If you wanted to build a new residential tower downtown, but also wanted to be an urban pioneer at the same time, where would you put it? Streeterville’s pretty much full. River North’s a cliché. The South Loop has been done to death or has it?
What if you put your shiny new residential tower in that quadrant north of Roosevelt Road and south of Congress Parkway sandwiched between the Dan Ryan Expressway and the Chicago River? It’s quiet. Tube socks and used records are readily available at the new Maxwell Street Market a block away. And real estate marketers haven’t given it a silly New York-style abbreviated name yet. It’s a hipster paradise, without having to suffer the indignities of an Orange Line commute from Bridgeport to the West Loop.
All that and more is the potential of 571 West Polk, a 22-story residential block proposed for the southwest corner of West Polk Street and South Jefferson Street. The tower portion actually sits mid-block in the western half of an existing surface parking lot. A three-story brick building on the corner is incorporated into the design.
Very interesting. While we have expected retail development in the area, we weren't sure if this area would see residential. Guess it was bound to happen at some point.
As you may or may not know, many feel that the "Roosevelt corridor" is following in the footsteps of the North side's "Clybourn corridor" shopping district (arguably for better or worse). With that said, maybe you could draw some similarities between the SoNo high-rise that was developed in the area in 2007-2008 which was really the first "major" development in the area.
Stay tuned - if this happens and finds some success maybe it could pave the way for even more development in this area.
(Hat tip: WL!)
No comments:
Post a Comment