Brick work has taken over the exterior on the apartment building at 629 West Lake Street in the West Loop. A mast-climbing work platform remains attached to the west elevation as masonry work continues. There are still some windows that need to be installed on the west façade, and plenty of work remains at street level to enclose the first floor, which will include 2,000 square feet of retail space, a storage room for 49 bicycles, and two indoor parking spaces.
Rendering of 629 West Lake Street by Axios Architects
The L zooms past. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
The top floor, which will hold a single residential unit as well as the building’s amenity spaces, still sports the yellow sheathing that covered the whole building before bricks did. The mast climber will be of no help with masonry work with the remaining work set back from the lower seven levels. Soon, balconies will be suspended along Desplaines Street for each unit on floors two through seven.
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
The three-member team of developer Continuum Real Estate Brokers, design firm Axios Architects, and general contractor Chicago Common Construction, active one block south as well on 50 more units at 135 North Desplaines, is delivering 49 rental apartments on the southeast corner of Lake and Desplaines Streets. The site was previously home to the Fast Track restaurant until its demolition in January 2025. A new construction permit was issued one month earlier that had languished in the Chicago Data Portal for almost two years. As with their project at Desplaines and Randolph, no completion date has yet been publicized.
The view from Randolph Street looking north. Photo by Daniel Schell
Upon its completion, residents of 629 West Lake will live within easy walks of three Metra lines at Ogilvie Transportation Center, two elevated trains at the Clinton Green/Pink platform, and several CTA bus routes including the heavily utilized #20 Madison bus and the #8 Halsted bus.
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What a handsome shade of brick. Much better than the renderings.
I was thinking the same thing! Was kinda bummed by the color in the renderings but it looks nice
Wow, 49 rental units and 2 parking spaces is impressively low.
But parking minimums have overbuilt supply for decades, so in order to return to “equilibrium” we’re probably going to see quite a few more buildings like this one.
Nice to not need a car.
CTA and Metra rock!
What a fantastic project! If this kind of development penciled out in other areas, we would have a fantastic level of density
Balconies scrapped or they are still to be attached?
My guess is they are planned. Those studs on the building otherwise would be senseless
On second look, there are actually two installed, on the 5th pic in the article
You add balconies last, using a scissor lift or a similar crane. All the infrastructure is in place and ready for them to cantilever into.
They could get damaged, as the facade is still being finished, and damaging them is not structurally ideal.