Plan Commission will review development at 7603 N. Paulina

The Chicago Plan Commission will review a proposed mixed-use workforce housing development at 7603 N. Paulina at its meeting later this month. Planned by Housing for All LLC and Visionary Ventures, the development will occupy the northeast corner of W. Howard St and N. Paulina St, which will include the demolition of the one-story building at the corner, while preserving the Werner Bros. Storage building, an orange-rated structure built in 1921.

With Cordogan Clark & Associates serving as the architect, the project will feature a total of 80 affordable, family-size, accessible workforce apartments, with 60 of the units within a new eight-story building and 20 units within the existing Werner Bros Building. All units will be reserved for households earning between 30% and 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Additionally, 10% of the units will be fully accessible, with another 20% easily adaptable to be fully accessible.

The project also incorporates 5,062 square feet of ground-floor retail space, with efforts to retain existing businesses and provide affordable commercial rents, further contributing to the area's economic revitalization. Residents will have access to 28 car parking spaces within the new building. 

To allow for the scope of the project, the developers are seeking to rezone the site from B1-3 and B3-3 to a unified B3-3 with a Planned Development designation. If the Chicago Plan Commission approves the project, the proposal will need final approvals from the Committee on Zoning and City Council.