The Chicago Plan Commission has approved plans for a mixed-use development at 215 North Racine Avenue in Fulton Market. Located just north of the intersection with Lake Street, the proposal has been in the works since last year and would replace a small mid-block vacant lot on the neighborhood’s western end.
Tower (red) – Park (green) via Google Maps
Site context diagram of 215 N Racine Avenue by Archeo Design Studio
Efforts are being led by local developer Domus in collaboration with Archeo Design Studio. To make way for the 29-story tower, the team is seeking to rezone the site from DX-5 (Downtown Mixed-Use) to DX-16, the highest density designation allowed in the city center. This request has drawn backlash from local neighbors who fear it could usher in a new era of supertall buildings in the area.
Rendering of 215 N Racine Avenue by Archeo Design Studio
Rendering of 215 N Racine Avenue by Archeo Design Studio
The 364-foot structure will include a four-story podium clad in a perforated metal screen. The ground floor will house the residential lobby and just over 1,100 square feet of retail space, topped by an 88-space parking garage above. The remaining floors, up to the 28th level, will contain the project’s 347 residential units, 20 percent of which will be designated as affordable.
Floor plans of 215 N Racine Avenue by Archeo Design Studio
The unit mix will consist of 143 studios, 79 one-bedroom units, 120 two-bedroom units, and five three-bedroom layouts, ranging from 552 to 1,500 square feet. The project will also include a small public park located a few blocks away to meet the area’s green space requirement. The 10,810-square-foot park is still in the design phase.
Rendering of 215 N Racine Avenue by Archeo Design Studio
Rendering of potential park at 1240 W Carroll Ave by Archeo Design Studio
Clad primarily in glass with copper-colored accent panels, the tower would align with many of the buildings rising nearby. However, the zoning change led to a disagreement between the Department of Planning and Development’s zoning administrator, who recommended against the project for exceeding surrounding density limits, and the commission, which ultimately voted in favor. The proposal will now require City Council approval.
If approved, the team hopes to break ground later this year and complete construction in 2028.
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The opposition is pathetic. Tall buildings… a few blocks from a bunch of other tall buildings!! Get the fainting counch
Chicago is a mess-the planning commission and zoning are all clueless-show them the cash and they would approve anything-I live in a condo conversion-because the girlfriend of one of a then alderman was on the development team, the conversion was approved-this conversion was horrible done with all mechanicals/materials falling apart
lol tf?
NO METAL SCREENS . Screams CHEAP . Enclose the garage properly . Solid exterior walls leaving the top foot open for ventilation .
I’ll be honest, I think I prefer the metal screens over solid walls with a ventilation gap
Be thankful we don’t live in a climate where cheap stucco is possible. You’d take a metal panel over the fading, dust collecting water infiltrating system any day.
Why are there “green space requirements” for private developers at all? God forbid we have a continuous, walkable urban fabric in CHICAGO of all places. No, that’s scary. Need to break it up with vacant lot “parks” that no one will actually use.
I swear, the people making these rules don’t actually want to live in a city…
This is the truth. Only when a city maximizes structural density for vast stretches does a park or plaza become a respite from the urban jungle. Chicago planners try to offer so much open space that they mostly go unused. Chicago isn’t overwhelming in its composition. There are plenty of sweeping vistas and underutilization throughout the core that makes the experience lack the chaotic intensity that cities like NY, Tokyo, London or Paris provide.
Chicago Planning Department is the lowest common denominator of idiots.