CHICAGO | General Developments

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

I saw that the mayor introduced an ordinance to help speed up the approval process for most developments requesting a zoning change. If the applicant is requesting a Type 1 zoning change and it's approved then they can skip any need for going through the Zoning Board of Appeals, which usually takes 4 months, and also skip needing any Administrative Adjustments, which usually takes another month. This will mainly benefit small-scale developments

https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/...Ordinances.pdf

Oh man, that would be awesome (selfishly) if that goes through.

Time is money.

Whenever we can make shit take less time, the less expensive projects will be.

The less expensive projects are, the more they will be built.

[Randomguy34]

Out of curiosity, how long is the typical approval process + permit process for lowrise and midrise developments?

[SolarWind]

November 6, 2023

[BVictor1]

^It's nice to see this one officially get started.

[r18tdi]

Agreed. I feel like construction has been "imminent" for the 6+ months. Kudos to them for landing financing. Any day a Morris Adjmi project breaks ground in Chicago is a good day. :banana

[twister244]

Agreed.

Also, having a Dom's grocery store coming into the neighborhood is great for the folks who are moving into the area.

[mh777]

Originally Posted by twister244

Agreed.

Also, having a Dom's grocery store coming into the neighborhood is great for the folks who are moving into the area.

Dom's fell through last I checked. Gibsons is the only confirmed tenant at the moment.

[Steely Dan]

Some pics from last week of the new affordable housing development at Western/Leland in Lincoln Square, just north of the Western brown line stop.

6 floors, 63 units, replacing one of the worst fucking surface parking lots in LS.

It's already starting to magnificently change the scale of the area right around the L station.















Bonus: no construction yet, but the old single story shit box a couple blocks south at Western/Sunnyside has now been demo'ed to make way for a 5 story/8 unit w/retail building.

[Randomguy34]

It's been interesting the past decade watching Western Ave become lined with 4-6 story buildings. It'll probably be our only midrise corridor in the city.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Some pics from last week of the new affordable housing development at Western/Leland in Lincoln Square, just north of the Western brown line stop.

6 floors, 63 units, replacing one of the worst fucking surface parking lots in LS.

It's already starting to magnificently change the scale of the area right around the L station.
....

This one, right?

https://chicago.urbanize.city/post/c...4715-n-western

[Steely Dan]

^ yep, that's the one.

Though, that's an older rendering.

Here's a more current (and more flattering) one:

[sentinel]

^^Ooh yeah, that looks much better. The materials look pretty much the same, but better window design, better angle and overall rendering.

[left of center]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

It's been interesting the past decade watching Western Ave become lined with 4-6 story buildings. It'll probably be our only midrise corridor in the city.

I've loved seeing this transformation happen in front of my eyes the last 7 years I have been living in West Town. The area around Western & the 606 especially has seen a complete transformation.

I am more optimistic about seeing more midrise corridors. Ashland and Chicago Ave also have the same TOD zoning benefit as Western, we could easily see the same kind of denser development occur there.

[Randomguy34]

Originally Posted by left of center

Ashland and Chicago Ave also have the same TOD zoning benefit as Western, we could easily see the same kind of denser development occur there.

Bus TOD benefits is no longer restricted to just those three streets, and now encompasses most routes in the city. Here's the updated TOD map: orange is proximity to rail, while yellow is proximity to bus


Map: https://etod.cnt.org/

[Toasty Joe]

Western, Ashland, and Halsted desperately need BRT. It'd open up large swaths of underutilized land to development, including the former industrial (now mainly big-box stores) areas along the river. What's happening on Western near the 606 and in Lincoln Square could happen in 20+ more nodes. Surely the increased tax $$ would help pay for some paint on the road and replacement of parking meters.

[emailspyro@gmail.com]

We all realize that Western Ave needs a subway or BRT and needs to be entirely rebuild not only for current demand but for all the upcoming density. It’ is the perfect neighborhood connector that bypasses downtown. The recent study was a complete failure and even worse nothing has been implemented since it’s publication and adoption.
It amazes me that even with the Kennedy reconstruction project, there is nothing planned to improve the viaducts. At Western ave, they should at least have planned an underpass for pedestrians and bicycles to safely bridge the crossing at Logan Square.
How can we get our politicians to start investing in our infrastructure and do the obvious ? We are so behind… if they are not going to do anything, can they hit at least plant some trees in a median so that the Avenue looks less depressing?

[west-town-brad]

The TOD density around Western-Blue Line has been a little underwhelming. I’d point to Division-Blue Line as an area to aspire to.

[left of center]

Originally Posted by west-town-brad

The TOD density around Western-Blue Line has been a little underwhelming. I’d point to Division-Blue Line as an area to aspire to.

That damn McDonalds....

Agreed on Division/Ashland/Milwaukee, it has turned into a nice urban node. I wish something could be done with Wicker Park Commons though.

[emailspyro@gmail.com]

Hello friends, I noticed that demolition took place at the giant riverfront property on Elston that is immediately SE of the Chick-fil-A cluster**** I’m not talking about the Vienna or Binny’s sites but instead where the Budget rental and Sun Times distribution center used to be.
There used to be a sign for lease / sale. There is zero news on what’s going to go in there and it’s a shame the city hasn’t done any studies / zoning for that parcel.
Much appreciate any info on this

[SIGSEGV]

Something seems to be happening on the 1700 block of s Michigan?