Chicago Plan Commission approves Fulton Market apartment tower

The Chicago Plan Commission on Thursday approved a plan for yet another apartment tower in Fulton Market, along with a strategy to boost the number of affordable housing units it provides.

A team led by developer Ascend Real Estate Group unveiled a blueprint for a 36-story building with 406 units at 800 W. Lake St., just west of Halsted Street.

The original plan called for reserving 20% of the units as affordable housing to comply with the city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance, but after a last-minute push by 27th Ward Ald. Walter Burnett, city planners hammered out a new agreement with the developers, boosting that to 30% using tax increment financing dollars from the local TIF district.

“If you can pull surplus out of the TIF to balance the budget, you can pull surplus out of the TIF to build affordable housing,” Burnett said.

Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration encouraged Fulton Market developers to surpass the 20% requirement, but this was the first time the city worked out an agreement to hit 30%, and tie it to actual dollars, according to Burnett, who praised Department of Planning and Development acting Commissioner Patrick Murphey for pulling an all-nighter to work it out.

“Thank God there was only one thing on the agenda today,” he said.

Opening the former industrial area, now dotted with new high-rises and construction cranes, to development generated big profits for builders, who have a responsibility to create affordable housing, Burnett added, if city officials can find the necessary funds.

Murphey said the new deal could serve as a model for future Fulton Market development, but it still needs approval from the city’s Law Department.

First Ward Ald. Daniel La Spata and 3rd Ward Ald. Pat Dowell, both members of the Plan Commission, praised Burnett for the affordable housing push, and said they’d push for the final go-ahead.

“At any point, your colleagues can help you,” Dowell said. “Call us. We’ll be there.”

Developers previously wanted to construct a hotel on the site but ditched that idea as hotels struggled to recover from COVID-19 while demand soared for downtown apartments.

“A concentration of West Loop deliveries has been met with voracious demand,” according to a report from Integra Realty Resources.

Relatively high interest rates, coupled with some economic uncertainty, has led many to delay home purchases and opt for apartments, especially young people who want downtown lifestyles.

Developers now have 16 apartment buildings with about 4,700 units under construction downtown and set to deliver over the next 18 months, Integra found. That pace could slow, as high interest rates have made it more costly to finance development.

Ascend’s new plan for 800 W. Lake St. won backing from several community organizations, including the West Central Association. Securing such approvals from residents got easier as high-rise office and residential towers gradually replaced the neighborhood’s food wholesalers, storage buildings and other businesses, according to Damone Richardson, a Coldwell Banker broker and Fulton Market resident since 2010.

“For the residents who have been here 20 years, it’s a big transition, and we used to see huge pushback on large projects, even those of about 20 stories, and even though we’re seeing much larger buildings these days, people have come to accept that this is the new reality,” he said.

Many remain concerned about the traffic that inevitably comes with new skyscrapers, he added, but also enjoy the many new retail outlets opening all over Fulton Market to serve new residents and office commuters.

“People like having more to do, so obviously more restaurants and stores are a big plus,” he said.

Project architect Brian Turcza of GREC Architects said the 415-foot tower will include a carport on Lake Street, allowing quick pickups and drop-offs without blocking traffic. And following a recommendation by the city’s Committee on Design, a panel of experts who critique development proposals, the ground floor will have a spacious, 28-foot high entryway, along with dark brick cladding to blend in with the surrounding buildings.

“It will provide a sense of security and welcome,” he said.