FULTON MARKET — Developers plan to build a $300 million, 615-foot luxury apartment skyscraper in Fulton Market, taller than any existing building west of the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago.
The 53-floor building at 420 N. May St. would include 587 apartments, 440 parking spaces and a bike storage room, officials said at a community meeting Tuesday night.
Units will range from studios to three-bedroom apartments, according to site plans. Rental prices would be on par with other “class A buildings,” developers said.
About 118 of the apartments would be affordable under the city’s affordable requirements ordinance, which mandates low-cost rental units in developments that seek rezoning.
Developer Crescent Heights plans to rezone the May Street property and incorporate the existing building’s masonry facade into its site plan. The skyscraper portion of the building would be tapered, with various large terraces and amenity spaces spread throughout the building.
The sixth floor will serve as an amenity deck with a pool and expansive terrace. A dedicated, 2,890-square-foot dog terrace would be built on the fifth floor, as well as a dog amenity area located inside, developers said.
Support for the skyscraper was mixed at the community meeting.
Some residents said they loved it, while others weren’t thrilled with the height. Some said more parking was needed; others said parking should be reduced.
Crescent Heights officials said they included hundreds of parking spaces in the plan because the firm saw a need for parking in the West Loop, but they don’t plan to add more spots to the plan. Over time, company officials said they believe demand for parking will slowly decrease because the neighborhood is very walkable and more people will come to rely on public transportation.
“Can you add more parking? Of course, you can. There’s always a possibility… will it be a detriment to this project? I believe it will be from an architectural standpoint. I believe it does go a little bit against… directives from planning and from just good architecture and urban design practices within this district,” said Tom Pope, partner at Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, the architecture and design firm working with Crescent Heights on the project.
Crescent Heights has bought and built many residential buildings in and around Downtown. They are most known for building Nema Chicago, a 76-story, 800-unit skyscraper at the south end of Grant Park.
The company also has plans to build a 47-story high-rise at 640 W. Washington Blvd. The plan was proposed in 2020 and was approved by City Council in 2021, but has yet to break ground.
Officials with Crescent Heights said Monday they were still getting development plans in order. When asked which project would break ground first, Jason Buchberg, vice president of acquisitions, said “the economy will determine that before I can.”
Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) said at the meeting he would like to meet with the developer one more time before weighing whether to support the project.
The project would be voted on by the Chicago Plan Commission and the city’s Committee on Zoning before heading to City Council for final approval.
At 53 stories, Crescent Heights’ plan for 420 N. May St. would be taller than any existing structure in the Fulton Market area west of the Kennedy Expressway, according to Costar’s Ryan Ori. The building would be eclipsed by a development proposal at 725 W. Randolph, where Related Midwest is seeking approval for a 665-foot apartment and hotel tower.
Related Midwest’s tower has been in the works for some time and went in front of the city’s Committee on Design in January.
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