A fresh batch of city paperwork on the 1000 block of West Jackson Boulevard is the clearest sign yet that Mavrek Development’s long planned West Loop tower may finally be inching from concept to construction. Over the past week, a caisson permit resurfaced on the city portal and demolition reviews hit the system, a combo that usually means foundation drilling and wrecking crews are not far behind. Developer renderings point to a roughly 25-story residential high-rise with a broad podium and street-level retail, and if the filings keep moving, work could land on the block later this year.
According to Chicago YIMBY, the revived caisson permit is tied to the 1000 block of West Jackson and shows the project’s affordable-housing hold marked “released,” even as the concrete contractor line remains blank. The same permit lists Skender as the general contractor. Chicago YIMBY also notes that demolition permits for the existing five-story and two-story buildings appeared last Wednesday, with wrecking reviews labeled “incomplete,” a bureaucratic step that often comes right before site clearing. The outlet reports it contacted Mavrek for a construction timeline.
Design and scope
The tower is being designed by Eckenhoff Saunders, which describes the project as a 25-story, roughly 275-foot building with about 380 residential units, roughly 20 percent of them set aside as affordable. Plans call for a three-level podium with about 163 parking spaces and roughly 23,000 square feet of retail. Apartments would range from studios up to three-bedrooms, a setup that aims to pull in both solo renters and families who want a downtown-adjacent address.
Grocery anchor and street-level retail
Project renderings and local coverage indicate a grocery store planned at the base of the building, and reporting has repeatedly pointed to discount chain Aldi as the likely anchor tenant. Block Club Chicago reported a 15-year lease covering roughly 22,000 square feet, while the Chicago Sun-Times detailed Aldi’s planned West Loop debut as part of a wider expansion push. For neighbors, an anchored grocer would hit an everyday need on the block and give the podium a high-traffic tenant from day one.
Approvals, contractors and where it sits in the pipeline
The development cleared key city approvals in 2024, after a revised design bulked up the podium and added more retail space. Urbanize’s project tracker now lists the site as approved and names Skender as the general contractor. The West Loop has been on a steady development streak in recent years, although permits tend to arrive in fits and starts, so this latest permit action is a meaningful step forward even if a few city checkboxes remain.
Several permit details still need to be finalized, including naming a concrete contractor and resolving outstanding review items. A visible construction start will depend on those administrative moves and on Mavrek securing construction financing. Chicago YIMBY reports it asked the developer for an updated schedule but did not receive a new timeline, leaving neighbors to keep refreshing the city portal while they wait to see when the cranes actually arrive.
