At Adams and Halsted, a block west of the site of developer White Oak Realty's 22-story office building plan, the newish firm is embarking on an even bigger residential project. The Chicago Journal attended Wednesday's 27th Ward meeting to hear details of a 33-story, 351-unit rental tower proposed for the parking lot opposite Greek Islands on the east side of Halsted. Not the tallest building nearby (Skybridge, 95 feet taller, takes that honor), it still exceeds existing zoning limits by 13 stories. That was enough to trigger knee-jerk NIMBY reactions from the crowd of 30, which Ald. Walter Burnett, Jr. seemed to side with. Some community members, along with the Alderman, want to see the developer stuck on 20 stories. Michael Blum, principal of White Oak, shot back that it would be economically unfeasible to make it just one floor shorter.
The lone rendering from architect FitzGerald Associates, released during last night's meeting, depicts some sort of blue curtain across its broad northern facade—whether tinted or illuminated—that, paired with the white slab of a building, would broadcast Greek colors into Greektown. Nice gesture, but will anyone well up over such gimmickry? The $100M project will include a multi-level parking podium and ground-floor retail. Rents are expected to average $2,500/month. Since White Oak clearly isn't interested in the no-nonsense rubber stamping of a lesser scheme, it may be awhile before the proposal makes it through special review and rezoning. If it manages to placate enough decision makers. Tip-o'-the-hat to Spyguy at Skyscraper Page for alerting us to such a momentous happening.
·33-story apartment building unveiled [Chicago Journal]
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