Woodlawn Jewel, Roosevelt Square Library among projects approved by Chicago Plan Commission

Today’s meeting of the Chicago Plan Commission at City Hall saw the group approve a number of new developments reaching from Avondale to Woodlawn. While all zoning changes and Planned Development ordinances also require the approval of the Zoning Committee and the full Chicago City Council to take effect, a nod from the Plan Commission is an important step for any real estate project.

Here’s a quick look at some of the larger proposals approved today:

↑ Woodlawn Jewel-Osco

The Chicago Plan Commission voted to amend an existing Planned Development (PD) that would allow for the construction of a new Jewel-Osco grocery store in the Woodlawn neighborhood. Proposed for a vacant lot at the northwest corner of 61st Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, the 48,000-square-foot supermarket will feature a drive-through pharmacy lane and a parking lot for 160 vehicles. Expected to open later next year, the project represents the South Side neighborhood’s first new grocery store in more than 50 years.

↑ Roosevelt Square Branch Library

A combination public housing/public library slated for 1328 W. Taylor in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood received the nod today. One of three “co-locating” efforts to combine new civic space with mixed-income apartments, the Roosevelt Square Branch Library is a collaboration between the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), Chicago Public Libraries, private developer Related Midwest, and architect Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). Originally envisioned as a four-story structure consisting of a library topped by roughly 40 units of mixed-income housing, the plan has grown to seven stories and will now feature 73 dwelling units.

↑ 328 North Carpenter Street

The Commission OK’d a seven-story combination retail and office development slated for the corner of Carpenter Street and Carroll Avenue in Chicago’s hot Fulton Market District. The West Loop project comes from New York-based developer Madison Capital, Washington D.C.-based ASB Real Estate Investment, and Chicago’s Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture. The 100-foot-tall, brick-clad building features 30 on-site parking places and a rooftop deck.

↑ Clark and Belmont

The developers of a recently completed transit-oriented apartment complex at 3200 N. Clark Street in Lakeview went back before the Plan Commission to amend its Planned Development to allow for the addition of eight residential units. Anchored by a ground floor Target store, the eight-story project comes from developer BlitzLake and Hirsch Associates Architecture.

↑ Apartments at ‘The Fields’

This former Marshall Field’s warehouse at 4000 W. Diversey turned loft office development was given the OK to amend its PD to allow for 125 dwelling units and a 3,000-square-foot rooftop addition. Developer 4K Diversey Partners originally planned 84 live-work apartments—including a number of larger multi-bedroom units—at The Fields but instead choose to pursue a higher number of smaller units. The change has angered some Avondale residents who believe the move away from larger units is bad for neighborhood families, reports DNAinfo.

↑ 172 North Ada Street

The Commission voted in favor of a 13-story transit-oriented apartment project at the southwest corner of Lake and Ada. Replacing a parking lot with 263 rental units, retail space, and 133 parking stalls, the proposal comes from Naperville, Illinois-based developer Marquette Companies and Chicago architecture firm Brininstool & Lynch. Situated at the western end of Fulton Market, the project faced relatively little backlash due primarily to its lack of immediate residential neighbors.

• Roosevelt Square library among projects headed to Chicago Plan Commission [Curbed Chicago]
• Chicago Plan Commission August agenda [City of Chicago]