CHICAGO | North Union (Moody Bible Campus) | 2,680 Residential Units

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by Jstange059

I always assumed they go with new muntin-style windows for that warehouse/loft aesthetic. I don't hate these, but they are not what I expected.

[Klippenstein]

Originally Posted by Jstange059

Had a talk with HPA, the architects of the development. They mentioned that the planned building at 232 w Chestnut is now very unlikely to be mass timber, though they are still hoping it can be. However, they said if they can’t make 232 mass timber, they may try to make a later building within the North Union development be mass timber.

Any word on the timeline of the other high rises?

[Jstange059]

Originally Posted by Klippenstein

Any word on the timeline of the other high rises?

Didn't ask about this unfortunately

[dreamy-developer]

So I went to a community meeting near Old Town last night and one of the VPs (Joey Letchinger) from JDL was there to give an update on this project.

I spoke with him personally and have some insightful details he gave about everything.

First being that he said that JDL are still "fully committed" to seeing this entire project and all towers go through, and it sounds like they don't have any plans on shortening or changing any of the proposed taller buildings in the PD.

He said that their 1200 W Fulton project was more of a "small partnership" and has not deterred any of their interest or priorities away from the North Union project. He was very clear they are not changing course with the economy and still plan to complete the entire project in due time.

871 N Franklin (the most recent picture of the re-purposed warehouse) is finished and opening in two weeks time.

He did say their next focus will be what is now dubbed 220 W Chestnut St. He stated it will be around 5-7 stories tall and will be a mixed-use multifamily resi building. He said that is planned to start "soon-ish" << exactly how he said it lol. Their website does show "Planned 2025". When they got the permit for 871 Franklin, it was bundled with a pouring the foundation for 220 Chestnut, which if you go by there today it looks primed and ready to start construction.

He did also say that (I forget the exact address) but I believe it's 917 N Franklin will be the next building they plan after that to start (no other details were given). But he elaborated and said they simply plan to kick-off the taller buildings after that and will go from shortest to tallest from there.

I did ask about his thoughts on the economy and he didn't sound to phased by it -- idk if he was bluffing or not. But he still reaffirmed they don't think the current state of the economy is enough to change the current PD.

[dreamy-developer]

Find it fascinating how nobody cares about this project right now it seems like lol

[r18tdi]

I like JDL and support what they are trying to build, but I always take a developers' comments with a grain of salt.

A dev could be actively trying to unload a property while at the same time publicly claim they are "100 percent committed to building X project." Happens all the time.

[cloudbod]

As for the 2-story addition to 871 N Franklin, it's pretty much done, and it looks great! The metal cladding pieces have some detail, and they line up neatly with the brick columns of the original building. And because the metal is thinner, it gives the effect of a subtle little setback.

I'd post a pic here if I knew how lol

[Jstange059]

Originally Posted by cloudbod

As for the 2-story addition to 871 N Franklin, it's pretty much done, and it looks great! The metal cladding pieces have some detail, and they line up neatly with the brick columns of the original building. And because the metal is thinner, it gives the effect of a subtle little setback.

I'd post a pic here if I knew how lol

I typically upload pictures to https://imgbb.com/ and copy the "BBCode full linked" and paste it here. Other people use other sites which probably work better, but imgbb is simple and gets the job done

[cloudbod]

Took this on Jan 29, not sure if it looks much different now!


host an image

Thanks Jstange059, looks like it works!

[BVictor1]

03.04.25

[mh777]

I would assume it's related to North Union, but I noticed demo fencing up around this building yesterday.

[dreamy-developer]

Originally Posted by mh777

I would assume it's related to North Union, but I noticed demo fencing up around this building yesterday.

I know when I spoke with one of the developers a while back, this I'm 99% sure is a site he mentioned is in scope of the project.

This is likely the mid-rise behind 920 Wells that is slated as "Phase II" on their site.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by dreamy-developer

I know when I spoke with one developers a while back, this I'm 99% is a site he mentioned is in scope of the project.

This is likely the mid-rise behind 920 Wells that is slated as "Phase II" on their site.

Correct, that’s the 12-ish story building on the middle-west side of the master plan site.
Phase III consists of the two 34-36 story buildings further north. Phase IV are the two tallest buildings on the NW corner of the site.

[dreamy-developer]

Originally Posted by sentinel

Correct, that’s the 12-ish story building on the middle-west side of the master plan site.
Phase III consists of the two 34-36 story buildings further north. Phase IV are the two tallest buildings on the NW corner of the site.

Yeah - that would be it.

I am the last person to guess or know what some demo fencing would mean. It was Joey Letchinger from JDL I talked a while back, and he hinted that they're currently focused on 232 W Chestnut.

It's still slated on their site for "Coming 2025" - with only 4 months left in the year, I doubt that's still accurate. Which is interesting because this development piece is like all the other fill-in's we've seen balloon around the city - not to mention the smallest. I can't imagine the cost/financing to be much at all compared to the other 4 towers in later phases - or even the Phase II mid-rise.

The last article I can find was from Chicago YIMBY in 2023 here - Construction Progresses at 232 W Chestnut Street within North Union Master Plan

[dreamy-developer]

Looks like demoing of the site officially kicked off - wonder if they plan to start construction on this one before the smaller Chestnut building

Demolition Has Begun At 917 North Franklin Street For North Union

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by dreamy-developer

Looks like demoing of the site officially kicked off - wonder if they plan to start construction on this one before the smaller Chestnut building

Demolition Has Begun At 917 North Franklin Street For North Union

Heard that 919 is also gone. Did the plans change?

[dreamy-developer]

Originally Posted by VKChaz

Heard that 919 is also gone. Did the plans change?

From looking at the rendering and the overview on their site - I think the 917 building spans from Walton to Locust St, which would cover 919 N Franklin.

I could be wrong though

[Jstange059]

Originally Posted by dreamy-developer

From looking at the rendering and the overview on their site - I think the 917 building spans from Walton to Locust St, which would cover 919 N Franklin.

I could be wrong though

I thought that myself but looked again and you can actually see 919



Who knows though, plans could have changed