Fulton Market apartments, St. Boniface condo conversion pass Chicago Plan Commission

Thursday’s meeting of the Chicago Plan Commission saw a number of new developments approved over the course of the long—more than six hours—and topsy-turvy public hearing.

This month’s meeting was particularly eventful as nearly two dozen activists interrupting the proceedings to protest the Obama Foundation’s lacks of a formalized community benefits agreement with regards to the proposed Obama Presidential Center.

While the controversial Jackson Park complex was not on this month’s agenda, it is believed that the Tod Williams Billie Tsien-designed presidential library is scheduled headline next month’s meeting, according to the Chicago Tribune. The disruptors were eventually removed from City Hall’s council chambers.

As for the projects actually considered at Thursday’s meeting, the tallest and most densely-populated was a 20-story, 220-foot Fulton Market apartment tower set to replace the Fabbri Sausage factory at 166 N. Aberdeen. Developed by MCZ and penned by SCB, the approved design will contain 236 rental units, 70 parking spaces, ground floor retail, and an east-facing “sky lounge” for its residents.

In a major win for historic preservation, the Plan Commission voted in favor of a zoning change to save Noble Square’s 116-year-old St. Boniface Catholic Church. Under the plan from Stas Development and Space Architects + Planners, the long-vacant Romanesque will be converted to 17 condo units. Two new buildings will house 24 additional condos, four affordable units, and space for a local nonprofit organization.

Meanwhile in the Loop, a previously approved plan was amended, clearing a oath for a new seven-story building at 171 N. Wabash. Designed by HPA, the mixed-use building will feature 81 rental units, 5,500 square feet of ground floor retail, a rooftop pool deck, and bridge connecting to the neighboring MDA City Apartments.

The commissioners gave the official thumbs up to pair of large utility projects. They included a 12-acre facility for Peoples Gas at 4025 W. Peterson Avenue in Chicago’s North Park neighborhood and an even larger 30-acre Commonwealth Edison complex at 3400 N. California Avenue in Avondale.

Other approved projects were a Gold Coast retail development at 1139 N. State Street, a 35-unit residential building at 2317 N. Clark Street in Lincoln Park, a 134-unit mixed-income senior housing development in Calumet Heights, an expansion of Lakeview’s Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, and a second Pullman greenhouse for Gotham Greens on Chicago’s Far South Side.

Lastly, the Commission passed a somewhat unusual zoning amendment “clarifying” that the apartment development at 1350 S. Union Avenue will contain no more than 99 units. The University Village project’s been under construction since early 2017 and is expected to be completed soon.

Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development tweeted renderings of the projects as they were approved:

• South Side Obama center activists removed after disrupting Plan Commission meeting [Chicago Tribune]
• 20-story Fulton Market apartment tower headed to Plan Commission [Curbed Chicago]
• Chicago Plan Commission April agenda [ City of Chicago]