Chicago West Loop tower reaches construction milestone with 380 apartments planned

Groundbreaking advances a long-planned West Loop project

A major residential project at 1000 W. Jackson Blvd. has moved from planning into construction. Fengate Asset Management and Mavrek Development held a groundbreaking on September 9, 2026, for Julep West Loop, a planned 25-story mixed-use tower in Chicago’s West Loop. The project is designed to combine rental housing, retail and resident amenities on a site near Jackson Boulevard and Morgan Street, according to the Fengate project announcement.

The development is planned to contain 380 residential units, including 76 affordable apartments, plus more than 21,500 square feet of commercial space. Fengate said the commercial component will be anchored by an international grocery store. The project is being advanced by Mavrek with financing from Fengate’s Social Opportunities strategy, which focuses on housing, healthcare and logistics investments in the United States and Canada.

For Chicago residents and housing watchers, the groundbreaking is significant because it marks the start of physical work on a project that has been in the city’s development pipeline for several years. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Chicago Plan Commission approved the development in July 2024 and that the City Council approved it later that year. The paper also identified the project’s site as including 1000-1024 W. Jackson Blvd., 230-238 S. Morgan St. and 1015-1027 W. Adams St. in its report on the groundbreaking.

Housing, grocery retail and shared amenities

CC0 1.0Original source

The project’s planned apartment mix ranges from studios to three-bedroom units, giving the building a range of rental formats rather than a single unit type. The 76 affordable units are part of the announced 380-unit total; they should not be confused with apartments that are already available, because the building remains under construction.

The grocery component is also central to the project’s neighborhood role. The Sun-Times reported that an approximately 22,000-square-foot Aldi is expected to anchor the tower and become the discount grocer’s first West Loop location. That planned store would add a daily-needs retail use to a part of Chicago that has continued to attract new residents and development, while the residential floors would add more households within walking distance of nearby businesses and services.

The developers have also published a substantial amenity program. Current project materials describe the following planned features:

• A rooftop pool with cabanas and outdoor fire pits
• A fitness center, pickleball court and half-court basketball court
• A dog run and grooming facilities
• Resident lounges, bike storage and electric-vehicle charging stations
• About 160 parking spaces, according to the Chicago Sun-Times report

Mavrek’s project page lists the development as 1000 Jackson, identifies it as a ground-up mixed-use project, and reports 380 rental units, 21,517 square feet of commercial space and an estimated 2028 delivery. That page provides a useful project reference because the development is described under both the 1000 Jackson and Julep West Loop names. Readers can also follow broader Illinois housing-market coverage as additional large projects move through construction and occupancy milestones.

What happens after the groundbreaking

Fengate identifies Skender as the general contractor and says construction is expected to take approximately 21 months, with first occupancy anticipated in early 2028. Those dates are projections, not a guarantee that apartments or retail space will open on a particular day. The schedule can change as construction, inspections, tenant build-out and occupancy approvals proceed.

CC0 1.0Original source

Fengate also says the project will target National Green Building Standard certification and include energy-efficiency strategies, green roofs, EV-ready infrastructure, water-conservation measures and stormwater-reuse systems. These are announced project goals and planned features; the finished building will need to be evaluated against the applicable approvals and certification process once work is complete.

Although the development has received zoning and legislative approvals, a groundbreaking does not eliminate the need for construction permits and inspections. Anyone researching responsibility for a building project should confirm the governing authority directly: a ZIP code or postal city alone is not authoritative for determining jurisdiction. Separate fire, health, septic or well, and road or right-of-way permits may apply in addition to the building permit, depending on the scope and location of the work. Readers can use the Illinois permit finder to help confirm the correct permit authority.

The next visible milestones for Julep West Loop will be the progress of site and tower construction, the eventual build-out of the planned grocery space, and the city’s inspection and occupancy process. Until those steps are complete, the apartments, affordable units, Aldi space and amenities remain planned elements of a project expected to deliver its first occupancy in early 2028.