- Credibility:
WEST LOOP — A team of Chicago-based developers is mulling a 26-story tower with 383 residential units for the northwest corner of Randolph and Elizabeth streets, according to a zoning application filed with the city this week.
The 292-foot-tall proposal from architect-developer Thomas Roszak and business partner Dan Moceri would replace the Gateway Auto Service garage at 160 N. Elizabeth St. as well as a cluster of low-rise brick buildings fronting Randolph St.
The plan includes parking for 117 cars and 150 bicycles plus 10,000 square feet of retail space. The design features a three-story brick podium topped by a glassy tower with a setback on the 14th floor, based on elevation drawings attached to the application.
The proposal will require a zoning change from the city and the support of Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) before it can move forward. It’s unclear when the project will be publicly presented to West Loop residents, and Roszak could not be reached for comment.
Though the coronavirus pandemic has cast a shadow of uncertainty over Fulton Market’s hot office and hotel markets, residential developers continue to show intense interest in the area. This is especially true in the neighborhood’s northwest corner, where Ald. Burnett recently loosened restrictions on residential development north of Lake Street.
“With the economy going the way it’s going, we’re trying to help to keep the economy going in the city by opening the floodgates to Fulton Market residential development,” Burnett told Block Club back in May.
Projects hoping to take advantage of the relaxed rules include a plan to bring residences to 213-223 N. Racine Ave., where WeWork backed out of a lease. Developers also want to build more than 300 apartments at the site of the Revel Fulton Market event space at nearby 1201 W. Fulton Market, reports Crain’s.
“We support bringing residential developments to the Fulton Market District,” said West Loop Community Organization executive director Carla Agostinelli last month. “Responsible residential development is a key component to having a successful business corridor and filling vacancies.”
In the meantime, construction presses ahead on a pair of new buildings at 1400 and 1454 W. Randolph St., which will rise 26 and 11 stories, respectively. The two projects will add 500 new residences to the western edge of the Fulton Market District.
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