A closer look at the glassy office tower proposed for Chicago’s Cabrini Green

While a zoning application filed last week with the city of Chicago showed rough elevation drawings of a 13-story office building slated for a vacant lot at the northeast corner of Chestnut and Orleans, a pair of high-quality renderings have revealed a much better look at what developers are planning to build. Known by its address of 863 N. Orleans, the glassy structure would be the first attempt to bring office jobs to the rapidly transforming Cabrini-Green neighborhood since the area’s last public housing high-rise was torn-down almost seven years ago.

Image courtesy of Piekarz Associates

According to project architect Steven Hotz of Piekarz Associates, the proposed 143,000-square-foot building will officially rise 14 stories and will feature amenities for the office tenants such as a fitness center and outdoor green roof terrace. The plan also calls for a pair of street level retail bays and parking for 15 motor vehicles and 40 bicycles.

The project will require a zoning change from C1-5 Neighborhood Commercial District to Downtown Mixed Use DX-10. The up-zone accommodates a building more than double the size of a previous six-story structure proposed for the site roughly one year ago. The lot falls within the recently expanded downtown development boundaries—hence the requested change to ‘DX’ designation.

The development team for 863 N. Orleans is led by BlitzLake Partners. The Chicago-based firm is also behind a mixed-use, transit-oriented development at the corner of Clark and Belmont. Known as Lakeview 3200, that eight-story project features 90 rental units and a ground floor Target store.

• 13-story commercial building proposed for Chestnut and Orleans [Curbed Chicago]
• Cabrini Green archive [Curbed Chicago]