Mavrek Plans 180-Unit Apartment Conversion at 209 W. Jackson Blvd. in The Loop

CHICAGO — Another vintage office building in the Loop may soon get a second life as housing. A development team is planning to convert the mostly vacant 12-story building at 209 W. Jackson Blvd. into approximately 180 apartments, adding another major project to the wave of office-to-residential conversions reshaping downtown Chicago.

The project comes as demand for traditional office space remains under pressure, while downtown apartment rents continue to climb. For buyers, renters, investors, and anyone watching the future of the Loop, this is another sign that downtown Chicago is slowly becoming less office-only and more residential, walkable, and mixed-use.

Mavrek and Acres Capital Plan a 180-Unit Conversion

Chicago-based Mavrek Development is expected to enter into a joint venture with Acres Capital to redevelop 209 W. Jackson Blvd. into apartments.

The project would convert the historic 12-story office building, originally built in 1896, into roughly 180 residential units. Total development costs are estimated at about $90 million, with completion targeted for early 2029.

The building is currently about 70% vacant, which makes it a strong candidate for adaptive reuse. Rather than trying to lease up older office space in a difficult market, the redevelopment would reposition the property for downtown residential demand.

According to The Real Deal, the project would turn the historic building into “around 180 apartments” and represents another major downtown office conversion for Mavrek and Acres.

Why 209 W. Jackson Fits the Office-to-Residential Trend

The Loop has a large inventory of older office buildings, and many of them are facing the same challenge: tenant demand has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

At the same time, downtown residential demand has remained strong, especially as new apartment construction has become harder to finance. Higher borrowing costs and tighter capital markets have made ground-up development more difficult, which makes adaptive reuse more attractive when the building layout, zoning, and financing structure work.

The 209 W. Jackson Blvd. building checks several important boxes:

Historic structure
Mostly vacant office space
Strong downtown location
Potential use of historic preservation tax credits
Existing zoning that supports residential conversion
Nearby transit, jobs, restaurants, and cultural amenities

The building’s zoning reportedly allows an as-of-right conversion to as many as 206 apartments, and because it is an existing building, the project may not trigger the same affordable housing requirements as some new-construction projects.

A $90 Million Project With Historic Tax Credits Likely Involved

The proposed conversion is expected to cost about $90 million.

The financing structure will likely include federal historic preservation tax credits, similar to another Mavrek-Acres project already underway at 65 E. Wacker Place.

That matters because historic office conversions can be expensive. Developers often need to preserve architectural features, modernize mechanical systems, meet residential code requirements, and create efficient apartment layouts within older floor plates.

Historic tax credits can help make those numbers work, especially when public subsidies or city-backed incentives are not part of the financing stack.

The Real Deal noted that the 209 W. Jackson Blvd. conversion is part of a group of privately funded downtown projects, unlike several other Loop conversions that are receiving support through city programs or Tax Increment Financing.

Mavrek and Acres Are Already Converting 65 E. Wacker Place

This would not be the first major Loop conversion for Mavrek Development and Acres Capital.

The two firms are already working together on the conversion of 65 E. Wacker Place, also known as the Millinery Mart Building, into 252 apartments. That project is expected to welcome its first residents in August 2026.

The Wacker Place project is also valued around $90 million and includes a financing package involving a $62.4 million senior loan, an $11 million loan, and about $17 million in federal and Illinois historic tax credits.

For 209 W. Jackson, that prior experience could be important. Office-to-residential conversions are complex, and developers who have already worked through similar financing, construction, and preservation issues may be better positioned to move another project forward.

Part of a Larger Downtown Conversion Pipeline

The 209 W. Jackson Blvd. proposal joins several other office-to-residential projects being discussed or developed across downtown Chicago.

That includes the 65 E. Wacker Place conversion by Mavrek and Acres, the Field Building at 135 S. LaSalle, and other older office properties being evaluated for adaptive reuse.

Chicago has also become one of the national leaders in office-to-residential conversion activity. According to the project notes, the city has more than 3,600 future residential units identified from office conversions, giving Chicago one of the largest conversion pipelines in the country.

This matters because downtown housing is increasingly being viewed as part of the solution for older office buildings that no longer fit current tenant demand.

When Could the 209 W. Jackson Conversion Be Completed?

The 209 W. Jackson Blvd. project is currently targeted for completion in early 2029.

That timeline places it several years behind the 65 E. Wacker Place project, which is expected to deliver its first apartments in August 2026. If both projects move forward as planned, they could help add hundreds of new residents to the Loop over the next few years.

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