FULTON MARKET — Construction for a 16-story life sciences facility will start this summer in Fulton Market.
The building is scheduled to be completed in 2024, and it will be the first of its kind dedicated Chicago’s life sciences and biotechnology industry, according to a news release. It’ll sit on 1.5 acres of land at 400 N. Elizabeth St. owned by Chicago-based real estate firm Mark Goodman & Associates, Inc.
The building will be designed by the architecture firm Solomon Cordwell Buentz, and it will include 503,000 square feet of laboratory, office and research space, 123 underground parking spaces, a fitness center and a ground-level neighborhood cafe.
The facility will be suited for all sort of life science concentrations, including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, clean energy, biotechnology, food sciences, nanotechnology and more, according to Mark Goodman & Associates.
“Because the industry is experiencing record-breaking highs in funding and job growth, the demand for new construction life sciences lab and office space that is customized for the end-user is unparalleled,” principal Mark Goodman said in a statement. “With 400 N. Elizabeth, Chicago will have one of the only new R & D/Lab buildings designed by and for scientists to create best-in-class innovation.”
Numerous factors — including Chicago’s highly educated workforce, medical research institutions and the fact that it’s home to the second-largest urban medical district in the United States — makes the addition of 400 N Elizabeth St. a smart one, according to Mark Goodman & Associates. Executives also said the building being in Fulton Market will attract professionals who want to work in life sciences but also want great neighborhood amenities.
Construction plans include enhancing the streetscape and adding a pedestrian thruway to connect Elizabeth and Kinzie streets to Ogden Avenue and the center of Fulton Market. The thruway will also connect to the proposed Metra station on Ashland Avenue, and it will be a neighborhood gathering place, Goodman said.
There will be seating, planters, spots for food trucks and neighborhood art, Goodman said.
Pre-construction work on the site will begin immediately. Demolition of the current building, the former Lakeshore Beverage distributorship, will start later this year, according to Mark Goodman & Associates.
Groundbreaking for the building will begin in 2023 with construction anticipated to take 20 months.
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