DPD Issues Request for Proposals for Four Sites in INVEST South/West Neighborhoods

With approval from the Community Development Commission, the Chicago Department of Planning & Development has issued four Request for Proposals for sites across neighborhoods in southern and western Chicago, as part of the INVEST South/West initiative. The four sites are located in Bronzeville, North Lawndale, New City, and South Chicago.

The first site, located at 3400 W Ogden Avenue, sits within the North Lawndale neighborhood. The proposal site is made up of multiple adjacent city-owned parcels, addressed at 3400-18 W Ogden Avenue and 1819 S Trumbull Avenue. The lot at 3410 W Ogden Avenue is currently privately owned, but the site was cleared a few years ago. The Community Development Commission authorized DPD to acquire the privately-owned lot to integrate it into the project site.

3400-18 W Ogden Avenue via Google Maps

The currently vacant lot measures approximately 43,000 square feet. An alley relocation will allow for the consolidation of the multiple land parcels. The site will front onto W Ogden Avenue and S Trumbull Avenue.

Roadway Design Concept for 3400 W Ogden Avenue. Diagram by Studio Gang

With help from Studio Gang, the city has gone through a community visioning process to decide what the ideal development on the site would be. There is currently a lack of retail and food and drink establishments. Studio Gang has developed concepts that include a mix of uses and sizes. The ideal proposal was determined to be a mixed-use project with mixed-income housing, ground-floor retail, and potentially office use. A roadway design concept was introduced to help make the roadway more pedestrian friendly.

449-451 E 47th Street via Google Maps

The second site, located at 449-451 E 47th Street, is located in Bronzeville. Composed of two city-owned parcels, the 26,000-square-foot lot is zoned B1-5, Neighborhood Shopping District.

Massing Proposals for 449-451 E 47th Street. Diagrams by DPD

Multiple options were developed in a community visioning process. The options all include ground-floor retail, with approximately 60 residential units. The development would also include public way improvements to make the site more pedestrian-friendly. The plan also includes a preference of open green space for the project.

Outdoor Space Study for 449-451 E 47th Street. Diagrams by DPD

Public Way Improvements Proposed for 449-451 E 47th Street. Diagrams by DPD

The third parcel is located at 1515 W 47th Street, located in the New City neighborhood. The site is composed of vacant city-owned land, zoned B3-2/Community Shopping District, and spread across approximately 15,000 square feet.

1515 W 47th Street via Google Maps

Visioning outlines a multi-story, mixed-use development. Potential uses are retail, office, community resources, and residential space. The final vision consists of 47,000 square feet of residential space with 50 units, 1,630 square feet of ground-floor space, 4,200 square feet of green space, and 12 parking spaces. An option for community space was also considered. The city partnered with Chicago Central Area Committee, Lamar Johnson Collaborative, Compass, Landmark Development, and Sam Schwartz to develop the scenarios.

Visioning Proposal for 1515 W 47th Street. Diagram by Lamar Johnson Collaborative

Rear View of Visioning Proposal for 1515 W 47th Street. Diagram by Lamar Johnson Collaborative

The final proposal site is located at 8840-54 S Commercial Avenue in South Chicago. The city will acquire properties at 8840 S Commercial Avenue and 8844-54 S Commercial Avenue, joining them with a vacant city-owned lot.

RFP Site at 8840-54 S Commercial Avenue. Image by DPD

The site consists of two privately-owned vacant buildings to the north, a privately-owned vacant lot, and a privately-owned structure to the south. The vacant city-owned lot bisects the other four lots, joining the five parcels. The edifice at 8854 S Commercial Avenue will be demolished.

Totaling a 25,000-square-foot site, the northern buildings will be adaptively reused, while the southern structures will be demolished and replaced with new construction. A multi-story mixed-use development is envisioned for the site, with potential uses including retail, office, community resources, and residential.

8840-54 S Commercial Avenue via Google Maps

The city partnered with Chicago Central Area Committee, Gensler, Diane Legge Civic Design, Draper and Kramer, and Wight & Company for the visioning process. The suggested proposal will be a ground-floor coworking space in the building at 8840 S Commercial Avenue, in addition to ground-floor commercial uses in the new construction. There will be 55 residential units in total, with ten located in the adaptive reuse portion of the development, and 45 units in the new construction.

The request for proposals was officially issued at the end of November. Responses from developers will be due at the end of March 2021. After the responses are received, a shortlist will be announced with the final developer chosen from the shortlist.

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