In 19th place in Chicago YIMBY’s year-end countdown is a 22-story mixed-use building at 513 S Damen Avenue in the Illinois Medical District. The 260,000-square-foot structure is rising rapidly, with its core now at the fifth floor. Ultimately, this new edifice will rise just over 242 feet to its architectural pinnacle, while offering 1,000 square feet of ground-level retail space and 279 rental units above.
Marquette Companies is the developer for the recently approved construction, which serves as the second installation in a larger three-part masterplan. This larger plan, bound by the trapezoidal block of Damen, Congress, Ogden, and Harrison, also includes the newly renovated, 18-story Atrio apartments to the east and a yet-to-be-built, nine-story building dubbed currently as “Harrison Tower”. This third tower will eventually connect to 513 S Damen Avenue via the second and third floors, while sharing a sprawling pool deck on the fourth level.
Within 513 S Damen Avenue, unit sizes will include studios, junior one-bedrooms, one-bedrooms, and two-bedrooms. A large portion of these residences will also come with either balconies or attached private terraces. Amenities include the aforementioned fourth-floor pool deck, a fitness center, a coworking space, a dog park and dog wash, as well as a skyline-facing rooftop deck on the 20th floor.
Parking-wise, there will be a total of 173 parking spaces housed within the podium’s first through third floors, as well as a first-floor bike storage room. As shown in planning documents, the number of parking spaces within the podium garage will ultimately increase once the connecting nine-story tower is built.
Chicago-based Brininstool + Lynch has envisioned a glassy design, whose facade features a reflective glazing with intermittent dark metal paneling and hanging balconies. The podium will anchor the look of the tower with a mix of perforated and solid metal paneling.
Public transit options include bus service for Routes 50 and 126 at the adjacent corner of Damen & Congress, while Route 7 stops can also be found just paces south at Harrison & Damen. The development site is also in close proximity to two CTA L lines, with nearest service for the Blue Line at Illinois Medical District station via a three-minute walk northeast. The second line is the Pink Line, with service at Polk station via an 11-minute walk southeast.
Within the Illinois Medical District, 513 S Damen Avenue will be the second-tallest building, coming in just 10 feet shy of the clover-shaped hospital tower at Rush University Medical Center. The height, however, pales in comparison to the district’s striking long-term vision that has been laid out by Chicago-based Solomon Cordwell Buenz. Whether or not these plans will come to fruition or resemble the conceptual renderings remains to be known, though their sheer ambition may prove to be a guiding force for future developers.
Power Construction is serving as general contractor, with construction permits having been issued for the tower crane and first three floors of the superstructure. As of now, full building permits have been filed but not yet approved. According to an October article by REBusiness Online, Associated Bank and Wheaton Bank & Trust just recently arranged a $57.2 million construction loan. The article also mentions an anticipated completion date now slated for March 2023.
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When will these units be available
Hi Jeremy, these will be ready March of 2023