Luxury Apartment Tower Finds its Niche In Chicago

Ascend Real Estate Group and Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. broke ground on Niche 905, a 202-unit luxury apartment tower in Downtown Chicago.

By Samantha Goldberg, Associate Editor

Niche 905 groundbreaking

Niche 905 groundbreaking

Chicago—Ascend Real Estate Group and Intercontinental Real Estate Corp., along with Intercontinental US REIF fund, broke ground on Niche 905, an 18-story, 202-unit luxury apartment tower in Chicago’s Near North Side neighborhood.

Located at 905 N. Orleans St., the tower will include a mix of convertible, one-, two- and three-bedroom units with views of Lake Michigan and the downtown skyline. The development, which is anticipated to receive a LEED certification, is designed by the Chicago-based FitzGerald Associates Architects and will include 1,750 square feet of ground-level retail, more than 150 parking spaces and storage for 110 bicycles.

“We named this tower ‘Niche 905’ because it is in a central location between the neighborhoods of Old Town, the Gold Coast, River North and the Loop, providing residents with a convenient live, work and play lifestyle,” said Walter Rebenson, CEO of Ascend. “Over the next several years, this area of the Near North Side will be the epicenter of new housing and retail development, and we wanted to be at the forefront of that movement.”

Residents will enjoy amenities such as 24-hour concierge service, a penthouse floor with panoramic views, a rooftop pool, spa and sundeck, an outdoor bar and grilling stations, a community garden, and a state-of-the-art fitness center with a yoga studio, as well as a private party room with a kitchen, bar and big-screen HDTVs. The community will also include a lobby with workstations, a business center, conference room, coffee bar, pet wash station and bike storage.

Individual units will feature quartz countertops, under-cabinet lighting, and plank flooring with 9-foot ceilings, private balconies and in-unit laundry.

Niche 905 will also be conveniently located a half-mile north of the Ohio Street feeder ramp and close to the Chicago Transit Authority’s Brown/Purple and Red lines as well as several major bus routes.

Peter Palandjian, CEO of Intercontinental Real Estate Corp., added that proximity to public transportation is a “huge differentiator” between Niche 905 and other developments farther north and west, which might be a 15-minute walk to and from the nearest commuter station. “Niche 905 will offer a walkable lifestyle for professionals who want to live and work near the city center, where they can easily access jobs in and around the business districts of River North, home to iconic Merchandise Mart, and certainly the West Loop with its tremendous ongoing commercial expansion. The community is also close to Goose Island, which is undergoing a radical transformation that already has brought quality jobs to the area,” Palandjian said.

He added that residents will also be close to some of the city’s top shopping, dining and entertainment, including the Magnificent Mile, an upscale section of Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, and the Clybourn Corridor, a sub-neighborhood of Lincoln Park.

Rebenson added that Ascend surveyed residents at its most recent apartment development, The Madison at Racine in the West Loop, to determine which amenities and finishes to incorporate in the new development, allowing them to identify elements that were popular with existing residents and would appeal to new residents of the luxury apartments.

Images courtesy of Taylor Johnson