Marc Realty, DDG take over Old Town project, plan 254 luxury rentals

Marc Realty Capital, Ruttenberg Gordon Investments and DDG plan 254 luxury apartments on an Old Town site once eyed for both rentals and condos that never materialized.

Chicago-based Ruttenberg Gordon Investments and Marc Realty Capital are teaming with New York-based DDG on a 7-story rental building at 1400 North Orleans Street, the firms announced in a press release. Prodigy Network, a New York-based real estate crowdfunding platform, is helping to finance the development, raising $22 million to help with property acquisition and predevelopment costs.

Plans to redevelop the property were first floated by LG Development in 2015, and the firm received initial city approval for 252 apartments the following year. In 2017, LG switched up its plans, and instead sought to build condominiums on the site, Crain’s wrote at the time.

The project never got off the ground. Instead, the joint venture of Ruttenberg Gordon, Marc Realty and DDG bought out LG and is moving forward with its own plans, said David Ruttenberg, principal of Ruttenberg Gordon and Marc Realty.

Ruttenberg said the site a block from the Brown Line’s Sedgwick stop and the Wells Street entertainment district is a prime location with plenty of potential.

“The location is ideal for a Class A apartment building,” he said.

Plans for the 225,000-square-foot complex, named Old Town Residences, include a rooftop pool, hot tub and sun deck, as well as a gym, business center and a 24-hour doorman. Work could start in the next few months and wrap up next year, according to the developers.

The project is estimated to cost more than $96 million, with the developers planning to secure an additional $53 million in senior debt in the next quarter, they said.

This is the second project for the joint venture, which is also working to bring a 260-key hotel to 1234 West Randolph Street. That development, which is working to raise capital through Prodigy’s network of investors, would be the first Midwest location of the Standard Hotel chain.

The hotel and the Old Town apartment project are the first in Chicago for both DDG and Prodigy Network first in Chicago. In a statement, Prodigy CEO Rodrigo Nino said his company’s growth shows the viability of crowd-funded real estate investing.

“Our expansion to Chicago … proves the appetite within our ever-growing investor network for well-vetted opportunities beyond the New York market,” he said.

The Old Town Residences will rise on the site of the city’s last remaining horse stables, which were built in 1871 and razed in 2017 to make way for the development.