The tower crane has now been installed for 920 N Wells Street in Near North Side, where Chicago-based developer JDL has planned an 18-story mixed-use building. This structure is the first stepping stone in a massive new development known as North Union, occupying 8.1 acres on property formerly owned by the Moody Bible Institute. Bolstered by JDL’s partnership with Square Mile Capital and Intercontinental Real Estate, North Union will provide six million square feet of new floor space (equivalent to roughly 1.5 Willis Towers), 2,656 residential units, a wide range of commercial spaces, and over 100,000 square feet of public areas. With its tallest tower approaching 700 feet, the $1.3 billion scheme will shift the northern skyline’s center of gravity further west.
Updated rendering of North Union from the west by HPA
920 N Wells Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
920 N Wells Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
920 N Wells Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
Programming within 920 N Wells will include 10,000 square feet of ground-level retail topped by 228 rental apartments. Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture is the firm behind the design of both the current construction and the larger master plan. The exterior will be made up of a mix of glass and white metal floor slips , culminating in an amenity penthouse and rooftop deck. There will also be an integrated parking garage for 105 vehicles as well as a bike room with 207 total spaces.
Updated rendering of 920 N Wells Street (right) and 868 N Wells Street (left) by HPA
920 N Wells Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
920 N Wells Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
920 N Wells Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
Beyond on-site transit accommodations, residents will find other nearby transit options such as multiple Divvy Bike stations within close walking distance, as well as bus stops for Routes 22, 37, 66, 70, and 156. Both the Brown and Purple Lines can be accessed via Chicago station, located a seven-minute walk south. Next closest L service for the Red Line can be found at the other Chicago station via an 11-minute walk southeast.
920 N Wells Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
920 N Wells Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
920 N Wells Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
920 N Wells Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
Updated rendering of 920 and 868 N Wells Street by HPA
The next phase of North Union will be a 25-story tower directly south of 920 N Wells Street at 868 N Wells Street. Similar in its design and also mixed-use in its programming, this second high rise will house 428 for-rent apartments and 12,000 square feet of retail. Already, fencing around this second site has been placed, though no permits have yet been filed or issued. Power Construction is serving as the general contractor for both buildings, each of which is slated for a 2023 completion. The entire North Union development process is expected to fully wrap up by 2026.
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I think developers would be surprised how easy it’d still be to lease out apartments when the buildings had little-to-no parking. Their expectation is that every urban dweller needs/wants a car, when in fact most probably need the occasional access to a car and those that do need/want one frequently have PLENTY of options in this city. Rental cars/Zipcar, ride sharing, etc. make this more of a reality.
Hell, for the 228 apartments in this development, what if they just had 20-30 spots, half of which were special Zipcars only available to the building you could rent at a discounted price. No yearly insurance or parking fees for residents and less space and materials wasted on parking for developers. Win-win?
Agreed, I don’t understand why we aren’t doing more to create a vibrant car share. The city should incentivise this to developers. TOD = little to no parking, non-TOD incentivise little to no parking through the use of a robust car share. It’s exactly what many European and increasingly Canadian cities are doing.