WEST LOOP — After scrapping plans for an office building, a prominent developer was given the green light by a key city committee to build apartment towers in Fulton Market.
Months after city officials lifted a ban on housing north of Lake Street, the Committee on Zoning Tuesday approved LG Development’s revised plan for a 19-story, 414-unit apartment building at 210 N. Aberdeen St.
The L-shaped building designed by architecture firm NORR includes more than 10,000 square feet of retail, 102 parking spaces and a publicly accessible bicycle cafe that will have bike parking and bike repair stations, according to the development team.
LG Development also is planning to save and restore the historical Arthur Harris building at the site. Plans call for the former manufacturing building to be turned into commercial space.
Of the residential units, half of the apartments would be one-bedrooms, 30 percent studios and 20 percent two- and three-bedrooms.
Michael Ezgur, zoning attorney for LG Development, said the building will include 20 percent affordable units on-site and the developer was working with the Department of Housing on possibly including additional affordable units on-site.
The apartment building is the third iteration of LG’s plans for the site, which started as twin office-and-hotel buildings before being pared down to a 24-story office building. But after coronavirus devastated the local office market and hotel industry, LG decided to switch its Aberdeen plan to a residential project, Ezgur said during a community meeting last month.
The change of plans is possible because of a recent shift in city policy allowing residential development in Fulton Market north of Lake Street.
In backing the project, Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) said the developer had met with community groups and had their support.
“This development has gone through a couple of renditions. The Department of Planning worked with them on the design [and] it turned out to be a much better project,” Burnett said.
“I support this,” Burnett added. “The community supports it.”
Earlier this month, the project received unanimous approval from the Plan Commission.
The proposal will head to the full City Council for final approval.
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