Demolition work has begun as part of the redevelopment of the retail complex at 1800 North Clybourn Avenue in Lincoln Park. Sitting on the corner with North Sheffield Avenue, the project has been in the works for a few years and has been significantly downsized from its original iteration in 2024. Now, the team is moving forward with the revised plans.
Site context map of 11800 N Clybourn Ave via Google Maps
The two-lot property was originally home to the Turtle Wax plant built in 1908 and currently holds three commercial structures that have been mostly vacated. The previous plans called for the preservation of two original factory towers along with the reconstruction of a third, surrounded by new retail structures and a residential high-rise in the rear.
PREVIOUS rendering of Elevations of 1800 N Clybourn Ave by Lamar Johnson Collaborative
Now, developer CRM Properties Group has switched architecture firms to Stantec and downgraded the proposal. On the northern site, the team switched from two large multi-story commercial structures with an integrated parking garage and pedestrian walkways to four smaller single-story buildings surrounding a 101-space parking lot.
Site map of 1800 N Clybourn Ave by Stantec
To the south, the smaller wedge-shaped lot will hold an additional retail building with a recreation of one of the factory’s original towers. This will be joined by a 99-space parking lot in the rear. The overall project will include 44,000 square feet of commercial space along with 22 parking spaces to be built as of right, with no zoning changes required.
Elevations of 1800 N Clybourn Ave by Stantec
Elevations of 1800 N Clybourn Ave by Stantec
However, the developer has mentioned that the potential 500-foot-tall residential tower is not fully dead, with the space earmarked for it remaining open as a parking lot. A timeline for the commercial redevelopment is unknown, but crews are already working on demolishing the existing buildings. No further information on the potential residential portion is known.
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Suburban garbage
WTF is this even? We need some NIMBY proof housing laws in IL.
Agreed, because this really robs from all of us the much more substantial property tax revenue that we would otherwise we collecting if this were more properly developed in a dense, walkable, urban form. Usually not a fan of this phrase but I think it’s apt here. This could be interpreted as a sign of late-stage capitalism.
Well, that’s a step backwards. At least the retail is up to the lot line.
However, I’m sure all of the shops will say, at their street entrances, “Please enter through the rear”
The worst thing is that it’s not even clear this will be a net increase in leasable square footage from what they’re tearing down. The existing Goose Island building is three stories, the southeast corner building is two, and even the defunct Bed Bath & Beyond was probably a 25k sf store on its own. 44k for the entire complex is simply abysmal for this caliber of location.
Yeah i don’t understand why they are tearing some of these down just to replace with something so similar in the north lot. Maybe that “art walk” will be worth it all!!!
Big Fail! Residences are needed not more retail and commercial space with a parking lot. Give me a brake! Developers and Aldermen have their heads up each other a$$.
this is embarassing
Looks like they are banking the land until interest rates come down enough to build. Hopefully they build that tower.
Agree. Drive-up retail is still very lucrative in this area. Pay the taxes and hold on until interest rates become favorable. They’ll be able to demo these in a week when the time is right.
May also be waiting for a new alderman who will allow them to build tall apartment buildings.
Not really an issue. This redevelopment sits in the 2nd ward. Across the street is the 43rd Ward and towards the river/behind it, sits the the 32nd Ward. Hopkins could easily be on board and not face any serious push back based on ward boundaries.
You are joking right? Hopkins practically NIMBY’d the previous proposal out of the cards, and Waugespack tried to do the same across the street.
How often is the first proposal of any development approved without revisions? Hopkins follows the same approach every time and 9x out of 10, gives his approval. My original point stands. If (or when) they propose building the tower, it will get built.
What a waste of a perfectly well-suited high-density residential development. This is a terrible mistake.
Another glorified parking lot, creating more induced demand in an already overly car-smothered place.
So it’s being converted from a strip mall to a… strip mall?
It is not clear to me why the residential is not being built.
Does anyone know the actual reason? Not just speculation and blaming ‘NIMBY’
I believe they didn’t want the entire redevelopment held up trying to work their way through the process of getting the residential part approved, etc…
This looks great in Huntley. It looks ridiculous near downtown Chicago.
My god……….
Prime real estate in LP and this is the best they can do??? Wow what went so wrong here?
Yikes! They really dropped the ball on this one.
Yecch.
For everyone who is outraged at this development, remember this entire part of Lincoln Park has been a semi-suburban-ish retail hub for decades and they are replacing older retail and parking with new retail and parking. Lost opportunity for something better: Absolutely! Huge step backward for Chicago architecture and housing? More like a stalemate.
“Gastropub” in the rendering is crazy
They are tearing down commercial buildings and replacing them with retail buildings. Did you really mean to call this a “residential center redevelopment“?
Anyone old enough to remember the incredible weird indoor mall here in the 90s, anchored by the original Goose Island brewery and filled with weird artsy stores and glow-in-the-dark mini golf? There was once some evidence that this could be a cool area, but alas…
Nice, now we can officially rename this corridor “Clyburbia.”