City and project leaders on Wednesday celebrated the grand opening of the Bellwether Residences, the first office-to-residential building conversion to be completed under the city’s La Salle Street Corridor Revitalization program.
It marks a huge milestone for the city, whose revitalization program aims to add more housing to the Loop by redeveloping largely vacant office buildings. The program is expected to bring more than 1,000 apartments to the area, with tax increment financing assistance.
The $64.2 million Bellwether project was the first to break ground in 2025 under the La Salle Street Corridor Revitalization program, and the developers received $28 million in TIF funds.
“That is what rebuilding Downtown looks like: taking buildings from another era and giving them new life, bringing more residents Downtown, creating affordable housing and building the kind of mixed-use neighborhood that will keep the Loop vibrant for generations to come,” Ald. Bill Conway (34th), whose ward the building falls in, said.
The Bellwether has 117 units, including 41 affordable apartments, which exceeds the program’s requirement that 30% of units be affordable. That figure also represents the highest percentage of affordable units of any project in the program.
The apartments are on floors seven to 14 of the landmarked Rector Building, 79 W. Monroe St., and it welcomed its first residents the week of Aug. 31. The lower floors are home to a charter school and Walgreens.
The apartments are about 25% leased and has applications for all 41 affordable units, according to Gary Stoltz, principal and chief design and development officer for Chicago-based R2 Companies.
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Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
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Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
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Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Units include studio, one- and two-bedroom options, with amenities such as in-unit washer and dryer and quartz countertops. There’s also a lounge, fitness center with saunas, roof deck and dog run.
For all the modern finishes, there’s numerous historical elements that were kept by R2 and Lagfin S.C.A., which led the project. Lagfin S.C.A. is the holding company of Italian spirits company Campari Group. A limited liability corporation tied to Campari Group purchased the building for an estimated $48 million in 2022.
The open staircases on each floor are original to the 1905 building, Stoltz said. And each unit’s entry door, featuring smooth wood and fluted glass, are original, though R2 had to make about 50 new doors because the number of units outnumbered the property’s office suites.
The developers also restored the building’s iconic weather bell, as required by the state’s historic preservation division. The bell now bears the word “Bellwether,” in reference to the apartment building.
The Rector Building — formerly known as the Bell Federal Savings & Loan Building — was built in 1905. It’s the oldest surviving commercial tower designed by architect Jarvis Hunt and was given landmark status by the Chicago City Council on March 12, 2025.
“When we began this project, we shared a vision: To imagine an important Chicago landmark in a way that honored its history while meeting the needs of the city today,” Giacomo Zanibelli, director of real estate at Lagfin S.C.A, said. “Today, its historic character has been preserved, while the building has been given new importance and a new life.”
Department of Planning and Development Commissioner Ciere Boatright said the goal of the city’s La Salle program is to create mixed-use vitality and mixed-income diversity, both of which are essential for sustainable growth.
The program’s six projects — which includes properties shortlisted under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s La Salle Street Reimagined initiative — will increase Downtown’s affordable housing stock by 1,000%, according to Chicago Department of Housing Commissioner Lissette Castañeda.
Boatright said when the DPD and the Department of Housing launched the La Salle initiative in 2022, the amount of vacant office space in Downtown was equal to six Willis Towers, and investors were shy to bet on Downtown because of the lagging office rebound.
Downtown’s office vacancy now hovers around 24.4%, according to a July report from commercial real estate firm Colliers. The report also found growing demand for trophy office spaces — those that are newer with high-quality amenities, unlike many of the LaSalle Street buildings that are now being converted.
The private-public partnership of the La Salle initiative is also drawing more private investment. Three more city-led office-to-residential conversion projects are underway, in addition to roughly two dozen private conversions, Mayor Brandon Johnson said. Once complete, those private projects will create more than 4,000 homes in Downtown.
The conversions will create “a dynamic future” while also honoring Chicago’s history, Johnson said.
“Through the Build Better Together initiative, our equitable economic development plan, we will continue to utilize our $1.25 billion housing and economic development bond, the largest public investment in housing in the city’s history, as well as our partnerships to revitalize and strengthen our neighborhoods,” Johnson said. “We will also continue to think boldly, just as we have done here with the Bellwether residences, to make sure that all of our residents and families can put down roots that span generations in any neighborhood in Chicago.”
