Seven years after ground was broken on the first apartment tower at the K Station master-planned community, Chicago-based Fifield Companies and national developer Wood Partners announce they will start construction this month on the development’s fifth and final apartment building, K2.
K2 will be built on a one-acre site at 365 N. Halsted St., and is a joint venture between Fifield Companies and Wood 
Partners, one of the top five multifamily real estate companies in the United States. The 34-story apartment tower will include 496 units and 348 parking spaces. McHugh Construction is the general contractor and Pappageorge/Haymes is the architect for the project, which is scheduled for completion in 2013.
K2 is the first Chicago-area development for Wood Partners and will contribute to the more than 4,000 units started nationwide by the company this year.
Construction funding for the project came from a consortium of commercial banks including, The PrivateBank Chicago, which was the leading lender for the project and represented by James Turner, Jason Baeten and Nathan R. Podratz; Comerica Bank represented by Laura Anderson in Houston; Fifth Third Bank represented by Elizabeth Hozian; Cole Taylor Bank represented by John Parsinen; and Bank of the West represented by Mark Wortmann.
K2 follows the delivery of five major towers in downtown Chicago between 2009 and 2010 with more than 2,200 units that the market readily absorbed, including the two-tower Alta at K Station, Park Huron, EnV and Flair Tower.
“With the shift from home ownership to rental, as well as positive job growth in downtown Chicago, the city continues to absorb 2,000 new rental units per year,” said said Randy Fifield, vice chair and principal with Fifield Companies, in a release. “Even with the recent announcement of 2,000-plus new apartment units at Coast at Lake Shore East, 500 Lake Shore Drive, AMLI River North and K2, the staggered deliveries of these buildings in 2013 and 2014 will only satisfy half of the current rental demand.”
Residences at K2 will include studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Interiors will feature luxury finishes such as nine-foot ceilings, stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, plank flooring and Grohe fixtures. Rental rates have not been determined.
K2 will feature a two-story entrance and lobby with a floor-to-ceiling window wall showcasing views of Chicago’s Loop. All on-site amenities will be located on the building’s first floor.
Residents will have access to a variety of high-end amenities at K2, including two lounge and party areas, each featuring large flat-panel televisions with surround sound, multiple seating and table vignettes and pool tables. Each lounge area will have a fireplace and open to the outdoor pool deck.
