River North’s landmarked Bush Temple preps for glassy 16-story addition

After wrapping up its years long conversion of River North’s historic 1901 Bush Temple of Music into 101 studio and one-bedroom apartments, Chicago developer Cedar Street Cos. is preparing for the next phase of the project: a glassy residential tower right next door.

Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture

Although the 16-story project has yet to score an official building permit, crews are already erecting barriers to form a protected pathway next to the site. The CDOT-approved plan will also reduce southbound traffic on Clark down to a single lane, according to an email notice sent Thursday from the office of 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins.

Designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, the 129-unit Bush Temple addition would rise just south of the recently completed six-story Lakeshore LDS Meetinghouse. The slender transit-oriented building will also include ground floor retail and just 13 parking spaces. It replaces a pair of older three-story brick buildings that were demolished in 2016.

Construction on the tower is expected to take roughly 15 months, per Hopkins’ email. Nearby, work continues on an eight-unit townhouse project developed by Col. Jennifer Pritzker’s Tawani Enterprises.

• Bush Temple of Music is getting a glassy addition [Curbed Chicago]
• Historic Bush Temple begins new chapter as apartments [Curbed Chicago]