Renderings of the proposed apartment development at 1338 W. Lake St. are pictured. [Chicago Department of Planning and Development] 

At the first meeting of the city’s Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards in almost three months, alderpeople largely dug out from a backlog and advanced rezoning requests that created more than 1,900 units of housing overall, new Zoning Chair Gilbert Villegas (36) said.

The zoning committee approved a proposed landmark designation (O2026-0023266) for the building at 30 N. LaSalle St. in the 34th Ward, where Golub and Co. and American General Life Insurance plan to convert floors 3-18 of the building into 349 units of housing on floors 3-10 and 12-18, including 105 units of affordable housing, and add a community terrace on the 11th floor. 

The 44-story building was constructed in 1975, replacing the old Chicago Stock Exchange building, and designed by architect Thomas Stanley.   

It’s one of six adaptive reuse proposals in the LaSalle corridor area being supported by the city. The City Council approved $57 million in tax increment financing (TIF) funds from the LaSalle Central TIF District to support the estimated $132.4 million 30 N. LaSalle St. project in January. 

The landmark designation would allow the project to obtain a Cook County Class L property tax incentive, which is estimated to save the project $47 million over a 12-year period. 

The committee also approved a measure (O2023-0006454) that would rezone the site from a planned development to a DC-16 Downtown Core District to accommodate the adaptive reuse project.  

“We have a few problems downtown in the sense that we have a glut of office space and a shortage of housing,” said Ald. Bill Conway (34). “This is the type of project that gets at both those problems.” 

Alderpeople approved a proposed rezoning and planned development designation for the property at 1338 W. Lake St. in the 27th Ward, where the developer, CEDARst Companies, plans to build a 33-story building with 321 residential units — 65 of which would be affordable — 7,800 square feet of retail space and 191 parking spots.   

CEDARst Companies is seeking to have the property rezoned from an M2-3 Light Industry District to a DX-10 Downtown Mixed-Use District and then to a Residential-Business Planned Development in order to accommodate the $155 million project. The proposal was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission in February.

The zoning committee also approved an ordinance (O2026-0024001) to rezone the properties at 4325-4341 S. Halsted St. in the 11th Ward from an RS-1 Residential Single-Unit (Detached House) District to a B2-1 Neighborhood Mixed-Use District. The developer, Danny’s Construction Group, plans to construct eight detached single-family homes on the land. 

Zoning attorney Paul Kolpak said the rezoning was necessary to accommodate the planned size of the homes’ side yards.  

The committee also approved a rezoning ordinance (O2026-0024009) for the property at 500-534 W. 47th St. in the 15th Ward, where Kasper Development is planning to construct 14 single-family homes. Developers want the site rezoned from a B1-1 Neighborhood Shopping District to a B2-2 Neighborhood Mixed-Use District. 

Alderpeople approved a rezoning proposal for the property at 3425 N. Lawndale Ave. in the 30th Ward from an RS-3 Residential Single Unit (Detached House) District to an RM-4.5 Residential Multi-Unit District (O2026-0022513) to accommodate the renovation of the former Saint Wenceslaus School building into a 28-unit residential apartment building, where 20 percent of the units would be affordable, and 24 parking spaces.  

The committee approved an ordinance (O2026-0023213) to rezone the property located roughly at 3251-3263 W. Division St. and 1149-1159 N. Spaulding Ave. in the 26th Ward from a B1-1 Neighborhood Shopping District to a B2-3 Neighborhood Mixed-Use District. 

The Hispanic Housing Development Corporation, which owns the land, plans to erect a six-story, 44-unit mixed-use building on the vacant lot. The development would be entirely affordable housing, would be partially funded by tax credits from the Illinois Housing Development Authority and is seeking $10 million in city assistance. 

“This development is for working families,” Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26) said. “These are for individuals that are the backbone of our community, but because of the rent increases and the property tax increases that we see in Humboldt Park, so many of those families cannot afford to live here.” 

Project attorney Steven Friedland said the development’s unit count was reduced and some parking was added as a result of community feedback. The development would have 16 parking spaces.

 

A rendering of the proposed project at 3251-3263 W. Division St. and 1149-1159 N. Spaulding Ave. is pictured. [Department of Planning and Development]

The zoning committee also approved a proposed rezoning (O2026-0024032) for the property located at 6333-6335 N. Mozart St. in the 50th Ward, where the developer, a firm owned by Almanda Maruntel, plans to construct a three-story building with eight residential units. The site would be rezoned from an RT-4 Residential Two-Flat Townhouse and Multi-Unit District to an RM-5 Residential Multi-Unit District.  

The committee approved an ordinance to rezone the property at 526 N. Western Ave. in the 36th Ward from a C1-2 Neighborhood Commercial District to a C1-3 Neighborhood Commercial District (O2026-0023984). The developer, a firm owned by Panoptic Group, plans to build a five-story mixed-use development on the site that would include ground-floor commercial space and off-street parking and nine housing units on the above floors.  

A proposed rezoning (O2026-0023978) for the site located at 2652 W. Chicago Ave. in the 36th Ward was also approved. Developer Barrett Homes plans to construct a four-story, mixed-use development with ground-level retail space, four ground-floor dwelling units and 36 units on the upper floors. The development would have an attached parking garage with 23 spaces. 

If approved by the City Council, the site would be rezoned from a C1-2 Neighborhood Commercial District to a B2-3 Neighborhood Mixed-Use District. 

Alderpeople also approved a proposed rezoning for the property located at 3240 W. Lawrence Ave. in the 33rd Ward (O2026-0023280) from a B1-2 Neighborhood Shopping District to a B2-5 Neighborhood Mixed-Use District. 

The developer, a firm owned by AM Realty Management, wants the site rezoned to accommodate an adaptive reuse of a former cold storage facility into a five-story mixed-use development with ground-floor retail space, one ground-level residential unit and 25 additional units of housing on the above floors. 

Alderpeople approved a proposed rezoning for the site 2137-2147 W. Irving Park Rd. in the 47th Ward (O2026-0023968) from a B1-1 Neighborhood Shopping District and B3-1 Community Shopping District to a B3-3 Community Shopping District.   

If rezoned, developer Barrett Homes would construct a mixed-use building on the site that would include ground-floor retail space, 24 condominiums and 24 parking spaces. Ten percent of units would be affordable. 

Renderings of the proposed apartment development at 1415 N. Dayton St. [Chicago Department of Planning and Development]

The zoning committee also approved a proposed rezoning and planned development designation (O2026-0023096) for the property located at 1415 N. Dayton St., 821 W. Eastman St., 811 W. Evergreen Ave., and 1415 N. Kingsbury St. in the 27th Ward. Honore Properties and Peerless Development plan to build a 28-story residential tower at the site, which would have 340 units, of which 68 would be affordable. 

The site would be rezoned from a C3-5 Commercial, Manufacturing and Employment District and B2-5 Neighborhood Mixed-Use District to a C2-5 Motor Vehicle-Related Commercial District and then to a Residential-Business Planned Development. The planned development would be split into four subareas, and Subarea A would contain the 340-unit building. 

The plan commission approved the $102.8 million project at its March meeting, and the City Council in March also approved a Low Affordability Community designation (O2026-0023349) for the property, allowing the project to take advantage of property tax breaks for up to 30 years by maintaining affordable housing there.  

Related: Plan Commission approves housing developments in Near North Side, Fulton Market  

The zoning committee approved a proposed Residential-Business Planned Development designation for the site at 3611-25 N. Halsted St. in the 46th Ward, which would be rezoned from a C1-2 Neighborhood Commercial District to a C1-5 Neighborhood Commercial District and then to a planned development.  

The rezoning and planned development (O2025-0021639) would accommodate a 12-story mixed-use development with 188 units of housing — including 38 affordable units — ground-floor commercial space, a public park, a residential fitness center on the 12th floor, 77 off-street parking stalls and a 188-bike storage room. The $70 million project from DLG Development was approved by the plan commission in February. 

Ald. Angela Clay (46) praised DLG Development’s David Gassman for listening to the community during the zoning process. 

“Obviously, building a building of this capacity brings concerns for neighbors, but we’ve been able to hit them every single step of the way,” Clay said. 

The committee approved a rezoning request for the property at 6151-6159 S. University Ave. and 1144-1160 E. 62nd St. in the 20th Ward, where the Woodlawn Baptist Church wants to develop a six-story, 46-unit affordable housing complex for senior residents.  

The church owns the land, which would be rezoned from an RM-5 Residential Multi-Unit District to an RM-6 Residential Multi-Unit District (O2026-0022492).  

The zoning committee approved a proposed Residential-Business Planned Development sought by Domus Real Estate Group for the property at 215 N. Racine Ave. in the 27th Ward (O2025-0016791).   

Domus plans to construct a 29-story, 347-dwelling unit mixed-use building on the site and has asked the city to rezone the site from a DX-5 Downtown Mixed-Use District to a DX-16 Downtown Mixed-Use District — a zoning designation typically limited to the downtown core — and then designate the site a Residential-Business Planned Development to accommodate the $160 million project.  

Seventy units would be affordable, and developers would also pay more than $2.6 million into the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund as a result of a floor area ratio bonus.

 

A rendering of the proposed building at 215 N. Racine Ave. is pictured. [Department of Planning and Development]

The plan commission approved the project in February, shirking a recommendation from the Department of Planning and Development to reject it.  

Related: Plan Commission approves West Loop apartment buildings, including development with rare ‘downtown core’ zoning  

The committee deferred a proposed rezoning (O2026-0022491) for 1704 N. Milwaukee Ave. in the 32nd Ward, where real estate developer Bill Senne has proposed a seven-story, 60-unit mixed-use building.

Finally, alderpeople approved a proposed rezoning for the property at 1201-1219 W. Kinzie St. and 366-372 N. Racine Ave. in the 27th Ward (O2025-0020118) from an M2-3 Light Industry District to a DX-5 Downtown Mixed-Use District. Developer LG Group is planning to construct a $25 million, five-story residential building with 66 units, including 10 affordable units. The project was approved at the March plan commission meeting.