Riverfront office and apartment complex among projects OK’d by Plan Commission

While River North’s skyline-altering One Chicago Square was arguably the most high-profile project to be approved Thursday by the Chicago Plan Commission, it wasn’t the only major development to get the nod.

A seven-acre office and residential complex known as 700 at The River District was OK’d at 700 W. Chicago Avenue in River West. A joint venture between Tribune Media and Riverside Investment & Development, the redevelopment plan calls for three loft-style office buildings, a single 330-unit apartment building, 4.5 acres of public open space, and below ground parking for 469 vehicles.

The Goettsch-designed project will be constructed in phases starting with its a 440,000-square-foot office that is expected to break ground later this year. The four-building development at 700 W. Chicago is part of a much larger master plan for the Tribune’s River West real estate holdings.

Combined with the 30-acre Freedom Center printing plant parcel to the south, the larger River District site was even pitched to Amazon as a possible location for its ‘HQ2’ campus. While renderings show the redevelopment plan supporting dozens of new mixed-use high-rise buildings, the southern portion of the site has yet to file for city approval.

The Chicago Plan Commission also voted in favor of a proposed redevelopment Old Town’s Father and Son Plaza at the 600 block of W. North Avenue. Developed by White Oak Realty Partners and designed by FitzGerald Associates Architects, the mixed-use building will replace the existing strip mall with 261 rental units, 183 parking spaces, an amenity deck with an outdoor pool, streetscape improvements, and two retail bays offering a combined 30,000 square feet of commercial space.

Additionally, Thursday’s meeting saw the Commissioners approve plans for a one-story warehouse project planned at 2445 S. Rockwell Street in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood and an amendment allowing the previously approved office tower at 110 N. Wacker Drive to increase its floor area by 100,000 square feet.

• Chicago Plan Commission January agenda [City of Chicago]
• River North tower tops packed January Plan Commission lineup [Curbed Chicago]