Revealed: 357 homes for former DePaul College Prep site

Developer Lexington Homes has revealed new renderings of its plan to redevelop the former DePaul College Prep campus in Irving Park into townhomes and a six-story apartment building. If approved, the project would completely transform the 7.3-acre riverfront parcel at the northeast corner of California Avenue and Addison Street.

Designed by Chicago-based architecture firm Pappageorge Haymes Partners, the complex includes 269 rental units (96 studios, 138 one-beds, 49 two-beds, and 74 three-bedrooms) with monthly rents ranging from $1,399 to $2,900. The project's 88 for-sale townhomes feature two- and three-bedroom floorplans priced between $599,000 and $800,000. Ten percent of the units will be set aside as affordable housing to comply with city regulations. 

The development also calls for 2,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space at the corner of California and Addison plus on-site parking for 391 cars and 50 bicycles. A proposed landscaped riverwalk would connect to the nearby Riverview Bridge—a 1,000-foot-long waterfront pedestrian and bike trail completed in 2019.

Lexington filed a zoning application for the Irving Park project in June and is now in the outreach phase of the 33rd Ward's community-driven zoning and development (CDZD) process. "This proposal will not move forward to a city hearing without first completing a full CDZD process and receiving the alderwoman’s recommendation, which will not be made without community input," said Ald. Rossana Rodriguez in a recent email to 33rd Ward residents. 

While the development team is expected to announce a community-wide public meeting to discuss the project this fall, some residents, such as the California Park Neighborhood Association, have already taken a firm stand against Lexington's proposal. The 33rd Ward office is currently accepting public feedback regarding the development online.

The 357-unit project will require a zoning change from the city as well as a Residential-Waterway Planned Development due to the site's proximity to the north branch of the Chicago River. DePaul College Prep announced in mid-2019 that it would close its Irving Park location and move to a new campus in Roscoe Village. The Catholic high school's land, which the Congregation of the Resurrection owns, hit the market later that year, Crain's reported.