Connect Midwest Multifamily Trends 2026: Changing Skyline Award Recipient and Keynote

JDL Founder Jim Letchinger was honored with the Changing Skyline Award at the recent Connect Midwest Multifamily Trends 2026, followed by an exclusive keynote interview moderated by JLL’s Senior Managing Director, Debt Platform Leader, Danny Kaufman.

The event was a rare opportunity for hundreds of industry professionals, including investors, owners, developers, lenders, and brokers, to hear insights from one of the region’s most influential leaders in multifamily development. For over three decades, Letchinger has helped shape Chicago’s skyline through some of the city’s most iconic residential and mixed-use developments, delivering more than 3,500 units with thousands more underway.

“When I think of Jim, we’ve known each other for quite a while now, and I think of just the quintessential Chicagoan, and he has pride for this city like no one else I’ve ever known,” said Kaufman. “The first place to start any conversation with Jim Letchinger is to talk about what it’s like to do business, particularly in the development space.”

“I’m from the city, and when I drive around, and I see buildings I built, it does create tremendous pride,” noted Letchinger. “The buildings are going to be there a lot longer than I’ll be around, that means a lot, and that drives me forward.”

The interview touched on some of Letchinger’s most complex projects, including the 2.2-million-square-foot One Chicago mixed-use luxury multifamily high-rise. “The foundation system was one of the biggest pours in the history of Chicago; it was the second-largest one-day pour in the history of Chicago, with five hundred concrete trucks in one day.”

Speaking to the greatest opportunities for Chicago over the next few years, Kaufman added, “We are by far the most diverse economy in the country, and we need to lean into that really extraordinary strength that is one of the reasons that we’re so resilient at a time with volatility in the market.”