Students began moving into the rehabbed Old Colony office building on August 21, after its $58 million conversion by CA Ventures LLC and MCJ Development into 137 apartment units. Renamed The Arc at Old Colony, the building was originally constructed in 1894 and is on the National Register of Historic Places, qualifying for $10 million in federal historic tax credits. Its location on Van Buren Street adjacent to the historic Harold Washington Library in Downtown Chicago’s Loop is within easy walking distance of 24 institutions of higher learning. The building was one of the first of its kind to employ a unique structural portal wind-bracing system, allowing for open floor plates and thinner masonry exterior cladding—ideal for its conversion to housing.

Development Strategies completed sophisticated market analyses and expense scenario for a potential equity investor in the project that was concerned about the depth of student demand, with over 2,900 student beds completed in the Loop/South Loop market since 2007.

Chicago Tribune’s photo gallery of the Arc at Old Colony can be viewed here.