The Chicago Parks District has opened a new visitor and nature center at Big Marsh Park in South Deering. Located at 11555 S Stony Island Avenue, the new center marks a major milestone for the South Side park with a 297-acre size that rivals Grant Park and is one of the largest properties in the urban park district.
New revised plans have been revealed for a life-science development at 400 N Elizabeth Street in the West Loop. Developer Mark Goodman & Associates presented the plans for the Solomon Cordwell Buenz-designed tower to the West Loop Community Organization last week. In the meeting they exemplified their collaboration with the neighbors of nearby lofts buildings and the Chicago Department of Transportation among others that led to the updated design.
The Committee on Zoning has approved the rezoning of an existing convent into a residential development on 1218 W Lexington Street in Little Italy. The three-story convent will go from a RT-4 residential two-flat, townhouse, and multi-unit district to B2-3 neighborhood mixed-district which will allow developer Honore Properties LLC to convert the existing space into apartments near Vernon Park. The building is bound by W Lexington Street to the south and a secondary building of the nearby Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, Chicago’s oldest continuing Italian American Church.
The Chicago City Council has approved plans for a new theater building for the TimeLine Theater Company at 5033 N Broadway Avenue in Uptown. The building will be built in two phases, utilizing an existing century old warehouse building near the corner of N Broadway Avenue and W Argyle Street. The theater company which was started with $50 in 1997 has owned the building since 2018 and has been working with architecture firm HGA on the design which incorporates the existing glazed-tile building into its new home.
The Community Development Commission approves Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for a residential development at 414 N Central Park Avenue in East Garfield Park. TIF is a publicly financed subsidy for local developments and is being applied for by developer Conservatory Apartments LLC. Designed by HED Architects, the project will replace a vacated parking lot for the former Laura Ward Elementary School which shuttered in 2013.
