Construction ready to begin on 20-story apartment towers in Lincoln Park

After celebrating a ceremonial groundbreaking in early May, the long-awaited Lincoln Common project is finally ready to begin construction at the site of Lincoln Park’s demolished Children's Memorial Hospital. While work on the site’s seven-story assisted living structure at 700 W. Fullerton Parkway was cleared to start in March, the City of Chicago issued a foundation permit yesterday for the first of two 20-story apartment towers headed to the corner of Fullerton, Lincoln, and Halsted.

In the planning and approval phase since 2011, the controversial redevelopment of the old hospital’s 6 acres will ultimately deliver 540 rental apartments, about 60 for-sale condominium units, 150,000 square feet of retail, and 57,000 square feet of publicly-accessible open space. The plan will adaptively reuse the CMH’s turn-of-the-century boiler house building and will utilize an underground loading dock and the site’s existing parking garage.

Hines Interests/OxBlue

The $350 million Lincoln Common project is being developed by Dan McCaffery and Houston’s Hines Interests. Architectural design comes from Chicago-based firms Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Antunovich Associates. W.E. O’Neil has been tapped to serve as general contractor. The entire mixed-use complex is expected to open some time in 2019.

• New construction permit at 2345 N. Lincoln Avenue [Chicago Cityscape]
• New look for Lincoln Common project revealed in latest renderings [Curbed Chicago]
• Previous Lincoln Park coverage [Curbed Chicago]