentable square feet comprising studios, one- and two-bedroom units, plus 60 garage parking spaces. The development will offer resort-style amenities, including a rooftop pool and amenity deck, state-of-the-art fitness center with yoga room, extensive co-working spaces, multi-sport simulator, theater, front desk concierge and ground-floor retail.

“We’re excited to get our 500 North Michigan project under construction and we’re pleased to be partnering with Washington Capital Management, Triangle Capital Group and Santander,” said Matthew Faris of Commonwealth Development Partners. “With a world class address in the heart of Chicago’s Eds and Meds neighborhood the project is well positioned to take advantage of Chicago’s nation leading rent growth. We’re also proud to be delivering 320 units of much needed new housing to the city, including 64 affordable units.”

500 North Michigan Ave. is strategically located in Streeterville, Chicago's education and medical hub, just blocks from Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Lurie Children's Hospital and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The property sits at the epicenter of the Magnificent Mile retail corridor, providing residents with walking access to 460 retail shops, 275 restaurants and bars and world-class cultural attractions.

The project capitalizes on exceptional market fundamentals, with Chicago leading the nation in year-over-year rent growth at 6.5% and maintaining 97% occupancy as urban multifamily construction pipelines remain at historic lows. Chicago’s Streeterville/River North submarket has absorbed an average of 1,270 units annually since 2021 against only 725 units delivered, supporting robust fundamentals and rapid lease-up potential.

The JLL Capital Markets Debt Advisory and Equity Placement team representing the borrower included Managing Director Chris Knight, Senior Analyst Ryan Planek and Analyst Annie Thomas.

"500 North Michigan Avenue presents a rare opportunity to create an outstanding adaptive reuse project in one of Chicago's most coveted and supply-constrained locations," said Knight. "The project's combination of an experienced sponsor with proven conversion expertise, premier Michigan Avenue address, attractive basis, and nation-leading multifamily fundamentals create a tremendous investment opportunity for this newly formed partnership."

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The group's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers best-in-class solutions for clients, including investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, M&A and corporate finance, loan sales, equity & fund placement, net lease, derivative advisory and energy & infrastructure advisory. JLL Capital Markets has more than 3,000 specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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JLL (NYSE:JLL) is a leading global commercial real estate services and investment management company with annual revenue of $26.1 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 112,000 as of June 30, 2026. For over 200 years, clients have trusted JLL, a Fortune 500® company, to help them confidently buy, build, occupy, manage and invest across a variety of industries and property types, including office, industrial, hotel, multi-family, retail and data center properties. Driven by our purpose to shape the future of real estate for a better world, we help our clients, people and communities SEE A BRIGHTER WAY. Powered by rich global datasets and leading technology capabilities, we provide coordinated, end-to-end delivery of real estate services for a broad range of global clients who represent a wide variety of industries. Through LaSalle Investment Management, we invest for clients on a global basis in both private assets and publicly traded real estate securities. For further information, visit jll.com.

Commonwealth Development Partners is a full-service real estate development and investment firm founded in 2017. The company specializes in complex urban-infill and select suburban development, and adaptive reuse projects across supply-constrained markets in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Midwest regions. Through deep local market knowledge and integrated construction expertise, CDP delivers exceptional risk-adjusted returns across diverse multifamily project types. The firm has established strong relationships with institutional capital partners, family offices, and national and regional lenders to execute its value-creation strategies. CDP has successfully delivered over $500 million and 1,500 units since its 2017 founding, including $217 million in adaptive reuse projects with institutional partners. Commonwealth has an active development pipeline with over 1,200 units and $600 million in projects under construction or in pre-development. Please visit www.commonwealthdp.com.

Triangle Capital Group is a private real estate investment firm, founded in 2009, that focuses on special situations in both equity and debt. The firm combines the infrastructure to acquire and operate real estate with a sophisticated understanding of real estate credit products. Triangle’s unique combination of skills allows us to invest “vertically” throughout all parts of the capital structure and “horizontally” across all asset classes. Since inception, Triangle has completed over $3 Billion of acquisitions and has actively managed investments in all asset classes throughout the U.S.

Washington Capital Management, Inc., established in 1978, is an employee-owned investment advisory firm headquartered in Seattle with additional offices in Boston, Portland, Southern California, and Northern California. The firm manages assets across real estate equity, real estate debt, fixed income, and equity strategies primarily for institutional clients, offering a variety of investment products including equity real estate investments, commercial mortgages, and construction loans. Visit www.wa-cap.com.