The development was marketed and opened as Essex on the Park on March 1, 2019, but rebranded as Sentral (stylized as Sen+ral) Michigan Avenue in July 2021.

[2] By September 2015, Oxford submitted plans to replace the parking garage and swimming pool next to the Essex Inn with a 48-story apartment tower hosting 388 units.

[12] Oxford Capital and London-based Quadrum Global developed the project in partnership based on designs by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture.

The sign atop the original Inn remains as a historical artifact of its times and the buildings are linked by two restaurants.

[16] Power Construction Company served as the general contractor; Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture was the architect and it was developed by Oxford Capital.