A 67-story, 500-unit hybrid residential tower designed by notable architect Robert A.M. Stern is proposed for the southwest corner of Grand and Peshtigo by Related Midwest, which has been on a development hot streak for the past few years in Chicago.
At one time, the site had been slated for a 232-unit condo tower that was to be developed years ago by developer Dan McLean, but he lost the Parkview East site in a foreclosure suit. An affiliate of Related Midwest bought the land last August for $24.6 million, according to county property records.
The project, if approved by the city, would seek to capitalize on two trends, namely the strong demand for luxury apartments with bountiful amenities and a lack of new condominium units in downtown Chicago.
North of the Chicago River, the only new development is the ultra-luxury Ritz Carlton Residences, along North Michigan Avenue.
Located at 451 E. Grand Ave., Related’s parcel is across the street from 500 Lake Shore Drive, a luxury apartment high-rise it completed last year and is 99 percent leased, according to Tricia Van Horn, a company spokeswoman.
As proposed, the still-unnamed building would tower over its neighbor. It would include 400 apartments and 100 condominiums and a 70,000-square-foot public park also owned by Related would be redesigned. A 900-space underground parking garage already on the site would be maintained.
The minions at Robert A.M. Stern Associates in New York have been refining the design of the 843-foot-tall building to make it more palatable to Chicago tastes. Does that mean the final design will look less Park Avenue and more Milwaukee Avenue? That remains to be seen. But we can get some hints about the changes coming down the pike from the people over at SOAR.
SOAR, which has earner a reputation over the years for shooting down many skyscraper projects, has actually given this one its blessing. Its poo-bahs spent some time going over the Stern plans and according to a letter the organization sent to 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly, the developer agreed to make a few changes. Among them:
The condominium entrance will be placed on East Grand Avenue, and the apartment-dwellers will enter on North Peshtigo Court. No nasty mixing of the two classes of people like at other buildings.
There will be fewer residents to mix, anyway. The number of residences in the building has been reduced from the initially announced 450 down to 350.
It looks like there will be mechanical elements on the East Illinois and North Peshtigo sides of the building, necessitating blank walls. SOAR tells the alderman that Related has pledged to light the building in an interesting fashion, and landscape the walls to soften their impact on the local streetscape. “This highly trafficked area is important to the pedestrian’s experience along Illinois.”
I know this is an older pic than the one above, but look at it. It’s hot.
If this picture doesn’t make you long for Chicago, I don’t know what would.
If I could have a relationship with this city, I would.
