Plans have been revealed for a new proposal at 7 West Elm Street in the Gold Coast. The plans were presented to the community this week by local developer Convexity Properties, which took over the site from the previous team led by Newcastle Limited after their proposal stalled. The new tower is being designed by Goettsch Partners.
Site context map of 7 W Elm St by Goettsch Partners
PREVIOUS rendering for 7 W Elm St by SCB
Located on the corner of North State Street, the project will replace a vacated Barnes & Noble and a small Lou Malnati’s location. The previous proposal had been in the works for several years, with its last iteration featuring a tiered box design reaching a maximum height of 345 feet. Those plans called for 132 parking spaces and 304 residential units.
Rendering of 7 W Elm St by Goettsch Partners
The current proposal takes a page from many River North projects, featuring a simple podium with a boxy tower above, capping out at 28 stories and 312 feet in height. The podium will rise four stories and include 24,000 square feet of visible retail space along State Street, along with a small lobby and a ramp leading to the parking garage on Elm Street.
Plans for 7 W Elm St by Goettsch Partners
The floors above will contain a slightly higher unit count of 307 units. While layouts have not been released, a similar mix of one- and two-bedroom units is expected. The structure will consist of two interlocking forms, allowing for amenity floors with large terraces on the 18th and 28th floors. The tower will be clad in a blue glass curtain wall with light panel accents.
Rendering of 7 W Elm St by Goettsch Partners
Rendering of 7 W Elm St by Goettsch Partners
As the proposal has not seen significant changes to its program, the development team plans to pursue an adjustment to the existing approved plans from 2021. Approval is expected soon, with permit submissions anticipated in early 2026. Construction is projected to begin in June 2026 and conclude in March 2028, with WE O’Neil serving as the contractor.
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As always, I wish it could be taller. This is close to an L stop. Sigh.
As always, I wish it were smaller. We don’t need to be NYC blocking the sky. Neighborhoods don’t need massive buildings at every corner
We’re Chicago, which means in the downtown (like this is), it is perfectly logical to have skyscrapers on most corner. After all, we invented this building typology.
One of the complaints about the last design was that it cast too big of a shadow or something
My garage can cast a fifty-foot shadow. This building should definately taller.
The cost per unit goes up the higher you get. The rents may just not justify the increase in height. Chicago is getting more expensive, but it’s a lot less expensive than coastal cities.
Nice one, luckily they need nice looking store fronts there so parking podium will get needed attention.
Indeed, I don’t hate this podium. It’d be better to put the cars under ground, but this is fairly thoughtful towards the pedestrian street experience.
parking deck fronting the street is sad to see
Extremely mediocre, at best. When put up against the prior proposal, it really strikes how subpar the new proposal is. A heavy parking podium. Obvious mish-mash of faux-delinations fronting the street. The prior proposals would have brought a good deal of refinement and light to the area, which badly needs it. Shame.
The garage panels facing the street are horrible . Put residential units on the exterior of. the garage .
All for a tower here… but this is the best Chicago has? 15 years ago this might have been new and exciting. The glass pattern on this is played out to the point of exhaustion. Also, a toddler with building blocks would make a more elegant massing. Its hulkingly blockish. The entrance on Division looks quite nice but it will never have that much vegetation in reality so its kind of a lie. Everything should be scrapped and started over. How do we petition for the old design because this is ugly
I know people are mad about the height reduction, but this still seems like a win with a slight increase in units.
Should be taller and have less parking. Even if transit didn’t exist nearby, this is one of the most walkable areas of the third largest city in the united states. What a joke.
I said the other building posted yesterday was spooning.
This one is going for extra bases.
The problem with this design is not the height, it is the carbon monoxide manor that has been slapped facing the street.
The lot is large enough for two parking drive aisles each on levels 2-5 but have the garage pushed to the SW corner of the site instead of being right up against the street. Which would allow for floors 2-5 to also have retail or residential uses facing the street along at least State, but also likely Elm without reducing the amount of parking. Especially if the garage was 6 stories hidden by the active uses. Which would be more in line with the adjacent garage volume across the alley.
This building is an exercise in how to make a streetscape sterile and uninviting while the previous design was exactly what Chicago needs more of. Chicago’s architecture is no better than any average large city today but at a minimum towers could meet the ground with active uses and transparency.
omg it’s awful
Why does every new building have to look like two different buildings glued together??
I like the massing scheme of the (superficially) interlocking L-shaped volumes. The slight cantilevers of each gives the whole thing some dynamism. The superfluous ornamental touches, though, are detrimental: the little “L” appliques on the facade are corny and gratuitous, and the garage screening — which I assume is an allusion to brickwork — is deplorable. In the right context and in the right hands, it could be an arch, consciously self-referential architectural element, but here it reads as a contrived gussy-up.
Many split personalities on this heavy glass box top concept with a Lego base and another street level motif below at sidewalk level. There seems to be a contest in Chicago on who can repeat existing dated cheap conceptual plans with new kindergarten accents. This one is definitely in the finals.
What about Lou’s? The previous project showed a new Lou’s where the old Lou’s is now. I’ll be pissed if they kick Lou out and put more empty store fronts around. We have enough of those. Plus, that Lou’s is one of the top-grossing ones in the chain.
Hi! I believe the Lou’s will return.