Plans Progress To Upzone Broadway Across The North Side

Plans are advancing to rezone a long strip of Broadway across the far north side. Led by the Department of Planning and Development (DPD), the proposal will upzone Broadway from Montrose Avenue on the south end, to Devon Avenue to the north. Plans have been presented to the local community twice already with a third meeting expected on January 30th.

Current uses of Broadway via DPD

A pretty radical move for the city, the DPD stated various reasons for the initiative including; the increased demand in the area by developers and need for a consistent building process, the need for more housing in order to maintain the area affordable and the tax base growing, as well as increase the local population in order to support local business.

CTA L commuter ridership via Streetsblog (left) – Proposed stretch to be upzoned via DPD (right)

Another major reason for the upzoning is the completion of the CTA Red Line reconstruction along the stretch of road, including the potential for an underline style park by the tracks. It is worth noting that due to the existing density around the lakefront, the area has some of the highest percent of workers that commute on the L according to Streetsblog.

Proposed zoning of Broadway via DPD

The plan splits the stretch into four zones of density, most of which will be split between B3-5 and C1-5 designations.

• Most of the area from Devon Street to Foster Avenue will be B3-5. This allows buildings ranging from four to five stories, ground-floor commercial use with the exception of bars, liquor stores, or dispensaries, and ground-floor residential may be approved where applicable.
• From Foster Avenue to Montrose Avenue will be mostly C1-5. This allows buildings up to around seven stories with upper-level residential use and ground-floor commercial of any use.

Zoning diagrams via DPD

Proposed design guideline along Broadway via DPD

Along with the upzoning, the proposal will designate most of Broadway as a pedestrian street, similar to what was done in the West Loop. This means no new curb cuts along the main road, buildings must face the street, and things like shopping plazas, gas stations, and drive-thrus are not allowed.

Pedestrian designation of Broadway via DPD

While community feedback has been mixed, but relatively favorable, the DPD will be hosting one more community meeting as mentioned above. The plan will then need city approval with most key aldermen already onboard. This will also rezone multiple large sites owned by the CTA which were used for staging during construction.

If all goes according to plan, the city should begin the rezoning process early this year.

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