GOOSE ISLAND — Crews broke ground last week on the first two of three buildings that will bring affordable condos to the Near North Side.
Development firm Structured Development started work on the first two buildings of its Shops at Big Deahl project, a retail and residential development consisting of a three-building, 487-unit community centered around a public park at 1450 N. Dayton St., near the North and Clybourn corridor.
The development is bounded by Blackhawk, Dayton and Kingsbury streets, just northwest of the former Cabrini-Green housing project. The $250 million project was approved by the City Council in January.
The first building, called the Seng, is a four-story, 34-unit affordable condo building that should be finished by December 2022, according to a Structured Development news release.
The Seng’s buyers will be income-restricted and selected by the Chicago Community Land trust, a nonprofit group staffed by the Department of Housing that aims to preserve long-term affordability of homes through city programs like the Affordable Requirements Ordinance, developers said.
The Seng’s two-, three- and four-bedroom units come with a deeded ground-floor parking spot and will remain affordable in perpetuity, helping Shops at Big Deahl meet the city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance, which requires 20 percent of its units to be set aside as affordable housing.
Structured Development is also investing $14 million toward developing an additional 40 affordable, for-sale townhomes off-site at its Harrison Row Townhomes community at 2849-59 W. Congress Parkway in East Garfield Park.
The second building — Common Lincoln Park — will be a 10-story, 400-bed co-living community that’s expected to finish in March 2023, Structured Development said.
That will be managed and leased by Common, a New York-based co-living provider that boasts an app-based platform used in all aspects of its operations, from digital lease signing to organizing on- and off-site social events, developers said.
Common Lincoln Park will have one- to four-bedroom apartments that include a communal kitchen and living area, as well as in-unit laundry, according to Structured Development. These units will come furnished, and the majority of bedrooms will have en-suite bathrooms.
Amenities include a fitness center, co-working space, community lounge, screening room, a bike room with a repair station and outdoor terraces with grilling stations, according to Structured Development.
The third building, known as Building A, will break ground in March. When finished, it will be a 27-story, 327-unit market-rate rental tower at the western end of the property, developers said.
“Big Deahl brings true economic diversity to the neighborhood, offering a dynamic mix of affordable for-sale housing and market-rate rentals,” said Mike Drew, founding principal of Structured Development. “As the city looks to address the shortage of housing available to low- and middle-income households, we’re proud to be introducing affordable, family-sized condos to a neighborhood with virtually no comparable options available.”
The three buildings will be situated around Seng Park, a privately developed but publicly accessible park that offers pedestrian walkways between the buildings, Structured said. The park is named after the Seng Company, a furniture manufacturing company whose facility occupied the site in the 19th century.
“Structured has invested heavily in this neighborhood over the past 25 years, and our development of the park continues that tradition,” Drew said. “The intentional inclusion of open space alongside mixed-income housing helps ensure a more equitable future for Lincoln Park and our city as a whole.”
Jake Wittich is a Report for America corps member covering Lakeview, Lincoln Park and LGBTQ communities across the city for Block Club Chicago.
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