Slender residential tower looks to squeeze into narrow Gold Coast site

A 22-story high-rise is in the works for a narrow Gold Coast site located just west of the Maple & Ash steakhouse. Replacing a four-story commercial building at 12 W. Maple Street, the project was announced in an email notice sent from the office of 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins.

Despite its relative height and the fact that current zoning allowing for as many as 88 units, the proposed tower will contain just 12 residences. The plan also includes retail and restaurant space, amenity levels, and an unspecified number of belowground parking spaces accessed by a vehicle lift, Hopkins’s staff told Curbed Chicago.

While there’s no word yet regarding the project’s architect, the developer is aiming for “a modern luxury aesthetic,” according to the public notice. The proposal is expected be officially unveiled at a community meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 22, at the Newberry Library at nearby 60 W. Walton Street.

Project developer Jim Lasky and partner David Pisor purchased the current building at 12 W. Maple Street for $13.1 million in 2017, Crain’s reported at the time. An adjacent historic building at 16 W. Maple Street—once home to the Merlo on Maple Italian restaurant—is not part of the planned development, according to Hopkins’s staff.

• Gold Coast retail building sells to neighborhood developers [Crain’s]
• Public meeting notice [2nd Ward Chicago]
• Gold Coast archives [Curbed Chicago]