A Historic Loop Tower Becomes Home & A Bold New Restaurant Opens: Downtown's Transformation Is Personal

By Socialhood News · Il/Chicago/The Loop · June 23, 2026

The Loop's reinvention is hitting close to home — literally. The storied building at 65 E. Wacker Place, once a hub for manufacturing women's hats and later home to offices for Esquire magazine, is now welcoming its next chapter as a residential address. Chicago-based Mavrek Development and Cross Street have officially begun preleasing for Wacker Place, a 252-unit apartment conversion set to welcome its first residents in August. With 51 units designated affordable housing, floor plans ranging from studios to two-bedrooms, and monthly rents starting at $2,195, the building brings stylish downtown living to one of the Loop's most iconic addresses. It's part of a breathtaking citywide surge: there are now 25 office-to-residential conversions underway downtown — more than the last 20 years combined — set to create over 3,900 units and replace 4 million square feet of vacant office space, according to Chicago's Department of Planning and Development.

Meanwhile, food lovers have a new reason to explore the Loop's architectural gems. Mariela, a globally inspired coastal restaurant from chefs Rishi Kumar and Zubair Mohajir, has debuted inside Chicago's historic Reliance Building — one of the city's most celebrated landmarks. And over at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel on Michigan Avenue, The Ives from Boka Restaurant Group is turning heads with tableside prime rib carving, a roaming chocolate trolley, and a stunning original 60-foot bar anchoring its club-like atmosphere.

The Loop is transforming block by block, floor by floor — and there's never been a better time to call it home or pull up a chair. Explore everything the neighborhood has to offer at loopchicago.com.

Sources:
1. https://chicago.suntimes.com/real-estate/2026/06/15/loop-building-residential-wave-office-conversions
2. https://www.modernluxury.com/new-best-restaurants-in-chicago/