Tall & Urban News

The developer that built the Waldorf Astoria hotel and condominium tower about a decade ago is dipping back into the market for ultra-luxe condos in the Gold Coast.

David Pisor and partner James Lasky are planning a 22-story tower with only 12 units at 12 W. Maple St., just west of Mariano Park. The condo project will cater to the city’s upper crust, a segment of the market that has been popular with developers for the past several years.

“It’s going to be a very boutique and high-amenity building,” Pisor said.

Pisor is best known in Chicago as the developer of the Elysian Hotel & Residences at 11 E. Walton St., a few blocks south of the site of his proposed project. A venture led by Pisor sold the Elysian in 2011 to Sam Zell, who converted the hotel into a Waldorf Astoria and later sold it to Chicago hotelier Laurence Geller.

Pisor was short on details about his Maple Street project, which will replace a four-story building he and Lasky acquired for $13.1 million in 2017. Their plans include a restaurant, private dining space, commercial space, an outdoor pool, and indoor and outdoor terraces, according to an email Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd, sent to constituents on January 10, 2019. The email invited constituents to attend a community meeting about the proposal on Jan. 22, 2019.

“I’m excited to do something of similar caliber to what I did at the Elysian, and with so few homes in this building, it’s going to be a unique asset,” Pisor said. “I think these (condos) will turn out to be a little bit nicer” than the Waldorf’s.

If that turns out to be the case, they won’t be cheap. The Waldorf is one of the most expensive addresses in the city, with a couple of units there selling for more than $2,000 per square foot ($21,528 per square meter) in the past few years.

Amid strong sales of high-end condos in downtown Chicago, developers have been especially busy at the top of the market. One of the city’s hottest new high-end buildings, No. 9 Walton, is a few blocks south of the Maple Street parcel and just west of the Waldorf Astoria.

Wealthy buyers seeking condos in new buildings have some choices today, including the Vista Tower under construction along the Chicago River and One Bennett Park in Streeterville. But their options are more limited in the Gold Coast, said Gail Lissner, managing director at Integra Realty Resources, a Chicago-based consulting firm.

“If you are talking about the core Gold Coast buyer, this would present opportunities for them,” she said.

The Maple Street project is also a different animal because it’s so small, a feature that will be attractive to buyers turned off by the scale of some of the other luxury towers. With just 12 condos in a 22-story building, the units will be large, ranging from 3,800 to 8,000 square feet (353 to 743 square meters) . The success of the building will also depend on the quality of its amenities. It’s not as cost-effective for a small building to offer the fancy amenities that many wealthy buyers seek.

Pisor and Lasky presented their plans at a community meeting in order to secure the support of Ald. Hopkins and the City Council for a zoning change for the project.

For more on this story, go to Crain’s Chicago Business.