Planned "SBC Site" Development

RNRA Perspective on Neighborhood Development

Neighborhood development obviously has both positive and negative implications. Most residents of River North recognize the value of expanding the tax base to pay for city services and of transforming vacant or underutilized properties into more attractive, safer, revenue-generating additions to the neighborhood. They know that business owners require certain levels of pedestrian and vehicular traffic before opening new stores and offices and they recognize that developers have the right to build on the properties they acquired for this purpose, subject to applicable rules. A busier skyline, increased congestion and disruption during construction are some of the unavoidable consequences of a desirable community.

The RNRA believes that developers should look beyond the viability of a particular project and endeavor to contribute to the quality of life in the community and the value of local real estate. The due diligence for each proposal should include an independent assessment of its potential impact on traffic, security, parking, pet facilities and green space. Projects should be designed to improve, rather than degrade, these essential elements. Each development plan should also consider worker parking, truck staging, work hours, site lighting and other construction protocol matters in order to minimize noise, disruption and inconvenience to existing residents and businesses.

If development is conducted in this way, we believe that residents will generally be more supportive and that by working together to cultivate River North’s reputation as a vibrant, creative and desirable community, all parties will benefit in the long run.

469 West Huron Project

At a special community meeting on February 8, Lennar Communities of Chicago, L.L.C. and Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture unveiled their plans to develop 469 West Huron. This 1.25 acre property, commonly known as the "SBC site", comprises roughly two thirds of the block bordered by Huron on the north, Erie on the south, Hudson on the east and Kingsbury on the west.

The current zoning for this site is DX-5, which mandates a floor area ratio (F.A.R.) of 5. This means that the total square footage of the structures, excluding parking, may not exceed 5 times the total square footage of the land. The developers have not requested a variance to F.A.R. and could construct 2 broad residential buildings (12 and 13 stories, covering virtually the entire lot) on an "as of right" basis, which requires no additional approvals.

Instead, they have proposed a design featuring a single, slender 21-story residential building, a separate 2-story, 14,000 square foot retail/office building with surface parking and a 9000 square foot, privately maintained park that will be permanently open to the public (except at night). This approach will have more open space, fewer total units, a higher parking space-to-unit ratio and higher price points. Since this design includes a structure exceeding 130 feet in height, it is subject to the city's "Planned Development" (P.D.) review process, which imposes a higher level of scrutiny and many additional requirements including design standards, parking and traffic circulation, public amenities and landscaping. The estimated timeline is 5 to 6 months for P.D. approval and 18 to 20 months for construction.

The goals of the RNRA are: 1) to ensure that our members are well informed, and 2) to solicit their input about the proposed development. The site plans, elevations and other information posted below provide more details on both design concepts.  Please review these materials and then complete our survey.

Primary Project Documents

1.  Site plan for original design concept featuring two broad buildings, 12 and 13-stories tall, covering most of the lot.  Requires no P.D. review.

Click here for Scheme B Site Plan

2.  Site Plan for new design concept featuring a taller, narrower residential building, a retail/office building with surface parking and a public-access park.  Requires P.D. review.

Click here for Scheme A Site Plan

Note: for various reasons involving traffic patterns, volume and parking, efforts to attract "desirable" prospective retail tenants have been largely unsuccessful.  Effective 4-21-06, the Developers therefore propose to eliminate the retail/commercial building, expand the central park area and add four upscale town homes facing east along Hudson.

Click here for Revised Scheme A Site Plan

Click here to access the PD change request lettter

3.  West elevation for new design concept.

Click here for Scheme A West Elevation

4.  Side by side comparison of key elements of both design concepts.

Click here for A vs. B Plan Comparison

Survey

RNRA conducted a confidential survey between February 11 and 21 to assess community perspectives about the proposed project.  Thanks to everyone who took the time to participate.  A letter summarizing the results has been delivered to Alderman Natarus and the developer.  Please click here to access a copy of the letter

Ancillary Project Documents (for those interested in additional detail)

• Scheme B Floor Plan

• Scheme A Floor Plan

• Scheme A East Elevation

• Scheme A North Elevation

• Scheme A South Elevation

• Scheme A Context Plan