90+ Converted Apartment Buildings in 7 Decades Make Chicago the U.S. Adaptive Reuse Champ

Adaptive reuse can be a strong tool for both developers and communities looking to redesign cities while paying homage to their past. Chicago, in particular, is no stranger to reinventing itself, and a recent study from RentCafe put it at the top of the list of U.S. cities with the most apartment conversions. Specifically, the study found that, since the 1950s, nearly 2,000 old buildings have been transformed into apartment complexes in the U.S. — an all-time high. Of these, around 800 were repurposed in the last decade alone with efficiency and sustainability in mind.

Returning old buildings to their former glory while giving them a new meaning is no easy feat. Nevertheless, with 91 conversion projects, Chicago boasts the highest number of adaptive reuse apartment buildings — 81% of which are aimed at renters on a budget. What’s more, its total number of converted apartments follows only New York City (14,167). To find out more about how Chicago breathes new life into its old buildings, we dug into Yardi Matrix data.

Steady rise in Chicago conversions creates more than 14,000 new apartments

Today, Chicago boasts the most converted old buildings in the country (91) and the second-most apartments created through adaptive reuse (14,167). As residential repurposing steadily began to rise, Chicago’s first conversion spike occurred in the 1980s. Back then, 12 buildings transitioned into apartment complexes, including Sheridan Plaza, a former hotel that was the first high-rise built in uptown.

Following the national trend, Chicago’s all-time high in apartment conversions occurred in the 2010s. In fact, a total of 39 old buildings were repurposed last decade — just in time to match the growing interest in unique, vintage apartments. One of these was the former Shoreland Hotel, a roaring ’20s staple that used to throw banquets for Amelia Earhart and host guests such as Elvis.

Courtesy of Bush Temple

Chicago’s most recent apartment conversion projects

Given its colorful past, Chicago has its pick of 1920s buildings to repurpose. But, it also has its share of turn-of-the-century architectural staples — like 1902’s The Bush Temple, which still displays one of the pianos it used to make, or the former Graeme Stewart Elementary School from 1905. These buildings aren’t just some of Chicago’s oldest buildings. They also represent some of the most recent conversions in town. Check out Chicago’s latest conversion projects below:

Top 10 Most Recent Apartment Conversions in Chicago

Name	Conversion	Year Built	Formerly	Units
The Draper	2020	1962	Office Building	342
The Field's Lofts	2019	1942	Warehouse	123
820 South Michigan	2019	1971	Office Building	150
330 South Wells	2019	1927	Factory	132
The Carling	2018	1927	Hotel	80
The Ardus	2018	1920	Factory	149
21st Street Lofts	2018	1908	Office Building	139
Stewart School Lofts	2018	1905	School	64
Bush Temple	2017	1901	Factory	230
Lofts on Arthington	2017	1916	Office Building	181

81% of the repurposed Chicago buildings aimed at renters on a budget

Across the U.S., a large share of adaptive reuse projects is aimed at lower- and middle-income renters — 65%. In this area, Chicago holds its own with 68 repurposed buildings oriented toward those looking for affordable rentals. That’s a cool 81% of Windy City residential conversions that are on the affordable side, 57% of which are accessible to low-income renters. Among them are historical gems like The Carolan — a former resort hotel built in 1923 — and Park View, one of the earliest hotel-to-apartments conversions in the city.

Courtesy of Park View Apartments

Chicago’s most popular conversions: vintage hotels, office buildings & factories

Chicago school architecture is world famous and, to this day, the city has some of the most iconic early 20^th-century structures that are ideal for restoring to their former glory through adaptive reuse. Most of the old buildings that have been repurposed here over the years were former hotels like The Belmont by Reside or The Seneca. In fact, since the 1950s, 46 hotels have been given a second chance — most of which were originally built in the eventful ’20s and ‘30s.

Meanwhile, old office buildings and vintage factories are neck and neck as far as the number of conversions goes, with 11 and 10, respectively. This includes the former J.P Smith Shoe factory — which now goes by the name of River West Lofts — and the Randolph Tower, one of the most beautiful Gothic Revival structures in Chicago that was previously a mix of office and retail space.

Check out Chicago’s converted apartment buildings and what they used to be in a previous life:

Chicago’s oldest buildings to be transformed into apartment communities

And yet, despite their popularity, vintage hotels do not make the list of oldest structures to be made into residential apartments in Chicago. Rather, 1800s office spaces like Library Lofts and the Fisher Building right in the heart of downtown, as well as 1900s warehouses like The Regal and The Otis are included among Chicago’s 10 oldest converted buildings:

Top 10 Oldest Buildings Converted in Chicago

Name	Year Built	Conversion	Formerly	Units
Library Lofts	1883	2016	Office Building	106
Lake Street Lofts	1886	1999	Factory	92
Fisher Building City	1896	2000	Office Building	184
Bush Temple	1901	2017	Factory	230
Casa Puebla	1901	2003	Factory	52
The Regal	1903	1986	Warehouse	84
Pullman Wheelworks	1903	1980	Factory	210
Stewart School Lofts	1905	2018	School	64
The Otis	1905	2017	Warehouse	92
The Lofts at River East	1905	2016	Transport	285

The most unusual apartment conversion projects in Chicago

Between historic hotels and vintage factories, some residential conversion projects in Chicago tackled more unusual buildings. Like today’s North Park Village — which used to be a sanatorium dating back to the 1910s — or buildings with fascinating former residents, like FDR’s uncle who used to live in what’s now called Reside on Wellington.

Courtesy of Lofts at River East

Another example is the lakeside tower that used to house the Lakeshore Athletic Club and hosted trials for the 1928 Olympic Games. Now, it goes by the name 850 Lake Shore Drive, and just last decade it replaced its ballrooms and reading room with beautiful rental units. Lofts at River East is another peculiar adaptation. This community is situated in the trendy River North neighborhood and right next to waterfront properties with high-demand Chicago office space. Interestingly, Lofts at River East used to be a shipping dock, which explains the industrial elements that the developers chose to keep when renovating.

Adaptive reuse continues to reinforce its position in urban remodeling. As such, there are still buildings with residential potential and striking architecture just waiting to be resurrected. Good thing Chicago remains a town that embraces revitalization.

Methodology

RentCafe is a nationwide apartment search website that enables renters to easily find apartments and houses for rent throughout the United States. Apartment data was provided by our sister company, Yardi Matrix, a business development and asset management tool for brokers, sponsors, banks and equity sources underwriting investments in the multifamily, office, industrial and self-storage sectors.

Adaptive reuse refers to reusing an existing building for a purpose other than what it was originally intended for. The study is exclusively based on apartment data related to buildings containing 50 or more units. For the purpose of this study, certain building subcategories have been grouped into a general category that encompasses them. For example, manufacturing units, mills, or breweries fall under the Factory category.

Featured image courtesy of MDA City Club Apartments. All building photos used with expressed permission from the respective property management. RentCafe does not grant the right for property image use.

Fair use and redistribution

We encourage you and freely grant you permission to reuse, host, or repost the research and graphics presented in this article. When doing so, we ask that you credit our research by linking to RentCafe.com or this page, so that your readers can learn more about this project, the research behind it and its methodology. For more in-depth, customized data, please contact us at media@rentcafe.com.