1006 South Michigan Avenue transforms an eight-story heavy-timber loft building in Chicago’s South Loop into 49 one- and two-bedroom apartments. FitzGerald is providing architectural and interior design services for the office-to-residential conversion, which also includes street-level retail, a new residential lobby, bike storage, and spaces supporting building operations and resident services.

Originally completed in 1904, the building has been known throughout its history as the Graphic Arts Building and the Lightner Building. Its original timber columns and ceilings, wood floors, and other defining features are being preserved as part of its new residential identity. Previously included in the Planned Development for the adjacent 1000M high-rise, which extends over part of the property through an air-rights arrangement, the building was successfully rezoned for multifamily use.

At the ground floor, the design creates a hospitality-oriented arrival experience. A concierge-style leasing approach places management and operational functions behind the scenes, leaving more space for the lobby and other resident-facing uses. Two planning options allow the building to operate independently or in coordination with 1000M, including the potential for reciprocal amenity access.

Above, converting the building’s deep commercial floor plates required careful planning to maximize available daylight, particularly where portions of the north and south walls are obstructed. Work-from-home areas make productive use of deeper spaces within the apartments, while slatted wood features, gallery walls, and other targeted interventions bring rhythm and visual interest to the building’s extended corridors without adding unnecessary construction cost.

Within the residences, the interior design pairs the texture and scale of the historic structure with a warm, contemporary material palette. Custom millwork kitchens are conceived as carefully detailed “jewel boxes” fitted between the original structural elements, incorporating natural wood tones, stone countertops and backsplashes, and refined fixtures. FitzGerald also developed marketing floor plans and renderings that communicate the integrated architectural and interior vision as the project moves toward construction.