1611 W Division building
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Actually, Logan Square’s Neither Traffic-Choked Nor Overcrowded
Late last month, over 100 people crowded into a public presentation to hear about a proposed development of 254 housing units, plus 72 car parking spaces and retail, on what's now a vacant lot around the corner from the California Blue Line 'L' station in Logan Square. The number of parking spaces proposed is 182 fewer than the city's zoning would typically require, but recent changes to city laws make it possible for exceptions to be granted on sites near transit, and an adopted plan for this area encourages taller buildings with less parking.
November 11, 2014
Logan Square Transit-Oriented Development: Less Parking, More Walkability
A pioneering developer of car-free apartments is looking to continue building car-lite residences. Curbed Chicago reports that Rob Buono, who was behind constructing 1611 W Division in Wicker Park, is proposing two mid-rise residential towers in Logan Square along Milwaukee Avenue near the California Blue Line station. The two towers, one 14 stories and the other 10 stories, would have 231 units and 7,100 square feet of retail but only 72 car parking spaces.
July 30, 2014
1611 West Division Proves High-Rises Don’t Need Parking to Succeed
Last week I reported that the Belmont-Clark tower, located a block from a Red Line station, may include 90 rental units but only 39 parking spaces. A commenter scoffed, “Good luck renting those apartments when they run out of parking spaces.” However, the 1611 West Division rental tower, which opened last year next to the Division Blue Line stop, shows that new residential buildings near transit with little or, in this case, no tenant parking can be a big success.
May 14, 2014
MPC’s TOD Tool Advises Developers About Train Station Bonuses
Many developers haven't yet investigated how last year's transit oriented development ordinance, passed to encourage development near transit, can make their work easier and possibly more lucrative. Under the TOD ordinance, developers can build bonus density — more floors, taller buildings, smaller units – and fewer parking spaces on sites near Chicago Transit Authority and Metra train stations. To accelerate this transformation, the Metropolitan Planning Council has unveiled a new tool to spread awareness about the TOD ordinance's possibilities.
March 27, 2014
Wicker Park Trader Joe’s: Good Company, Wrong Location
Neighbors of a Trader Joe's grocery store, proposed by Smithfield Properties for the corner of Division Street and Honore Street in Wicker Park, fear that the development will harm the work they've put into crafting a pedestrian-friendly street lined with locally-owned businesses. The store is welcome in Wicker Park, but neighbors say that the proposed location at Division Street and Honore Street isn't the right one.
March 26, 2014
Yes, It Can Be Done: 99 New Apartments With No Parking
While I was browsing Andrew Salzberg's map showing how much development is allowed near transit stops, I noticed a dark spot -- a site where a taller building is allowed -- at the southwest corner of Ashland Avenue and Division Street. Then I remembered the development underway there, the "1601 Tower," on the site of a shuttered Pizza Hut restaurant. The interesting thing about this 11-story, 99-unit building is that it will provide no car parking spaces for residents.
February 21, 2013