New plans have been revealed for the mixed-use proposal set to replace the vacant lot and parking garage at 331 South Plymouth Court in The Loop. Located at the intersection with West Van Buren Street and connected to Pritzker Park, development of the site has been in the works for a few years after a previous proposal, dubbed Assemble Chicago, stalled.
View of Downtown Loop Site at 331 S Plymouth Court. Image by C40
For the past few years, development along the southern portion of State Street has struggled to gain traction. This included Assemble Chicago, a 20-story proposal that was the result of a design competition won by The Community Builders and Studio Gang. The 207-unit, $102 million project underwent multiple iterations and at one point included a potential YMCA anchor before ultimately being scrapped.
Previous iterations of Assemble (left, center) – ACoDA (right)
However, last week the city announced a new team selected to take over the project with a revised design. Dubbed ACoDA, the proposal is being led by DL3 Realty and designed by architecture firm Perkins&Will. The new $62 million, 25-story tower will feature a four-story active podium and a $1.5 million redevelopment of Pritzker Park.
Rendering of ACoDA by Perkins&Will
Like its predecessor, ACoDA takes inspiration from the historic Fisher Building behind the site, featuring an angled form and light brown decorative fins, though with significantly more glass. The podium would include ground-floor retail and restaurant space, co-working areas, and multiple live-work loft units for local entrepreneurs, according to the city’s press release.
Rendering of ACoDA by Perkins&Will
Rendering of ACoDA by Perkins&Will
The floors above will contain 300 residential units, a major increase from the original proposal. Of those, 60 will be designated as affordable. Residents would also have access to 60 parking spaces within the podium, as well as a large outdoor deck on the fifth floor overlooking the park. It also appears that the previously announced YMCA and Rush clinic locations have been removed from the plans.
Rendering of ACoDA by Perkins&Will
The project joins early signs of momentum in the area, including the recently announced redevelopment of 401 State Street into a vertical farm and residential units nearby. In order to move forward, the proposal will require City Council approval and must secure several small grants ahead of groundbreaking. Power Construction and UJAMAA Construction will serve as the general contractors.
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Not a big fan of the podium (as will almost all podiums), but it’s not the most offensive. Otherwise, the main tower design is intriguing and the cost per unit (~$207k per unit) is quite reasonable, especially when compared to other developments with affordable housing. As they used to say on Curbed, “build it already”
Good place to add some density and residents who won’t treat this long-neglected park like Chicago’s version of Hamsterdam in the Wire.
Wow, I love the design and this would no doubt bring life to the area. Hope they can move quickly on it.
Hard to say how practical it would be. But I wish they shifted the new building to be adjacent to the UIC Law building to block the ugly wall. Then the south side of the block could contain Pritzker Park with views of the Fisher Building and Harold Washington Library.
Exactly. This option was pursued by DPD but blocked by the park district even though CPD acquired the land from the City for $1. The land was initially acquired for the library but then not needed for the winning proposal.
I take zero interest until we actually see evidence that this project is more viable than the ones that came before it. Yawn
Build it.
I wish this building would be half as wide and twice as tall, AND it would rise from the north end of the site. Then, at least a little bit of the Fischer can be seen – this way the whole landmark will always be cast in shade and shadow – a rude treatment. The design is very questionable – is this the best offered? GEEZ!
Waiting for Nimbys to say this is out of scale with the character of the loop
Jk, it looks great though! Build it!
Build it. Glad the mixed-use components were removed. The loop needs residents, not more empty commercial space. As population grows, existing suites will provide what the market demands. At this point, the loop isn’t supporting its existing businesses. Throwing another gym (or really anything other than housing) will just cannibalize existing businesses.