LG Development is hanging on to its freshly finished Fulton Market tower, opting for a hefty refinance instead of a sale and lining up roughly $125 million in new debt to steady the building’s finances. The move buys the Chicago developer time to hunt for funding on a much larger two-tower plan in Fulton Market while it works through a tighter lending climate and another project that has run into trouble.
According to The Real Deal, LG secured a $124.6 million, three-year floating-rate loan from Pacific Life Insurance Company for Arthur on Aberdeen, an 18-story, 363-unit building at 210 North Aberdeen Street, with JLL Capital Markets arranging the deal. The fresh debt replaces a $94.2 million construction loan from Santander Bank that was taken out in 2022. LG briefly floated the property for sale, then pulled back and decided to hold once lease-up reached about 92 percent.
Refi Gives Developer a Cushion As Capital Tightens
Lenders have been pulling back from big construction loans, which has tilted the market toward owners of stabilized properties and helped push rents higher. In that environment, refinancing or holding a nearly full building can look a lot safer than trying to unload it into a risk-off market. The Chicago Plan Commission, along with local coverage, has tracked the scramble for extra density in Fulton Market and the lack of new supply, a combination that has been a tailwind for existing landlords.
As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Fulton Market Plans Still Need Money
Even with the refi in place, LG still needs outside capital to kick off Phase One of a proposed 667-unit, two-tower development at 170 N. May and 175 N. Racine. The project has stayed on the drawing board while the firm lines up retail anchors. LG’s own newsroom notes that a 17,000-square-foot Trader Joe’s is slated to anchor the ground floor at 170 N. May, an amenity the developer expects will help pre-lease both retail and residential space. Renders and planning materials show a phased buildout, with the grocer and other retail fronting Lake and May streets.
As detailed by LG Group and in planning coverage by Urbanize Chicago.
Affordable Units And The City Rules
Arthur on Aberdeen was structured to comply with Chicago’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance, with the developer choosing the 20 percent option for on-site affordable units as part of its entitlements. The Planned Development documents spell out the ARO obligations and the specific affordable unit counts, while the City of Chicago’s affordable-housing dataset lists Arthur on Aberdeen among projects with contractually required affordable units.
As outlined by the City Council PD 1512 ordinance and the City of Chicago affordable-rental dataset.
Legal Headwinds Remain
The new loan does not erase LG’s legal headaches. The firm is still fighting a $27 million foreclosure suit filed by Prime Finance over an office-to-residential conversion at 330 South Wells, and court records show LG quietly settled a separate dispute with the Respiratory Health Association in July 2025. Those clouds, combined with a chill in construction equity, help explain why the developer chose a short-term refinance rather than making a clean exit from the tower.
Reporting on those matters is available from The Real Deal.
