Pre-leasing has begun at Wacker Place, an office-to-residential conversion at 65 E. Wacker Place in the heart of downtown Chicago. Cross Street, Mavrek Development, and ACRES Commercial Realty jointly announced the start of pre-leasing for the project, which is transforming the historic building into a multifamily community.
When completed, Wacker Place is planned to deliver 252 apartments. The residential offering will include studio, convertible, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom floor plans, targeting a range of renters seeking a downtown Chicago address. The project is positioned as a contemporary living option within an established office corridor.
Mavrek Development’s chief investment officer, Anthony Hrusovsky, described the initiative as a reinvention of a historic structure that brings new life to an iconic Chicago building while aligning with the expectations of today’s renters. The comments underscore the effort to modernize the property while retaining its character and downtown location.
The building’s ground-floor retail component is anchored by Morton’s Steakhouse, which remains open and operating during the construction period. This continuity of retail operations allows the property to maintain an active street presence even as the upper floors transition from office to residential use.
Originally completed in 1928, 65 E. Wacker Place was designed by the architectural firm Rissman & Hirschfeld and was first known as the Millinery Mart Building. Its current repositioning reflects a broader trend of reusing older office properties for housing in major central business districts.
McHugh Construction is serving as general contractor for the residential adaptive reuse, working in partnership with Cullen Construction Management. Their role encompasses the physical conversion of the former office space into apartments while the existing retail tenant continues operations on the ground floor.
The Wacker Place project illustrates how legacy office buildings in prime downtown locations are being adapted to meet residential demand. By converting an early 20th-century office asset into 252 rental units, the stakeholders are reshaping the use profile of this address within Chicago’s core while retaining active street-level retail.
