Construction has topped out on the mixed-use development at 1549 North Fremont Street in the Near North community area. Located at the end of West Weed Street in the North Avenue shopping district, the project was introduced about two years ago and is being led by local developer CityPads in partnership with Wayland Real Estate Capital.
View of 1549 N Fremont Street by Ian Achong
Having broken ground not long ago, we reported earlier this year when the structure began rising vertically. Now, just three months later, it has reached its final five-story height, with most of the windows installed ahead of the exterior cladding. Design work for the project has been led by the local firm Norr Architects.
View of 1549 N Fremont Street by Ian Achong
First (left) and typical (right) floor plans of 1549 N Fremont Street by NORR Architects
The ground floor will eventually feature 8,000 square feet of retail space divided into multiple storefronts, a large residential lobby, and 29 parking spaces located at the rear and accessed from Fremont Street. Above, the remainder of the U-shaped structure will wrap around a central garden terrace and house 132 residential units, comprising 112 studios, 12 one-bedroom, and eight two-bedroom layouts.
View of 1549 N Fremont Street by Ian Achong
Rendering of 1549 North Fremont Street by NORR Architects
Of the total units, 26 will be designated as affordable. Residents will also have access to a shared rooftop deck. With the primary structure now complete, work has progressed to interior layout and will soon move to the exterior facade. The $40 million development, being built by ENC Construction, is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
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That’s around $300k per unit, which is oddly enough much less than the typical affordable housing development. When did building anything in Chicago become such a pricy endeavor, and even more so if the units are supposed to be affordable?
Covid, inflation, tariffs, etc are what has caused housing prices to increase. This project also has retail. The average single family home in the US is more than this. This is an urban site with a lot infrastructure. This building also has 29 structured parking spaces included in the price. $300K doesn’t sound all that bad given all the extras.
Tariffs How?
Yeah this is a great example of fantastic mixed-income development. My perspective on this: A standard Affordable Housing development in Chicago would cost around $20 million for just 26 units, and this project adds an additional 106 units of market-rate housing for the other $20 million. Its an example of why we should just be shoving the Affordable Housing development money over to private market forces to achieve better ROI
We live in the Seng building on the same block. The entire building is affordable housing through the Chicago Housing Trust. My 1100 sqft condo was $375,000 and our HOAs are $400 a month, this is considered far below the average cost for the area. It’s just insanely expensive, even when it is considered affordable housing.
Sounds excellent, considering all the much higher costs per unit seen lately in new developments. Especially those being financed as affordable. I’m all for affordable – just wish it didn’t cost so much to build them so we could have more of them.
Agree fully with Leslie Affordable Housing Developers are finding it harder and harder to keep costs down. We need more structures like this in our community.
can you provide more information regarding the application process, anticipated rental timelines, or how I can be added to a waitlist or mailing list for updates.
Thank you in advance for your time and assistance. I look forward to hearing from you.
We have a lot of empty retail right there already, so I feel like it’s a bit of a waste of space to not have it fully residential. Also, Scabby the Rat has been out there multiple times for not using union companies to build, so buyer beware.