Less than two weeks after shooting down plans for a big apartment tower in Old Town, a Chicago alderman has thrown his support behind a scaled-back design that would bring 349 units to the North Side neighborhood.
Chicago developer Fern Hill and Alderman Brian Hopkins, whose 2nd Ward includes the site at 1600 N. LaSalle Drive, on Monday night announced that they have reached a compromise chopping down the height and planned number of units.
Hopkins said he is backing the revised plan to go before the Chicago Plan Commission, a key step toward winning full City Council approval, on Feb. 20.
His backing comes after announcing on Jan. 24 that he would not support a 44-story, 500-unit plan by Fern Hill for its planned colorful tower on the site, which it calls Old Town Canvas.
The rejection came after vocal opposition to the project by some neighbors about the tower’s height, density and potential effects on traffic and pedestrian safety.
Hopkins said after the setback that he awaited a potential compromise from Fern Hill.
The new version of the plan reduces the height of the tower from 480 to 379 feet, the number of units from 500 to 349 and parking spaces from 450 to 333.
“My instructions from the community were clear,” Hopkins told CoStar News. “They wanted a compromise, they wanted a reduction in density.
“I know this won’t be enough to satisfy everyone, but there also is a lot of support for this. You have to get the best compromise that’s possible, and I believe we’ve done that.”
Hopkins said that although some neighbors opposed any tower taller than 20 stories, reducing the scope of the project too much would have undermined other goals, including Fern Hill’s plan to bring a grocery store to the vacant, nearby former Treasure Island building that the developer also owns. Input from neighbors highlighted bringing a new grocery to the area as a top objective.
As part of the compromise, Hopkins said Fern Hill agreed to a ban on any uses other than grocery for that building for 3 ½ years. The develop also is contributing $1 million toward a traffic mitigation plan for the area.
Hopkins’ support is important in a city where each of the 50 wards’ alderman have a strong voice in whether real estate projects can proceed.
The Old Town apartment tower is part of a broader plan, first made public in 2021, to build on a large surface parking lot and replace two nearby gas stations with an expansion of the Moody Church campus. A Walgreens store also would be knocked down, with a new Walgreens to open at the base of the new tower.
"This proposal will breathe new life into the community by revitalizing long-vacant properties, brightening an otherwise dark and uninviting block, improving walkability into the corridor, closing the two area gas stations that have been riddled by violent crime, expanding affordable housing to individuals and families and increasing the customer base for local businesses who have been suffering from lost revenues,” Fern Hill President Nick Anderson said in a statement.
“We’re excited to proceed to the Plan Commission and hope to receive a favorable recommendation to bring another desperately needed housing and revenue generating investment to the city,” he said.