Four-story single family home with ground floor retail headed to Printer’s Row lot

Filoramo Talsma Architects

An empty lot at the northeast corner of Dearborn and Polk in Chicago’s Printer’s Row is the site of a new mixed-use project from owner/architect Chris Talsma. Co-founder of Filoramo Talsma Architects, the designer recently landed a construction permit for a new four-story building containing ground floor commercial space topped by his personal single family residence.

While the design of 751 S. Dearborn features quite a bit of dark brick—a choice allegedly driven by Chicago’s Commission on Landmarks—the rest of the structure offers little in the way of contextualization with regards to its historic neighbors. The corrugated metal cladding on the upper levels is a particularly modern if not industrial touch. Yesterday’s building permit estimates the scope of the work to cost around $1.5 million.

Talsma’s development site is situated across the street from another vacant lot that was previously earmarked for a new micro-apartment project from LG Development. Though redesigned multiple times, the status of the development at 742 N. Dearborn is somewhat unclear. An image of a new “for sale” sign appearing on neighborhood blog Sloopin suggests that the rental project may no longer be moving forward.

Google Street View

• New construction permit at 751 S Dearborn Street [Chicago Cityscape]
• Renderings: Dearborn & Polk [Skyscraper Page Forum]
• No More Micro-Apartments for Printer's Row? [Sloopin]
• Previous Printers Row coverage [Curbed Chicago]