This week, the “Dead by Design” series of cancelled Chicago towers will focus its spotlight on One North Wacker Drive, an 83-story office tower in The Loop. In 1989, real estate developer Harvey Walken first proposed the 1,276-foot edifice, which at the time would have made it fourth tallest in the world behind only the Sears (now Willis) Tower and New York’s twin towers.
The Chicago Development Commission has approved plans for the industrial complex at 4300 W Roosevelt Road in North Lawndale. Bound by S Kildare Avenue, S Kostner Avenue, and W 5th Avenue, the project will replace a large swath of land intersected by rail lines down the middle. Part of the Invest South/West initiative, the proposal comes to us from 548 Developments and Related Midwest with various design firms including Lamar Johnson Collaborative, Ware Malcomb, and SITE Design Group.
Initial details have been revealed for a new mixed-use development at 415 N Sangamon Street in the West Loop. Located on the corner with W Kinzie Street directly across from the upcoming Guinness Brewery, the new proposal will incorporate the existing multi-story structure on site and occupy the adjacent vacant lot. The developer Fortem Voluntas Partners is led by ex-Sterling Bay leasing agent Joy Jordan. According to Crain’s, they have partnered up with local architecture firm Eckenhoff Saunders on the design of the sleek new tower.
A demolition permit has been issued for the former La Strada restaurant at 151 N Michigan Avenue, paving the way for a new three-story commercial building. The project is being spearheaded by BJB Partners, with plans for 15,000 square feet of leasable space.
Developer Sterling Bay and partnering private equity firm Ascentris have broken ground on a 28-story mixed-use tower, situated at 225 N Elizabeth Street (formerly addressed as 1245 W Fulton) in West Loop’s Fulton Market District. Plans for this 314-foot-tall edifice include 350 residential apartments atop first-floor retail. Unit sizes will be split into 66 studios, 46 convertibles, 140 one-bedroom, 92 two-bedroom, and six three-bedroom floor plans. To meet the 20 percent affordability requirement under the latest ARO guidelines, the development will have 70 on-site units for residents making up to 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). These units will be distributed as 13 studios, nine convertibles, 28 one-bedrooms, 19 two-bedrooms, and one three-bedroom.
