Transit-oriented apartment building cleared to rise in Old Town

Chicago’s Old Town is ready to welcome another new mixed-use development as an apartment building slated for 1435-1443 N. Wells Street lands its first construction permit. Designed by NORR and to be built by LG Development, the newly green-lit project will contain 50 rental units, ground floor retail, and 15 off-street parking spaces.

The upcoming brick-clad structure will climb six stories and will roughly be the same height as the neighboring building at 1445 N. Wells. Following input from local community groups, the design will step back from the street above its ground-floor retail space to lessen its visual impact. This allows for the creation of a second floor outdoor terrace.

Google Street View

Several older buildings—including the former home of Bistrot Margot—were demolished to make way for the project. While not quite landmark quality, the structures did provide some architectural granularity along Old Town’s most visible thoroughfare. The development team looked into adaptive reuse but quickly found the plan unworkable due to conflicting floor heights, said NORR principal George Sorich last summer.

The LG project will join two other notable Wells Street developments already on the way. Crews have demolished the former O’Briens restaurant at 1528 N. Wells in preparation for a 13-story hotel project while a seven-story, 60-unit apartment building at 1325 N. Wells is expected to open to residents later this year.

• New construction permit at 1435 N Wells [Chicago Cityscape]
• Six-story mixed-user to replace vintage building in Old Town [Curbed Chicago]
• Old Town archive [Curbed Chicago]