Construction is well underway on Chicago's newest transit-oriented development (TOD) to advance beyond the approval stage. While the building shrank from an initial plan of seven stories to five, the building is still nonetheless getting a robust deep foundation, currently being drilled. Such a foundation is somewhat unconventional for building of this size, whereas numerous other new structures throughout the city's neighborhoods rest on load bearing foundation walls and footings. The final plan by developer Centrum Partners and architecture firm Hirsch Associates calls for 36 residential units, 6,000-square-feet of ground level retail and true to its TOD aspirations, only eight vehicle parking spaces. The .22 parking ratio is very much in line with the demand for parking seen in larger apartment buildings downtown, particularly in Streeterville with a resident utilization rate of about 30 percent.
Even though sites near 'L' stations are becoming increasingly more targeted for denser development during the current TOD boom sparked by an amendment to the zoning code, this level of density is consistent with the traditional pre-1950 urban fabric of Chicago neighborhoods. One only has to look across the street at the vintage six story apartment building filling the entire lot with retail spread across the entire first floor and providing no onsite parking for residents—a sight typical in walkable urban neighborhoods. Even though the original seven story concept would do more to advance the goal of placing more residents near rapid transit, the project nonetheless will be a major enhancement to the neighborhood and is certainly an upgrade from the auto centric tire shop which used to occupy the site, or the vacant lot that graced it for the last couple of years.
Caisson liners lay on the western edge of the site waiting for use while a nearby pair of workers assembles a rebar cage with Brown Line trains rumbling alongside the site.
Meanwhile, kitty corner across the intersection with Roscoe Street, steel framework has been erected for a 2 story retail building stretching along 3357-61 North Lincoln Avenue, replacing a mid-century single story structure demolished within the last year.
— Shawn Ursini
·Paulina Brown Line TOD Wasting No Time on Construction [Curbed Chicago]
·A Look at the Final Renderings for the Paulina Brown Line TOD [Curbed Chicago]
·Previous Transit-Oriented Development coverage [Curbed Chicago]
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