Report: City puts Cabrini Green redevelopment at Division and Halsted on hold

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As the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) pushes forward with plans to redevelop two parcels within the boundaries of the 65-acre former Cabrini Green housing complex, the city agency has decided to indefinitely suspend plans for a third, high-profile site. According to a report by Crain’s, the CHA has withdrawn its 2016 request for proposals for the seven-acre site at the corner of Halsted and Division just east west of the Near North Side’s Target store.

The parcel was under consideration by local developer Peter Holsten who had teamed up with Chicago architecture firm Holabird & Root to design a mixed-use complex containing new retail space and at least 436 residential units. Holsten told Crain’s that the city had informed him that it simply lacked the resources to pursue three Cabrini redevelopment projects simultaneously.

Though Holsten’s plan for the site never got far beyond the initial proposal phase, a conceptual animation released this year by Holabird & Root provides some clues to what the ambitious redevelopment could have looked like. The presentation shows a curving glass tower anchoring the western edge of the site as well as a diagonal extension of N. Crosby Street connecting to a central turning circle.

Crain’s reports that city officials have no set timeline for when they might go back to developers and seek proposals for the vacant Halsted and Division site. The CHA will instead focus its near-term energy on its recently-announced partnership with private developers to revitalize two other Cabrini Green parcels.

Texas-based Hunt Development Group was selected by the city in February to bring nearly 500 housing units to a 6.9-acre site at Clybourn Avenue and Larrabee Street. Expected to include a 21-story residential tower, mid-rise buildings, and townhouses, Hunt’s project is slated to break ground before the end of 2018.

This summer, the CHA announced that local firm Brinshore-Michaels would construct 104 units spread across a seven-story apartment building, a pair of rental six-flats, and 18 for-sale townhomes near the intersection of Oak and Larrabee streets. That project is expected to deliver its mixed-rate units some time in 2020, according to the developer’s website.

• City puts brakes on development of key Cabrini-Green site [Crain’s]
• Cabrini Green Development [YouTube/Holabird & Root]
• Previous Cabrini Green coverage [Curbed Chicago]