Salesforce’s former office in River North will soon be converted into apartments, as office vacancy rates in the neighborhood continue to climb.
A joint venture between Chicago area firms Path Construction and WindWave Real Estate purchased the upper floors of the office building at 111 W. Illinois St. for $17 million, according to the development team.
The firms also acquired the retail space on the building’s ground floor. Roka Akor and Tarry Coffee are currently tenants.
Path and WindWave will convert the upper floors of the 10-story building into 153 luxury apartments, with high-end amenities.
“The location speaks for itself,” Jack Tse, Path’s director of development, said. “We want to make sure it’s a cozy, private, elevated place within a busy city.”
Construction work will start by the end of June, according to Tse, and the units should be ready in spring 2026.
The property has long been eyed for a residential conversion. The office portion of the building has largely been vacant since Salesforce departed for its namesake tower in Wolf Point. Although the mid-rise building was constructed in 2008, making it a relatively new addition to River North, it lacks the trendy amenities that could draw in new tenants.
But the building has many of the attributes real estate firms look for in potential conversion projects. Its floors are wide and can easily be divided into apartments, Tse said. Separate elevator access to the upper floors already exist and won’t interfere with the Erikson Institute, a graduate school that will remain on the floors two to four.
The conversion will include studio and two-bedroom apartments, plus one-bedroom units with dens. Amenities will include an outdoor terrace, fitness center and co-working lounge.
Since the building’s floors are wide, Tse said the unit size will be bigger than the average studio or downtown apartment. A typical studio might be about 400 square feet, but a studio at 111 W. Illinois will be 550 square feet, he said.
The former Salesforce office will be one of Path’s first conversion projects. The developer will also be serving as the general contractor on the project.
WindWave has led, advised and invested in developments across Chicago, including the CNA Center and “Big Red” at 333 S. Wabash Ave.
“Located in the 98% leased River North with no luxury deliveries expected, 111 has ideal residential floorplate depths, a continuous glass facade, existing outdoor terraces and no office tenants in the way,” WindWave Managing Partner Jon Cordell said in a statement. “Luxury apartments are the perfect use for this modern building.”
The conversion is a $63 million investment and it isn’t using any public subsidies, according to the firms. Chicago-based Landrock LP is backing the project with an investment of preferred equity.
Tse said the team worked hard to land the right design and amenities for the River North market, but they were also able to purchase the building at a basis that works. While conversion projects make use of an existing building, they can often be as expensive as ground-up construction.
The last time 111 W. Illinois traded hands was in 2015. At the time, it sold to real estate firm GLL for $75 million. GLL was acquired by Australia-based financial services firm Macquarie in 2018.
The conversion comes as River North’s office vacancy rate remains elevated. The neighborhood’s direct office vacancy rate increased to 25.6% during the first quarter of 2025 — just above the market average, according to commercial real estate firm Bradford Allen. During the fourth quarter of 2024, the neighborhood’s office vacancy rate was 25.5%.
“We feel like this building can be really executed in a timely fashion. Logistically, it works,” Tse said. “Our goal is to deliver the best product and as quick to market as we can because … an empty office building is really not serving the region or the city, from a vitality standpoint, any good.”