After four months (and a 40-foot haircut), developer Mark Goodman & Associates has secured final approvals from the Chicago City Council to build a 16-story life sciences development at 400 N. Elizabeth Street in Fulton Market.

Solomon Cordwell Buenz

“The City of Chicago has made it a priority to strengthen the life sciences ecosystem with world-class facilities that will allow high-tech start-up ventures to flourish and grow right here at home, so we are excited to work closely with Alderperson Burnett, Commissioner Cox and other Fulton Market community stakeholders to deliver a high-quality building designed from the ground up to specifically meet the sophisticated and complex needs of this burgeoning industry,” said Mark Goodman & Associates, Inc. president Mark Goodman in a news release.

At completion, the project will include roughly 492,000 square feet of laboratory and office space, in addition to a 123-space underground parking garage, a fitness center, and a ground-level neighborhood café. Proposed public realm improvements include enhanced streetscaping and lighting, as well as the addition of a pedestrian walkway connecting Elizabeth and Kinzie streets to Ogden Avenue.

Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, the building stands at will rise approximately 270 feet in height, with a podium designed to match the scale of surrounding buildings on Elizabeth Street. Upper floors are massed into two distinct volumes, with a glass curtain wall facing south, a blended brick façade to the north that would reduce noise from adjacent rail lines.

Solomon Cordwell Buenz

The project is expected to generate 2,400 temporary construction jobs and result in 1,350 new permanent jobs at completion.

Mark Goodman & Associates has previously stated its intent to begin demolition and construction between May and July 2022. The project is expected to take roughly 24 months to complete.