Another West Loop apartment tower heads to the Chicago Plan Commission for approval

Despite the best efforts of some oppositional neighbors, it appears that taller buildings are poised to become the norm in Chicago’s West Loop. Later this month, an 18-story high-rise apartment proposed for the southeast corner of Adams and Peoria streets will go before the Chicago Plan Commission for approval.

FitzGerald Associates Architects

Developed by Crayton Advisors and White Oak Realty Partners, the project was introduced last summer as a 15-story concept containing 267 rental apartments and 218 parking spaces. In April, it resurfaced as a glassier, 17-story building with its apartments and parking respectively trimmed down to 258 units and 179 stalls.

According to this month’s Chicago Plan Commission agenda, the development is now hoping to rise 18 stories and feature 289 dwellings and 172 parking spaces. It is requesting a zoning change via the Planned Development process from DS-3 to DX-7 and will purchase 2.0 points of extra Floor Area Ratio (FAR) through the City’s density bonus program.

Designed by local firm FitzGerald Associates Architects, the revised plan also calls for new ground floor retail space and storage for 258 bikes. It would replace an older two-story brick building and surface parking lot along Peoria Street.

bKL Architecture

The West Loop tower isn’t the only item expected to be heard at the October 19th meeting of the Chicago Plan Commission. The agenda also includes a proposal for a glassy 19-story mixed-use tower at the corner of Ashland and Taylor in Chicago’s Little Italy/Illinois Medical District neighborhood. Designed by Chicago’s bKL Architecture, the building would replace a two-story parking deck with 254 new rental units, parking for 245 vehicles, and new retail space.

Dubbed ‘SCIO at The Medical District,’ the project would connect to the existing 1970’s era Medical District Apartments that are currently being rehabbed by a joint venture comprising of Guggenheim Partners, Atlantic Realty Partners, and Focus Development. This item initially appeared on September’s draft agenda but was not heard by the Commission.

The Commissioners will also consider a new townhouse development proposed at the edge of Chicago’s Logan Square, Avondale, and Belmont Gardens neighborhood. Replacing a grassy lot just west of the St. Joseph Village of Chicago at the corner of Belmont and Karlov, the plan calls for three buildings containing a total of 22 townhome units and 44 parking spaces. The development comes from ILM Homes and design architect Pappageorge Haymes.

Chicago City Clerk

Other items on the agenda include an amendment supporting the City’s new Fleet and Facility Management complex in Englewood, a three-story public school in the Dunning neighborhood, and a plan to modify the boundaries of the Kinzie Corridor Planned Manufacturing District (PMD) in order to implement the Fulton Market Innovation District plan that was adopted by the Chicago Plan Commission in 2014.

• Chicago Plan Commission October 2017 agenda [City of Chcago]
• Chicago development news [Curbed Chicago]