New 40-story residential tower in the works for crowded Clybourn Corridor

After floating the idea of a 29-story apartment tower near the corner of Chicago’s Fremont and Weed streets back in 2015, developer CRM Properties Group is back with a taller, 40-story plan for Lincoln Park’s retail-heavy Clybourn Corridor.

Chicago City Clerk

After floating the idea of a 29-story apartment tower near the corner of Chicago’s Fremont and Weed streets back in 2015, developer CRM Properties Group is back with a taller, 40-story plan for Lincoln Park’s retail-heavy Clybourn Corridor.

Filed with the city under an LLC named Fremont Square (perhaps a clue to the development’s official name), the zoning application calls for 500 residential units, more retail space, and 326 parking spots to spread across a large site divided into four smaller areas strung together.

The highlight of the plan is the 40-story high-rise slated for a narrow parking lot at 1520-1576 N. Fremont Street. Across the alleyway to the west, a shorter seven-story retail and residential building would replace a parking lot across from Whole Foods at 1531-1539 N. Kingsbury Street. The plan would also develop the single-story Firestone Complete Auto Care at 909 W. North Avenue into a new three-story commercial building.

Chicago City Clerk

The application lists Chicago-based Solomon Cordwell Buenz as design architect and includes basic elevation drawings of a glassy tower rising atop a perforated metal-clad parking podium.

Measuring 465 feet, the new high-rise would easily become the tallest building in the immediate area—eclipsing the nearby 306-foot Sono West and 243-foot Sono East towers.

The zoning application filed on Wednesday represents a very early step in the approval process. The plan will require the official nod from 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett Jr., who is expected to first hold a public community meeting to discuss the details of the plan.

The requested zoning change would then go before the Chicago Plan Commission, Committee on Zoning, and full City Council for final approval. The developer will need to line up permits—not to mention financing—before any work can begin.

• Two-tower development looking to land on Clybourn Corridor [Curbed Chicago]