A demolition permit was issued earlier this week for a two-story masonry building located at 5242 W Chicago Avenue in the Austin neighborhood. The Westside Health Authority has been listed as the permit owner. At the time of this writing, no future plans appear to have been submitted to upgrade any of the zoning designations for this property.
The edifice’s story begins almost exactly 100 years ago, when The Chicago Tribune newspaper held a public competition to design its new headquarters. The key guideline was to design the “most beautiful office building” in the world, with over 260 submissions vying for that title and a first prize of $50,000 (roughly $800,000 in 2021). The winning entry was the Neo-Gothic design by New York-based Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells, whose dramatic Neo-Gothic design came to fruition with the tower’s completion in 1925. The Chicago Landmark would serve as the Tribune’s headquarters for another 93 years, up until its 2018 relocation to One Prudential Plaza. Upon the departure, the property was sold for $240 million to co-developers CIM Group and Golub & Company.
The Chicago Plan Commission has approved a new affordable residential development at 833 W Wilson Avenue in Uptown. Developer Brinshore Development LLC has partnered with Landon Bone Baker Architect, known for their affordable housing designs, for this senior housing project. The new building will replace an empty lot just west of the intersection with N Clarendon Avenue, near the recently approved Sarah’s on Lakeview.
A permit was issued on yesterday for a two-story residential building with a masonry facade at 6414 S Champlain Avenue in the Woodlawn neighborhood. The proposed project’s owner is listed as Patrick O’Brien. The scope of the project details three total dwelling units. Plans indicate the presence of a three-car parking pad at the rear of the building site. The lot is currently vacant.
The quickly rising tower dubbed ‘The Reed’ at 234 W Polk Street in the South Loop takes the 11th place in 2021’s year-end countdown. The 41-story residential structure will rise 447 feet tall on the banks of the Chicago River as part of the greater Southbank development led by Lendlease and designed by Perkins + Will. The project joins ‘The Cooper’, an adjacent rental building which was the development’s first completed design.
