Developer plans $24M second phase for Cosmopolitan

The developer Flaherty & Collins is finalizing plans for a second phase of Cosmopolitan on the Canal that calls for 162 more apartments, a 180-space parking garage and a small amount of retail space at a cost of about $24 million. The new section is proposed for a triangle-shaped parcel bordered by Michigan and Senate streets and Indiana Avenue, just south of the existing building.

The first apartment phase of Cosmopolitan is 100 percent leased, which suggests Flaherty could have demanded higher rents, said Jim Crossin, the company's vice president of development. Flaherty plans to bump up rent rates, which range from $1,000 up to $2,500, as terms expire, and charge more initially for the new units. "It's now clear to us we can build more residential units like Cosmopolitan and be able to lease them up," Crossin said.

The commercial space in Cosmopolitan is another story. About 12,000 square feet remain on the first floor after Flaherty last week landed its first tenant: The branding and advertising firm Three-Sixty Group has agreed to take about 5,000 square feet and move from its current home in the Century Building. The firm is taking space along Michigan Street.

Flaherty, which bought the land for Cosmopolitan from OneAmerica, hopes to secure a city incentive deal and begin construction on the second phase by early 2012. No rendering was available, but Crossin says it will have a similar design to the first building, standing about 70-feet tall at the corner.

(Courtesy photo / Carl Van Rooy Photography)