1001 South State Street is a tower of benefits
Published in the South Loop Journal, September 2015
The South Loop is less than a year away from welcoming hundreds of new residents and two new retailers into a tower of curved glass and steel at 1001 South State Street. Beginning next July, the neighborhood will be home to a residential mid-rise combining nearly 400 rental apartments and a three-story lobby that soars more than four hundred feet in the air.
The 41-story, Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) design was brought to life by a partnership between Chicago real estate firm Golub & Company and LA fund manager CIM Group, the company that helped finance Block 37. CIM Principal Avi Sheemesh cited the area’s likelihood for “economic expansion” and its proximity to “solid infrastructure and transportation networks” among the reasons that his company chose to help cover the tab.
Chicago-based Walsh Construction Group broke ground on the project last December. Since then, 1001’s emerging graceful geometry has been ranked on curbed.com’s “building boom” list and described by ChicagoArchitecture.org as a “wonderland of lines and colors.”
The perks within the building include an 8,500 square-foot “amenity level” directly above the three-story parking garage. It will contain an outdoor swimming pool, a fitness area, a lounge and a manicured birch grove with fire pits and various nooks for socializing.
The individual units will offer an abundance of amenities as well, most of which cater to the modern city dweller. Equipped with a full gigabyte of bandwidth supplied by Everywhere Wireless, they will boast “the fastest internet service in Chicago,” says Everywhere EVP Keegan Bonebrake.
The connectivity is part of an effort to “future proof” the property, says Golub leasing manager Michael Canon, who enthusiastically explains that, “we’re putting a lot of technology into the building.”
This initiative includes Golub’s mission to achieve Silver Certification from the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) organization, which means that the project must “satisfy prerequisites” for things like building materials, energy efficiency and community consciousness.
Walsh Construction is currently executing the “build-out phase” of the project, says Project Manager Ken Chura. The installation of highly efficient, coated glass windows on the residential floors is a substantial part of the process, and the number of workers onsite will increase from 125 to 200 during its completion.
All of this is great news for local business owners like Tommy Bezanes who, along with brother Dino, opened nearby restaurant Standing Room Only on South Dearborn Street in 1993. Starting with a small room and twelve seats, the brothers have since increased the restaurant’s capacity almost tenfold, added an outdoor patio and assembled one of the largest displays of Chicago sports memorabilia in the city.
“Any new development is good for businesses because it brings more density,” says Bezanes, who is also a real estate broker with Jameson Sotheby. “As empty lots become developed, so better for the commercial tracts on each of these corridors.”
Likewise, along with the beautiful architecture and the environmental friendliness, so better for the people who call the South Loop home.
Rendering by SCB · Photos by Dan Patton