The first of many towers planned for the huge North Union Towers Project site, 920 N. Wells, has broken ground. The North Union site would cover eight acres and will be surrounded by the CTA Brown Line rails, W Oak Street, W Chestnut Street, and N Wells Street. JDL Development‘s project is planned to result in roughly 2.9 million square feet of new development, comprising over 2,700 residential apartments, retail, and outdoor space.
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920 N. Wells will be 21 storeys tall, with 238 residential units and 8,000 square feet of retail space designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture. The unit mix will include 42 studios, 134 one-bedrooms, 54 two-bedrooms, and 8 three-bedrooms. A total of 16 of the 238 flats will be set aside to fulfil ARO criteria. There will be three studios, nine one-bedroom flats, three two-bedroom units, and one three-bedroom unit among those. The building, which will stand 250 feet tall, will provide residents with 105 auto parking spots and 207 bike parking places. General contractor Power Construction expects to complete 920 N. Wells in late 2023 after receiving caisson permits and breaking ground.
JDL has altered designs for the forthcoming North Union towers Project within the larger North Union proposal. The 25-story mixed-use tower at 868 N. Wells will include 428 residences and 12,000 square feet of retail space. As the plan nears completion, the design and massing of the remaining buildings have been altered. While the specifics of those towers have not been revealed, the timeline for each has been advanced. The addresses 232 W. Chestnut and 871 N. Franklin are planned for 2023-2024. 909 N. Franklin is also scheduled for 2023-2024 across the street. The two huge buildings overlooking the park will be built in 2024-25 at 205 W. Oak and 312 W. Walton. To cap off the project, the tallest towers at 300 and 310 W. Oak are planned for delivery in 2025-2026.
reported in October 2020
North Union Towers Project to be Chicago’s largest residential development in decades
JDL Development North Union Towers Project is a 2,700 housing unit project on an 8.1-acre piece of land and is projected to be the largest residential development in Chicago in decades. The project dubbed North Union, the residential project will be developed on a property that the JDL Development intends to buy from the Moody Bible Institute.
The formal proposal for the project will be unveiled by the developer at a community meeting slated for November 12. According to details contained in emails from the Department of Planning and Development and Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), the project will include around 2,680 residential units.
North Union will be the largest project that JDL has ever undertaken. The company is a leading residential developer with a portfolio of several high-rises in River North, South Loop, Wrigleyville, and the Gold Coast. Among the projects that the company has developed an $850 million development called One Chicago which comprises two towers with one raising 76-stories. The project is currently under development.
The North Union project will be enclosed between Wells streets, Chestnut, Oak, and CTA Brown and Purple Line tracks. The project will be made up of a mix of low, mid, and high-rise buildings, about 1.3 acres of public open space, and 30,000 square feet of commercial space. The structure will be made of two towers with one raising 600 feet and will be located on the northwest side of the site. This is according to additional details given by the company’s President Jim Letchinger.
North Union Towers will be the biggest residential development undertaken in downtown Chicago since the development of Lakeshore East, which has 4,950 homes two decades ago. Lakeshore East is located along the Chicago River and Lake Shore Drive. Magellan Development Group, the developer of Lakeshore East is currently working on Vista Tower, it’s biggest building.
