Revised plan for Old Town Canvas secures Ald. Hopkins support

After Alderman Hopkins announced his rejection of the project last week, developer Fern Hill has revealed its scaled back compromise proposal for Old Town Canvas, its mixed-use development at 1600 N. LaSalle. The project site is bounded by N. Wells St to the west, W. North Ave to the south, and N. LaSalle Dr to the east. Walgreens and a surface parking lot for Moody Church currently occupy the site.

Designed by GREC Architects, the mixed-use tower has been cut in height by 101 feet from 480 feet down to 379 feet, making it shorter than all three of its existing neighboring towers. As a result, the unit count has been cut from 500 down to 349, representing a 30% reduction that will help mitigate traffic and congestion. As part of the redesign, the unit mix has been adjusted to include more larger-sized apartments. The mix will include 105 studios, 126 one-beds, 42 two-beds, 42 three-beds, 30 four-beds, and 4 penthouse units. To meet ARO requirements, 70 of the apartments will be set aside as affordable. 

The plan also calls for a decreased parking count, reducing from 450 to 333 parking spaces of which 200 will be set aside for Moody Church. The parking stalls for Moody Church will go unused much of the week, creating no traffic impact whatsoever. The parking will also alleviate the strain on public street parking during Sunday and special events putting hundreds of parking spaces back into circulation for residents and patrons visiting local businesses and restaurants. 

Fern Hill will be responsible for both the implementation and 100% of all costs associated with the comprehensive traffic improvement plan, representing a $1 million investment. The plan includes a broad list of traffic investments across multiple intersections including pedestrian safety improvements, dedicated signalized turn lanes, new dedicated bus lanes, elimination of existing curb cuts and loading docks, a new fully off-street loading and motor court, a new Divvy Station and a protected car-share drop-off lane. 

As part of the larger plan, the former Treasure Island space will remain vacant in a continued search for a grocery retailer except for when Walgreens occupies the space during the building’s construction.

With Alderman Hopkins supporting the compromise plan, the zoning proposal will proceed to the Chicago Plan Commission. Approvals will be needed from the Chicago Plan Commission, the Committee on Zoning, and full City Council.