- Credibility:
FULTON MARKET — After a decades-long ban on new residential construction north of Lake Street in Fulton Market, City Council lifted the ban Wednesday, opening a new frontier of developments in an area that had been largely been restricted to office and hotel buildings.
The approval will allow residential development within the Kinzie Corridor Overlay District bounded by Ogden Avenue, Carroll Avenue, Hubbard Street, Halsted and Wayman streets.
Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th), who represents the area, said the move will give the city a “shot in the arm” as it recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
RELATED: Fulton Market Rush: Banned Until Now, Alderman Wants To Open Floodgates To Apartments And Condos
For decades, residential construction had been long prohibited in the area because of concerns that development was encroaching on the “trucks and the blood and the smell” from industrial companies that once dominated the area.
But in recent years, owners moved their industrial businesses elsewhere as the neighborhood changed, some becoming “millionaires overnight” by selling their properties, Burnett said. Residential and commercial projects have reshaped the area over the past decade from a meatpacking center to a mixed-use area full of glamorous restaurants, high-rise offices and luxury shops.
New residential development north of Lake will speed up the post-coronavirus economic recovery and keep development and tax dollars “flowing into the city,” Burnett said.
Neighborhood groups have advocated for the moratorium to be lifted to help support existing businesses in the area.
Currently, LG Development and Fulton St. Companies have submitted proposals for residential north of Lake but just outside of the Kinzie Corridor Overlay District. The projects would need to receive city approval before moving forward.
Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Already subscribe? Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.
