Now that a pair of 1895-built frame homes have been razed from the site, excavation work is underway for a new residential building at 2677 North Orchard Street in Lincoln Park. Two demolition permits were issued for the existing residences on June 30, and both structures were quickly dispatched.
2677-2679 North Orchard Street. Photo by Daniel Schell
Piles and excavation work, September 2025. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Piles of sand and piles of steel. Photo by Daniel Schell
On August 28, Promised Land Development received a new construction permit to begin work on a three-story plus basement, four-unit residence on the double lot. Designed by Michael Cox Associates, the building is to include a pair of roof decks adorned with pergolas atop the fourth level, with exterior decks at the rear of the upper three floors. A detached six-car garage accessed from the alley off Schubert Avenue will also have a rooftop decks and pergolas, with two accessory stairways.
From the alley. looking west. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Looking west toward the front of the lot. Photo by Daniel Schell
A site visit in September showed piles driven into the north and south sides of the lot, while excavation of copious amounts of sand, as we’ve become accustomed to when digging out foundations near Lake Michigan, is ongoing. Once structural erection begins, the building is expected to be of masonry construction. The permit, applied for on July 7, came with a reported cost of $1.1 million.
Site context of 2677-2679 North Orchard Street, via Google Maps
2679 (left) and 2677 North Orchard Street were permitted for demolition on June 30. Image via Google Street View
Nearby transit options, via Google Maps
Nearby transit options are located just one block south of Diversey Parkway and one block east of Clark Street, the lots are convenient to CTA bus Routes 22, 36, and 76. To the west, the Route 8 bus makes stops on Halsted Street, and the Diversey Brown/Purple line elevated train platform is less than half a mile away on foot.
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I have a question regarding the statement on the sand excavation. Is this because these houses used to be much closer to the “beach” in their earlier years before further development?
Yes. Lake Michigan was much further “inland” than it is now.
Wow, I figured. Now I’m curious how much that sand differs from the kind we use to infill today’s beaches. And is it easier to dig out than soil?
IL has tons of sand pits far out from the lake. You can find them near many river regions. I grew up playing on a couple of dunes near my uncle’s in Momence.
The soft stuff in the IN Dunes is a good indicator of what’s lakefront.
I put in a new water service one year to a coach house all the way back through a front yard…the sand was amazing looking and was perfect. This was 2 blocks west of Halsted in lakeview
I sure hope some of those true 2x4s and larger got salvaged and get a 2nd life somewhere
Unless the developer saves them – highly unlikely – probably not esp now that both Reuse Depot and the Rebuilding Exchange are dead.
Two units replaced with four. I’ll take it!