20-story apartment tower opens in West Loop

Just 16 months after breaking ground at 1125 W. Van Buren Street, the 20-story Avra West Loop apartment tower is complete. The rental building welcomed its first residents in early April and is filling up quickly as downtown's luxury market continues its post-pandemic hot streak. 

"Pre-leasing in January and February for us was dead, but March [leasing] velocity took off like a rocket," said Jeffrey Hreben of Chicago-based developer and builder Tandem Partners. "We're averaging 30-plus leases per month in the last three months, and the building is 75 percent leased. We should reach stabilization in the calendar year—a pleasant surprise that Q1 did not portend."

According to Hreben, a big part of Avra's sudden success is a rebound in demand for smaller apartments—a segment of the market that saw the biggest decline during the COVID pandemic. Out of Avra's 198 apartments, nearly 50 percent are studio or convertible apartments and 40 percent are one-bedrooms. 

"We've seen a lot of people coming from the Rush Medical community and, surprisingly, UIC," said Hreben. "These are renters who want a luxury product and smaller spaces, and our unit mix reflects that. We offer a lower price point, but it's still a fully-amenitized building."

Rents start at $1,670 for a studio, $1,810 for a convertible, $2,075 for a one-bedroom, $3,495 for a two-bed, and $3,995 for a three-bedroom apartment. Concessions have "burned off" since March, Hreben explained, but many units average approximately one month of free rent. Two-month concessions are available on some floorplans with select lease terms.

Avra—which gets its name from a Greek term meaning aura or breeze that's open on all sides—was designed by Chicago architecture firm Antunovich Associates and features interiors by Brianne Bishop Design. Perched just north of Eisenhower Expressway, the transit-oriented development is within a couple of blocks of two different Blue Line stations. The property features just seven parking spaces plus an off-street porte-cochere for pickups and dropoffs.

Interior amenities include a 24-hour concierge, a bike room, a fitness center, a demonstration kitchen, private coworking pods, and a 3,500-square-foot wrap-around roof terrace with fire pits and grills. There's also a so-called "maker space" that Hreben described as "a place to get messy without making a mess in your unit."

Avra is Tandem's second high-rise rental development, following up on the 23-story Avenir apartments which opened in River West in 2020. The developer has zoning approval to build another West Loop rental tower at nearby 1044 W. Van Buren and hopes to break ground on that 21-story project by the end of this year.