First new building cleared to rise at the former Children’s Memorial Hospital site

With the parcel once occupied by Lincoln Park’s Children’s Memorial Hospital completely cleared and ready for redevelopment, the first all-new building slated for the prominent six-acre site is ready to take root. Late last week, the City of Chicago issued a construction permit for a seven-story assisted living building at 700 W. Fullerton Parkway. The new facility replaces the similarly-sized Nellie Black building designed by the architects Pickney & Johnson in the 1930s.

While preservations expressed a desire to see at least the facade of the older building at the northwest corner of Fullerton and Orchard retained and incorporated into the new structure, accessibility issues—including the need to accommodate emergency ambulance access—made adaptive reuse unfeasible. Nellie Black faced the wrecking ball last year along with the brutalist concrete hospital tower across the street.

McCaffery Interests

Known as Belmont Village Lincoln Park, the upcoming senior building is expected to contain 156 assisted-living and memory-care units and 90 below grade parking spaces across two sub-levels. Originally included as part of the $350 million mixed-use Lincoln Common project from developers McCaffery and Hines, the property was spun-off and sold to Harrison Street Real Estate Capital for an undisclosed amount in June.

The Lincoln Common redevelopment is expected to include 540 new apartments, 60 luxury condominiums, and over 150,000 square feet of retail space. The old hospital’s existing 1,044-stall parking garage will remain in place but is set to receive an aesthetic overhaul. The most recent projections anticipate a late 2018 move-in for new residents.

Hines construction webcam

• New construction permit at 700 W. Fullerton Pkwy in Chicago [Chicago Cityscape]
• Lincoln Park assisted living planned on former Children's Memorial site [Crain’s]
• Another look at the Children’s Memorial Hospital demolition [Curbed Chicago]