New apartment development ready to replace Old Town’s Father and Son Plaza

The redevelopment of Old Town’s defunct Father and Son Plaza strip mall into an 11-story complex with 261 apartment units is moving forward at the southwest corner of North Avenue and Larrabee Street.

First reported in mid-2016, the proposal, from White Oak Realty Partners and FitzGerald Associates Architects, landed a construction permit on Friday. The city issued a demolition permit for the existing single-story shopping center—once home to businesses like Marcello’s and Chase bank—on Monday.

The upcoming brick and glass structure will include a residential amenity level with an outdoor pool, two ground-floor commercial bays offering a combined 30,000 square feet of retail space, a 183-vehicle garage, and various streetscape improvements along North Avenue. Approved by the Chicago Plan Commission in January, the $128 million project will provide seven affordable units on site as well as pay $2.37 million into the city’s Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund.

The Father and Son redevelopment isn’t the only project sprouting up along North Avenue near the border of Chicago’s Old Town and Lincoln Park neighborhoods. Plans for a 92-unit transit-oriented development at 750 W. North Avenue are moving forward, while work on a 69-apartment building at 437 W. North Avenue continues.

Farther east, crews recently installed a construction crane at the corner of Clark and North for the 10-story 1550 on the Park condominium development.

• New construction permit at 633 W. North Avenue [Chicago Cityscape]
• Father and Son Plaza redevelopment returns with fewer units [Curbed Chicago]
• Mixed-use development surfaces for North Avenue strip mall [Curbed Chicago]