The Chicago Plan Commission has approved a new industrial development at 1237 W Division Street in West Town. The proposal replaces a currently empty lot and parking lot that once housed a Peoples Gas facility on the corner of N Elston Avenue, bound by the Metra UP-N and NW tracks to the west. The project is being led by developers LPC Division I with Ware Malcomb serving as the architect for the modern design in the quickly changing area.
LPC, or Logistics Property Company is a national developer of industrial and logistics properties. This new two-building development would be Chicago’s first Class A, multi-story logistics facility near downtown. The once heavily industrialized area is changing but the approval shows there is still demand for such projects on the large plots of land near the city. The majority of the site would be occupied by the two-story industrial building with attached stacked vehicle ramps; this will be connected to an adjacent five-story parking garage.
Second floor plan of 1237 W Division Street by Ware Malcomb
The industrial building will act as two stacked 252,700-square-feet warehouses, each one will be roughly 36-feet-tall with an option for a mezzanine in select areas. These will contain 28-truck dock positions each with the in-between levels offering parking for other operation vehicles, all four floors will be connected with two linear ramps and a large helix ramp. Tenants can also build out up to 50,000 square feet of office space in total. The adjoining parking garage will be connected by an overhead bridge and hold roughly 405 vehicle spaces spread across five stories.
Rendering of 1237 W Division Street by Ware Malcomb
The precast concrete panel building will be painted in shades of black and gray instead of its originally proposed beige, it will also incorporate large-scale art installations such as the parking garage being clad in a graphical perforated metal panel. The 89-foot-tall structure will now be able to move forward with construction as it is part of a planned development. However at the moment, neither a groundbreaking nor construction timeline has been revealed but the site has been cleared and remediated from its previous use.
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Boooooo
On the water and near downtown? Why, Plan Commission, why? (obviously ignoring the good it’ll do for certain logistics firms….but I still hate it!!)
Nobody can waste riverfront property like Chicago. That whole area is rather industrial, not sure i would want to live there.
Very true… I think this would be quite close to Onni’s megadevelopment plans on Goose Island. Assuming that goes anywhere, this warehouse will be a dead zone. But I suppose it does fit in for the time being.
I understand what you’re saying. But this type of development needs to go somewhere. It doesn’t level any vintage buildings, and it’s not like a highway project that ruins the area forever. It’s concrete tip-up that, in twenty years, might be torn down and incorporated into the city grid. I much prefer this to the project that saw the Crawford plant on Pulaski demolished for this exact same use.
it’s not really “on the water” since there is a 4 lane road plus actual waterfront properties before you get to the river
Considering the need for more facilities like this in the city proper, this is a great use of that particular parcel as noted above. Importantly, it’s NOT “riverfront” property – it fronts an unappealing stretch of Elston, and overlooks a boat rental facility and some run-down looking buildings/ restaurants. (Sure, someday those plots may be redeveloped but then this new facility will overlook whatever ends up there).
On the back /west side of this parcel is a crapload of loud rumbling train lines and then the din of the Kennedy Expressway. On the north,a Car dealership. On the south, more industry. It’s just an extremely unappealing area to want to live or perform an office job.
With Lincoln Yards not far away, and Goose Island beginning a phase of mixed use renewal there will be a glut of new homes/ office space coming online for years in nicer areas. So it’s going to be a LONG time before the market is desperate enough for people to turn to parcels like this for homes/offices.
Build it!
This is essentually necessary infrastructure development replacing an empty lot. It’s not waterfront and is adjacent to train tracks and the interstate. Just be happy you sad sacks.
They broke ground on this. Update?