Construction is underway on the latest addition to the Near North Side.
Long-time community staple City Farm will be replaced this year by 1200 N. Clybourn, a seven-story building that will include 32 market rate units, 26 affordable units and 26 public housing units with 17,000 square feet of ground floor retail.
The $39 million project is a partnership between the city, Brinshore Development and Michaels Development Company.
Read more at Curbed Chicago here.
With the Fed announcing this month that it's raising its rate above zero for the first time in nearly a decade, what should consumers expect?
The Chicago Tribune's Carolyn Bigda recently tackled the question with an eye out for Millennials' pocket books. Here are the likely consequences:
- Credit card rates are likely to rise quickly. They usually track the Fed closely.
- Mortgage and other loan rates will climb: banks have been earning historically low interest on their loan products. Expect them to climb.
- Savings deposit rates will remain low: but consider moving the products to online banks that offer a better return than traditional banks.
The good news, however, is that the rate increase, at a quarter of a point, is so small that it will likely translate into a very small increase.
Read more here.
The latest data shows that the homeownership rates among younger adults is leveling out, perhaps hinting of a turn-around.
After declining for decades, Fannie Mae reports this week that the rate of homeownership in the 24-to-34-year-old bracket has leveled out, with no significant decline in 2014.
The challenges facing Millennials in home ownership include high levels of student debt coupled with stagnant wages. The report goes on to suggest, however, that demand for more housing could be on the horizon.
Read more at Chicago Agent Magazine here.
As the year comes to a close, many publications begin rounding up the biggest stories of the year.
Crain's took a stab this week at naming 2015's biggest real estate deals. Their list includes:
1. The Willis Tower, purchased by the Blackstone Group in June for $1.3 billion, the highest price ever paid for a U.S. office building outside of New York.
2. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art was approved to be built on lakefront land south of Soldier Field that is currently a surface parking lot. Construction on the $400 million project is expected to begin in the Spring.
3. OneEleven, the residential apartment tower at 111 W. Wacker was purchased for $328 million by Chicago real estate firm Heitman. The $651,000-per-unit price was the highest ever paid for a Chicago apartment tower.
4. Headquarters moving to downtown Chicago: Crain's named ConAgra's move from Omaha, Nebraska, Kraft-Heinz and Motorola Solutions.
5. The Gold Coast's Waldorf-Astoria hotel was sold by billionaire investor Sam Zell for $111.9 million or $592,000 per room, another Chicago record.
Read it all here.
