Work is ready to get underway on a 22-story rental tower at the southeast corner of Damen Avenue and Congress Parkway in the Illinois Medical District (IMD).
Earlier week, developer Marquette Cos. landed a building permit to begin construction on the 230-foot building's caisson foundations. The Near West Side high-rise is allowed under the site's existing zoning, and Power Construction is listed as the general contractor on the permit.
The new tower (right) will rise just west of the rehabbed Atrio Apartments (Center).Brininstool + Lynch
Designed by Brininstool + Lynch, the tower headed to 513 S. Damen Avenue contains 279 apartments, a small ground-floor retail space, and parking for 172 cars on levels one through three. The upcoming building will rise immediately west of the 18-story former Medical Center Apartments which Marquette recently rehabbed and rebranded as the 272-unit Atio Apartments. The site is currently occupied by a surface parking lot.
Marquette also plans a third shorter rental building on the southern edge of the site along Harrison Street, which will rise nine stories. Also designed by Brininstool + Lynch, the Harrison building will include 120 apartments, provide additional retail space, and share the parking garage and a fourth-floor amenity deck of the neighboring tower about to break ground on Damen.
The upcoming 22- and 9-story building will share a fourth-floor amenity level and pool deck. Brininstool + Lynch
According to Marquette's president and chief investment officer Darren Sloniger, the IMD is experiencing a high demand for new apartments. "People want to live there because they can walk to the L and walk to work," Sloniger told Crain's Chicago Business back in July. Meanwhile, vertical construction continues nearby on the 11-story, 161-unit Gateway Apartments near the intersection of Ogden Avenue and Polk Street.
