July 15, 2009 – With X/O basically dead in the water, Chicago real estate developer Keith Giles of Kargil Development is changing gears and planning a new student housing project. Giles is moving forward with the purchase of a site located on 1136-40 South Wabash Avenue in the South Loop where he intends to put up a 21 story high-rise with 420 two bedroom units and 20 student advisor units, according to a recent Crain’s article.

There are around 55,000 college students in the area and a constant need for that type of housing, unlike the declining demand for new Chicago condos. Giles is banking on that need to make this project a success, but student housing developer Robert Bronstein of the Scion Group told Crain’s that he is skeptical of the location. “Students aren’t going to go all the way down there. Unfortunately, it’s just too far away.”

But Giles is confident that the project is viable and said in the article that he has had this project in mind for two years. The construction site comes at a cost of $8 million while the entire project would cost from $80 million to $100 million to build.

With no Chicago condo projects on the horizon for Giles, he is looking for other opportunities. “Few, if any, developments will get done in the near term until the existing inventory gets sold and the market stabilizes,” Giles was quoted as saying.

Besides X/O, for which the building site loan is purported to be in default, Giles still has units for sale at Prairie District Lofts. So if you’re a fan of Chicago Lofts, be sure to check back here tomorrow for an update on that project.

[tags]Prairie District Lofts, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 4:15 pm and is filed under Mortgage Information.