Even more appealing to plan commission members, though, were the number of affordable units as well as a rooftop garden along with a half-acre park Palatine, IL-based Concord Development Corp. of Illinois will create across the street.
The developer is setting aside 13 units to be sold under the city's voluntary affordable housing initiative, which calls for units to be written down to $155,000 or less. That's $50,000 less than the going rate at the 15-story building, which will replace a five-story commercial laundry facility. A parking lot and one-story garage will make way for the park, to be maintained by the homeowners' association.
"We got 5% affordable housing," says 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett Jr. "I appreciate the green space there. This is one of those cases where we were able to obtain a balance. I think this is a beautiful development."
Also included are 316 deeded parking spaces, Burnett adds.
Concord Development originally proposed 460 units in two buildings, says assistant planning and development commissioner Phil Levin, before agreeing to 261 "relatively large units."
"The idea is to attract families to the units," Levin says. "We'd like to see the area around the transit station to be a little more dense."
Concord Development bought the .88-acre condominium tower site for $11.9 million last year from American Linen, which moved to 2665 S. Leavitt Ave. in the Pilsen Industrial Corridor with $3.5 million in tax increment financing money.
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