Black-Owned BOWA Construction Becomes First Minority Business Co-Partner to Build Chicago High Rise

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Chicago Developer Related Midwest has chosen the Black-owned construction firm BOWA Construction as a co-partner to build its next high-rise apartment building, making it the first Black-owned business in the Windy City to construct a high-rise.

The Real Deal reports BOWA will build 900 Randolph, a 43-story high-rise in the Fulton Market section of Chicago. The building is expected to have 300 residential units ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments. The 547,000-square foot building is being designed by Morris Adjmi Architects.

“With a small footprint, deep setbacks, and a podium that matches the height of the existing streetwall, 900 Randolph maximizes light and air at the street level and preserves the pedestrian experience along Randolph Row and Peoria Street,” Morris Adjmi Architects writes on its website.

“The addition of sidewalk planters and vegetation along Peoria, and the landscaped roof atop the podium, add much-needed green space to the neighborhood while also reducing the building’s carbon footprint.”

BOWA Construction was founded in 2009 by President and CEO Nosa Ehimwenman and has completed more than 250 projects in healthcare, aviation, higher education, sports, and K-12 education. In 2020, BOWA became the first minority-owned contractor in Illinois to be awarded a major airport construction contract in Chicago.

BOWA, which has completed about $400 million in construction projects since 2017, will co-manage the project with Related Midwest’s in-house construction brand, LR Contracting. The two companies have worked together before on the Taylor Street Library and the Roosevelt Square Housing Development.

“We are thrilled to bring this transformative project to Fulton Market, where it will set a new standard for Chicago’s residential market by creating the highest quality housing for all Chicagoans,” Curt Bailey, president of Related Midwest, said in a statement, according to PR Newswire. “With its elegant design and innovative approach to mixed-income development, this is a building for Chicago’s future.”

In addition to BOWA Construction, 900 Randolph will women-owned and minority-owned businesses as subcontractors.