Updated plans have been revealed for the redevelopment of the former site of DePaul College Prep at 3601 N California Avenue in Irving Park. Located on the corner with W Addison Street along the Chicago River, plans for the redevelopment have now shifted since we first covered them in 2021. This is greatly due to neighborhood complaints on density and traffic.
PREVIOUS site plan for 3601 N California Avenue by Pappageorge Haymes
Having shed the previous developer, this current effort is being led by the land’s owner, The Congregation of the Resurrection, who lives in the old rectory along Addison. The congregation also brought in Neri Architects for the new master plan which calls for less than half of the 357 residences previously proposed.
Rendering of DePaul College Prep redevelopment by Neri Architects
The land will now be rezoned as a whole by the congregation and split into two phases, bringing a total of 53 single family homes and 72 condominiums within two low-rises. The first phase will redevelop the northern half of the site and include a new singular central road that will traverse the whole site, a departure from the previous multi-road plan.
Phased site plans of DePaul College Prep redevelopment by Neri Architects
This portion will include a new public riverwalk connected to California Park to the north. Connected to this will be 42 of the single family home lots, all of which including those in phase 2 will be sold to private developers and individuals to build homes. These homes will include detached garages that will connect to the inner road.
Rendering of DePaul College Prep redevelopment by Neri Architects
On the northernmost edge of the property will be a new four-story building with 33 of the condominiums. Phase two will demolish the rectory and build 11 additional single family homes and another four-story building with 39-condominiums and ground floor commercial along the main street corner.
Rendering of DePaul College Prep redevelopment by Neri Architects
The project will now need alderman approval prior to getting approval from the city to rezone the site, with a demolition following these. However the congregation will take their time to build out the full property, thus a complete timeline is unestablished.
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What a waste of good space.
Before the comments turn to a complaintfest about lack of density. This seems like a really nice development that suits the area. Those living here are likely going to be families who want their kids to walk to Lane Tech, not 20-30 somethings commuting to the loop from a 200 unit apartment building.
Username checks out. Silence, NIMBY.
I live here and am a 30-something who WFH and sometimes commutes to the Loop for work.
Zaptron, you’re living at the abandoned DePaul College Prep campus?
I live across from Horner Park and pass this lot weekly.
Not sure why there’s an assumption that families don’t live in anything denser than a SFH
75+ years of hardcore suburban-industrial complex marketing (propganda) has warped the American mindset into believing that raising a family in anything other than a large detached SFH with its own yard is literally child abuse.
This is as good as we are going to get. I live a block away from this development and have seen all the previous iterations of this plot of land destroyed due to my reactionist/nimby neighbors.
While we need more density this is a good compromise for the area, we cant let perfect be the enemy of good and right now this is an empty building. As for as SFHs are concerned they are new homes being put up constantly for over a million west of the river soo there is plenty of demand.
Where is the tallest buildings countdown? I see NYC yimby has it
lol what do you think? we have like 3 buildings over 100 feet U/C
Wow this city is embarassing. I’ve been wondering why Chicago development news has been so BORING lately. So many other cities are building but Chicago is getting left behind.
Reading Atlanta urbanize and then reading this forum is like night and day. Multiple skyscrapers going up, so many infrastructure projects and new developments coming up daily in Atlanta. Meanwhile in Chicago its crickets…
I agree it’s really disappointing and annoying af but Atlanta is still lightyears behind Chicago in urbanicity, so are Miami and Houston. Here’s hoping 2025 brings better things.
There is more to good development than height. I’d take a bunch of infill development over a few high-rise projects. Chicago doesn’t reinvest through a few show pieces but through many small projects all around the City.
So you’re saying I could live that much closer to Portillo’s and Chick-Fil-A? TAKE MY MONEY!
Do people not realize that if less housing is built, each remaining property is going to have to pay more in property tax?
The quality of intellectual discourse on this site gets pretty low when the knee-jeek reaction to any development is “needs more density”. Have you been to this street corner? There’s a ComEd substation across the street, and a giant ComEd parking lot on the other side of the intersection. There isn’t and won’t ever be any pedestrian-friendly aspects or local coffee shops, etc. The river path is the main selling point but for recreation, not to enable a walkable lifestyle. It’s almost a mile and a half to the closest L station.
Personally I’m just fine with this (if it even gets built…the true NIMBYS are out in force here). We should be focusing more on density within 3-4 blocks of L stations, which is still criminally low along most corridors.
The closest L station is Addison blue line, almost exactly a 1 mile walk west down Addison from the old Gordon campus. Your points are understood, but there’s no need to exaggerate them.
Big suburbia vibes here, but looks like that’s what this Park Ridge architect specializes in
I grew up in the suburbs and there was never anything like this. It’s obviously not the pinnacle of urban design but this will be the most urban looking development within a mile in any direction. There are tons of these “closely packed SFH with concealed inner drive flanked by condo buildings” developments all over the north side of the city.
Housing unit density of a typical Park Ridge residential block: 5 units/acre
Housing unit density of this proposed development: 18 units/acre
Could this be denser? Of course, but tightly packed SFH’s flanked by some MFH buildings is fine. Public access to the whole length of the riverfront and the houses along California actually fronting California are big enough urban design wins here for me.
Painfully brain-dead commenter Roger annoyed me enough to comment. Simply because there are not 10 super talla going up, for the ape-ish Roger to gawk at, does not negate the developments that are happening. I do find it a little offensive to say somewhere is embarrassing simply because they can’t stare at construction photos from their little home miles away. Also, good on Atlanta for rectifying decades of horrible development! In a few more decades they may be close to Chicago’s numbers of skyscrapers.
Wow you’re coping. Chicago is literally dead last for all major cities in development LOL there’s multiple articles about it do your research. Even Chicago based development companies like Related and SOM aren’t developing here, they’re going to NYC, Nashville, Atlanta, Miami, etc. places with actual economic activity going on.
Chicago had 60 cranes up in 2017 and the city was on a clear upswing back then. The city now is on a clear decline and i’m not just talking development wise.
Related Midwest is developing 400 Lake Shore, the Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park on the old Steel Works site, Roosevelt Square, and they just opened The Row Fulton Market. Plus they’re working on getting The 78 active. I am unaware of any current projects in Atlanta and Nashville, from The Related Group or Related Companies, but admittedly I don’t pay attention to those markets.
And SOM is an architecture firm, not a developer.
You’re both right. NYC and Miami are on a hot streak b/c of overseas investment in the recession-resistant luxury market and NYC has always been a hot market. But SF has cooled off majorly, LA has cooled, Seattle has cooled — it’s chilly all the way around. And Nashville and Miami are not building the subway/rail/15-minute neighborhoods they need to truly feel urban. Towers can only do so much for a city’s vibe. You’re also forgetting, Roger, that Fulton Market has been on fire, there’s been a ton of mid-rise infill which is more important in some ways, and the casino, and Onni’s Goose Island development breaking ground and North Union has been going at breakneck speeds, also the Thompson Center redevelopment looks amazing.
But it’s not unfair to say Chicago has become a bit stagnant. Lincoln Yards? Dead for now (shocker). Bronzeville Lakeshore? Dead, then revived, then dead again 2x. The 78? I’ll believe it when I see it. Equinox Hotel? Dead, then back, then dead again. 655 W Madison? Crickets. Tribune Tower East? Completely vaporware apparently. 640 W Washington? Dead. 170 N Green Street? Now pickleball courts (that one stings). These are quite embarrassing indeed and not the type of precedent we want to set in the city
This is really disappointing. Except for almost directly across from this site, California around this stretch (say Belmont to Montrose) is mostly apartments (Rental/Condo) and institutional buildings/uses. I should know, I tried to buy a condo here years ago, ha. This many SFHs is the real “break from neighborhood character” or whatever.
But…what’s really going to be disappointing is whatever amended renderings come out after this gets shouted down in the next community meeting.