In this fourth installment of our “Lost Legends” series, we explore the Chicago and North Western Station in West Loop Gate, a Renaissance Revival-style structure that once served as an architectural icon in the heart of the city. Originally designed by architects Frost and Granger, the station held an extraordinary legacy until it was ultimately demolished in 1984 to clear the path for the Citicorp Center Tower.
Plans have been revealed for a mixed-use development at 135 N Des Plaines Street in West Loop Gate. Located on the southeast corner with W Randolph Street and replacing a surface parking lot, the new proposal will bring added residential units to the interstitial neighborhood which has seen other small scale proposals filling in the remaining gaps in the area. Developer Rogers Park Holdings LLC has not disclosed who their architect is, but the project was revealed via Alderman Reilly’s newsletter.
The Chicago Plan Commission has approved the mixed-use development at 640 W Randolph Street in West Loop Gate. Located on the northwest corner of the intersection with N Des Plaines Street, the slim proposal will be replacing a surface parking lot and joining a row of brick-clad commercial buildings near the highway. The team of Vista Property Group and designers Antunovich Associates is back after working on 741 N Wells and 609 W Randolph nearby, utilizing a similar design language.
A land purchase has been made for the mixed-use development at 655 W Madison Street in West Loop Gate. Located just east of the Kennedy Expressway/I-90 and replacing a surface parking lot, YIMBY last reported on the proposal in August 2022 as new renderings were released. We now know that developer John Buck Company has purchased the lot, closing a multi-year deal which depended on the city approving the HOK– and JGMA-designed plans for the site.
Plans have been unveiled for a new 15-story mixed-use tower at 640 W Randolph Street in West Loop Gate. Vista Property Group intends to replace a surface parking lot with the new 225-foot-tall structure at the intersection of Randolph and Desplaines. There will be a total of 117,000 square feet of office space atop 2,500 square feet of ground-level commercial space.
