The city’s Planning and Development Department is becoming more involved in smaller neighborhood projects. A notable project is the 11-story apartment development at 1212 N. State St. which has revised its design and property line locations.
The proposed changes to the building include lowering the unit count from 102 to 91, increasing the height from 121 to 128 feet, and shifting the tower backwards 15 feet from the northern property line to provide neighbors more space. The aesthetic revisions like using a warmer colored brick, come from Chicago developer, Newcastle Limited and architecture firm CallisonRTKL. Current rendering may be viewed online.
The space also contains 30 parking spaces, a ground-floor retail component, and roughly 15,000 square feet of publicly open space. The changes were a result of continued discussions with, the local alderman, neighborhood residents, and officials from the city’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD), which is looking to take a more involved approach to neighborhood development under its new leadership.
“Newcastle worked closely with DPD staff and the Alderman’s office through a number of iterations and refinements over the past year to finalize the current proposed design,” said in a statement by Kurt Pairitz, managing director at Newcastle.
Newcastle will need to clear the city's Planned Development process which includes votes by the Chicago Plan Commission and City Council. Prior to that process taking place, officials are planning to host a public meeting to collect feedback from neighbors and citizens. If all goes to plan, Newcastle hopes to start the demolition at 1212 N. State this winter, then break ground in the first quarter of 2020, and finally unveil their new building by spring 2021. The timeline is according to a newly launched website and will also contain future updates on the project's progress.