Fulton Street Companies

What Fulton Street Companies does

Fulton Street Companies is a Chicago-based, privately held real estate development firm founded in 2017 by Alex Najem (CEO) and Ross Babel (Managing Principal), focused exclusively on Chicago's Fulton Market District. The company acquires, develops, leases, and sells commercial and residential properties, spanning Class A office buildings (1045 W Fulton, 919 W Fulton), creative loft office space (112 N May, 1101 W Fulton, 1144 W Fulton, 1325 W Randolph), mixed-use towers (1100 W Fulton, 1215 W Fulton), luxury for-sale condominiums (1010 W Madison), and adaptive reuse redevelopments including a historic fire station (114 N Aberdeen) and a brick-and-timber loft restaurant/retail conversion (165 N Morgan). Notable tenants include Herman Miller (Midwest HQ at 1100 W Fulton), Glossier, Louis Vuitton, Café Maman, and Paper Source.

The firm operates a project-based development platform that combines internal capital with co-investment from family offices, institutional investors, and high-net-worth individuals. FSC executes projects through formalized relationships with best-in-class contractors (Skender, Power Construction), architects (Morris Adjmi, Hartshorn Plunkard, Fitzgerald Associates, G|R|E|C), and joint-venture partners (Vista Property Group on 1215 W Fulton). Revenue is generated through development fees, property appreciation upon sale or lease-up, and rental income from stabilized assets; deal sizes are custom and not publicly disclosed. The company has differentiated itself through entitlement expertise, having secured zoning approval for the first major residential development north of Lake Street — a regulatory barrier that had previously blocked competitors.

Distribution is primarily regional (Chicago MSA) and relies on direct leasing to corporate and retail tenants, condominium sales to individual buyers, and co-investor capital raises from family offices and institutional investors. Marketing is conducted through a professional website, earned media in Crain's Chicago Business, The Real Deal, Chicago YIMBY, Block Club Chicago, and Urbanize Chicago, and industry recognition including a NAIOP Office Redevelopment of the Year finalist award. The leadership team combines deep neighborhood brokerage pedigree (Najem at Cedar Street Companies) with capital markets expertise drawn from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Nasdaq, JP Morgan, and asset-based lending (Babel, Schwartz, Mazzella, Kreimer), positioning FSC as a specialized developer-operator rather than a scaled institutional platform.

Name

Fulton Street Companies

Legal name

Fulton Street Companies

Website

https://fultonst.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fulton Street Companies is a Chicago-based real estate development firm that acquires, develops, leases, and sells Class A office, creative office, mixed-use, and luxury residential properties exclusively in the Fulton Market District, serving corporate tenants, luxury retailers, and family office and institutional capital partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Development

NAICS

New Housing For-Sale Builders (236117), Lessors of Nonresidential Buildings (except Miniwarehouses) (531120), Construction of Buildings (236)

SIC

Operative Builders (1531), Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Design-Build & Renovation-Integrated Builders (IMAFABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Residential Land Development & Subdivision Homebuilding (Build-to-Sell Communities) (IMAFABAL), Urban Renewal, Brownfield Redevelopment & Land Reuse (BPAIANAI)

Keywords

• Commercial real estate development
• Mixed-use properties
• Urban redevelopment
• Luxury condominiums
• Class A office buildings

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Property Development and Investment: The company generates revenue through acquiring, developing, and either selling or leasing commercial and residential properties in the Fulton Market District. Revenue is derived from development fees, property appreciation, and rental income from tenants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Fulton Street Companies acquires, develops, and operates commercial and residential real estate in Chicago's Fulton Market District. The firm delivers mixed-use redevelopments, Class A office buildings, creative loft offices, historic adaptive-reuse projects, and luxury condominiums, partnering with family offices, institutional investors, and best-in-class contractors, architects, and law firms to execute projects ranging from boutique 10,000 SF conversions to 530,000 SF office towers.

Product overview

Fulton Street Companies is a Chicago-based real estate development firm offering a portfolio of commercial and residential properties in the Fulton Market District. The company operates as a single integrated real estate development platform, providing property acquisition, development, and management services across multiple property types. Their portfolio includes Class A office buildings (1045 W Fulton, 112 N May), creative office/retail spaces (1101 W Fulton, 1144 W Fulton, 919 W Fulton), mixed-use developments (1100 W Fulton, 1215 W Fulton), luxury condominiums (1010 W Madison), and specialty redevelopments (114 N Aberdeen historic fire station, 165 N Morgan restaurant/retail, 1325 W Randolph). Projects range from 10,000 SF to 530,000 SF and include new construction as well as historic renovations, with some targeting LEED certification.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 1100 W Fulton

Quantifiable outcome

• Completed Herman Miller Midwest headquarters (45,000+ SF)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SkendercoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGeneral contractor for FSC's 1100 W Fulton mixed-use redevelopment, preserving historical masonry while adding new concrete structure. Also involved in 1215 W Fulton development.
• Vista Property GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient and development partner for the 1215 W Fulton 34-story mixed-use project. FSC serves as project manager for this 499,327 SF development with 433 residential units.
• Fitzgerald Associates ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitect for 919 W Fulton, one of Fulton Market's largest creative office buildings at 530,000 SF across 11 stories targeting LEED Silver Certification.
• Hartshorn Plunkard ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitect for 1045 W Fulton, a 160,000 SF Class A office building that is currently the tallest in the Fulton Market Historic District.
• Morris Adjmi ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitect for 1215 W Fulton development, designing the 34-story tower with 433 residential units and 13,100 SF of retail space.
• G|R|E|C ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-architect with Morris Adjmi Architects for the 1215 W Fulton mixed-use development.
• ConopCo Project ManagementminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProject manager for 1045 W Fulton Class A office development.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Related Midwest: Related Midwest is one of the largest Chicago developers (The 78, 333 West Wacker, etc.) with a broader portfolio across residential, office, and mixed-use. It is a broader incumbent that overlaps FSC in mixed-use urban product and competes for LP capital and marquee tenants across Chicago.
• Magellan Development Group: Magellan is a major Chicago high-rise developer (Lake Shore East, etc.) focused on mixed-use and residential towers. It overlaps with FSC's 1215 W Fulton-scale tower product and competes for institutional capital and large-scale entitlements in Chicago.

Direct peers

• The John Buck Company: The John Buck Company is a Chicago-focused, founder-led private real estate investment and development firm with mixed-use, office, and retail product. Its operating model (private, owner-led, urban Chicago focus) is structurally comparable to FSC's.
• CA Ventures: CA Ventures is a Chicago-based real estate developer with significant student-housing, multifamily, and mixed-use activity. It is comparable in scale of multifamily product and urban-development orientation to FSC's 1215 W Fulton pipeline.
• Shapack Partners: Shapack Partners is cited in The Real Deal coverage as one of the larger Fulton Market developers FSC competes with directly. It underwrites and develops mixed-use, office, and hotel product in the same sub-market using an institutional LP model structurally similar to FSC's.
• Sterling Bay: Sterling Bay is the dominant private developer in Chicago's Fulton Market / West Loop corridor and is named directly in FSC's press as a competitor. It controls a larger land bank and marquee-tenant roster (Google, McDonald's Global HQ adjacency, etc.) but competes head-to-head with FSC on the same parcel, tenant, and capital pool in Fulton Market.
• Cedar Street Companies: Cedar Street Companies is the Chicago real estate firm where FSC founder Alex Najem previously brokered. It continues to acquire and develop office and retail product in Fulton Market, making it a directly comparable vertically-aligned developer operating in the same sub-market.
• Vista Property Group: Vista Property Group is FSC's JV partner on the 1215 W Fulton 499,327 SF / 433-unit mixed-use tower and is itself an active Fulton Market developer. It is a directly comparable operating peer in sub-market, product type (mixed-use tower), and target tenant base.

Others

• Skender: Skender is FSC's general contractor of record on 1100 W Fulton and 1215 W Fulton. As a top-tier Chicago GC serving FSC's projects, it is an ecosystem participant that operates inside the same construction pipeline and is comparable from a delivery-and-execution standpoint rather than as a competitor.

Emerging players

• Tucker Development: Tucker Development is a Chicago-based developer active in Fulton Market mixed-use and multifamily. It overlaps with FSC's Class A urban product and represents another emerging Fulton Market / West Loop player competing for the same tenants and capital.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fulton-st.-companies

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fulton Street Companies