FULTON MARKET — The West Loop is adding two towers to its skyline after City Council approved proposals for a 143-room hotel and a 575-foot apartment tower Wednesday.
The 53-story apartment building by developer Crescent Heights will be taller than any existing building west of the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago. The building, 420 N. May St., was originally proposed at 615 feet, but was cut down by the time it was introduced to the Chicago Plan Commission last week.
Residents who reviewed the proposal in August said they were not happy with the height and asked for more parking; others asked for less parking.
Other than reducing the height, developers kept the original 440 parking spots and 587 apartments. About 118 apartments would be affordable under the city’s affordable requirements ordinance, which mandates low-cost rental units in developments that seek rezoning.
The plans also include 3,750 square feet of “publicly accessible open space.”
City Council also approved a 143-hotel at 1016-1020 W. Lake Street in the middle of the Fulton Market District.
The $65 million project is aiming to be a LEED Gold-certified and net zero building constructed with sustainable materials, developers told residents last year. Net zero is when the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere balances out.
The boutique hotel near the Morgan Street Green and Pink Line stop would include a rooftop lounge, a wellness club and a community mural on the east side of the building. Plants will be installed in all the windows and incorporated throughout the building in addition to circadian lighting.
The hotel will not have parking and instead will rely on rideshare and a valet service to park people’s cars offsite.
The hotel joins a small but mighty list of heavy-hitting boutique hotels such as the Hoxton, Soho House, Emily Hotel and Nobu Chicago.
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