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Connecticut-based developer, Commonwealth Development Partners, is transforming the upper floors of 500 North Michigan Avenue into a residential complex. The building, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and completed in 1967, will feature 320 apartments, with 238 units delivered in the first phase and the remaining 82 added later. The lower floors, occupied by retailers like Chick-fil-A and Bank of America, will remain unchanged.

    The project aims to address high vacancy rates on North Michigan Avenue, which reached 18.2% in the third quarter of last year. Commonwealth has committed to preserving the building's historic facade while renovating its interior with improved lighting, landscaping, and stair enhancements. The development includes affordable housing units, with 20% of the apartments designated for residents earning 60% of the area's median income.

    The property has a complex history, having changed hands several times before Commonwealth acquired it. The adaptive reuse project is part of a broader effort to repurpose underutilized office space in downtown Chicago, with Mayor Brandon Johnson reinvigorating plans to add over 1,000 apartments by converting 1.3 million square feet of vacant office space.