At 10:30 AM on Friday, July 18, several elected officials, workers, union members and a collection of local leaders, including Michael Carrigan of Illinois AFL-CIO and Tom Villanova of the Chicago and Cook County Building and Construction Trades Council, will gather to commemorate the groundbreaking of the new Wolf Point West, located at 326 New Orleans St.

The tower, which will cost an estimated $160 million and eventually house 48-stories of multifamily space, was largely paid for by the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust (BIT). In Chicagoland, BIT has committed nearly $500 million for the development and acquisition of 18 projects, and through the fund’s investments, has led to the creation of more than 3,900 union construction jobs.

Once complete, Wolf Point West will feature 509 luxury rental units, 400-plus feet of publically accessible river walk, considerable green space and a bevvy of top-flight amenities. The tower’s groundbreaking marks the first of three new buildings to be built on the Wolf Point site.

Initial occupancy for the building is scheduled for the fall of 2015, but it is hard to say whether that timeline will lengthen as building gets underway.

Dates for the other two towers have yet to be announced, but it is estimated the combined work will create upwards of 2,000 construction jobs and a $1 billion investment in Chicago.