Developers Show What Luxury Apartment Towers 'The Venn' Being Built On Old H2O Site In West Loop Will Look Like

WEST LOOP — Developers revealed new renderings and the name of the luxury apartment project coming to the former H20 Plus site in the West Loop.

Dubbed The Venn, developers Lendlease Development, the John Buck Company and Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation are set to complete the luxury housing development at 855 W. Madison St. next spring.

Ted Weldon, executive general manager for Lendlease Development in Chicago, said the project aims to create a self-sustaining community that combines work, home and social life.

“For Lendlease, it’s just one more example of how we’re developing communities across the city that not only appeal to young professionals who crave the bustle of city life, but also families and empty nesters who are choosing an urban setting to call home,” Weldon said.

Amenity space at the Venn, a new development at the former H20 Plus site at 855 W. Madison Street, in West Loop.

When completed, The Venn will offer 586 luxury apartments across two 17-story towers, and 13 townhouses with private entrances. The development sits in the full-block site bordered by Madison, Monroe, Peoria and Green streets near Mary Bartelme Park.

The apartments include market-rate studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 546 to 1,591 square feet. There will be 59 affordable apartment units on-site. The two-bedroom townhouses range from 1,469 to 2,036 square feet.

The Venn also includes 278 parking spaces, 11,000 square feet of retail, mostly concentrated along Madison Street. Additional retail will be at the corner of Monroe and Peoria streets.

The lobby area at the Venn, a new development at the former H20 Plus site at 855 W. Madison Street, in West Loop.

Building amenities include a fitness center, game room, communal chef’s kitchen, co-working space and a dog run. An outdoor deck facing Mary Bartelme Park includes fire pits, grilling stations and a swimming pool.

A communal co-chef session in the third floor amenity space at the Venn. Credit: Provided

GREC Architects designed the masonry and glass building.

Peter Palandjian, chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation, said The Venn creates a “community within a community – one that both reflects and contributes to the continued evolution of the West Loop as a place to live, work and experience all Chicago has to offer.”

Developers broke ground on the project last December.

From left to right: Peter Palandijian, CEO of Intercontinental; Ald. Walter Burnett Jr.; Buildings Commissioner Judy Frydland; Tom Weeks, former executive general manager of Lendlease; and John Buck, CEO of the John Buck Company, break ground on 845 West Madison Thursday. Credit: Mauricio Peña/Block Club Chicago

Before the two-tower plan, the developer planned to build four towers at each corner of the property ranging from 13-17 stories, DNAinfo reported.

Without improvements, adding so many apartments would further strain the surrounding infrastructure, Matt Letourneau, development chairman of Neighbors of West Loop, told DNAinfo at the time.

The John Buck Co. will contribute at least $2.5 million to the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, a city initiative that allows developers to build bigger and taller projects in an expanded Downtown area to support projects in blighted neighborhoods.

The 855 W. Madison site also borders Merit School of Music and Mariano’s.