First new building of Lathrop Homes redevelopment scores construction permit

The large, multi-phase plan calls for both adaptive reuse and the addition of two new buildings

By Jay Koziarz Jun 16, 2017, 10:26am CDT

An ambitious plan to repurpose the Chicago Housing Authority’s historic 32-acre Julia C. Lathrop Homes into a sprawling mixed-use, mixed-income campus along the north branch of the Chicago River is moving into high gear. This week, the City of Chicago issued a permit for developer Related Midwest to start work on the project’s first all-new building. Known internally as S-101, the six-story, 59-unit structure is now cleared to rise at 2737 N. Hoyne Avenue. Designed by bKL Architecture, it will eventually be joined by a second, similarly-sized development to the immediate west (S-102).

Lathrop’s new multi-family buildings were initially envisioned as a pair of mid-rise gateway structures that would have replaced the original administration building the corner of Clybourn and Diversey. That design was ultimately abandoned after the United States National Park Service criticized the redevelopment plan for changing too much and preserving too little. With millions of dollars in federal historic preservation tax credits hanging in the balance, the developers ultimately revised their plans and moved the new buildings south.

Compared to the earlier “gateway” design, the relocated apartments will be more contextual with their scale, massing, masonry facades, and window spacings to better match Lathrop’s existing architecture. While the admin building will stay, the move will raze some of the two-story townhouses along Hoyne. In total, the Lathrop redevelopment will deliver 1,116 mixed-income housing units and 11 acres of green space—including a new riverwalk component.