Work is officially underway on new multifamily rental development at 1140 W. Erie Street in Chicago's West Town neighborhood.
A pair of caisson rigs recently arrived at the triangle-shaped lot along Ogden Avenue, just west of the Kennedy Expressway. The equipment will create the foundation system for the upcoming eight-story building, called "Inspire West Town."
An aerial rendering of Inspire West Town (pictured center) showing its position along the Kennedy Expressway.Chicago Department of Planning Development
The $40 million project comes from developer the Bond Companies and FitzGerald Associates Architects. The two firms collaborated on the nearby Spoke apartment complex located on the other side of the highway in River West. The Bond Companies is also working on a similarly named Inspire Hollywood rental development in Los Angeles.
Inspire West Town replaces a demolished single-story commercial structure with 113 apartments offered in a variety of studio, convertible, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom floorplans. Six units of affordable housing will be built on-site and the developers will provide funding for 17 additional affordable units off-site.
Renderings of the new building show a gray brick base topped by light-colored metal panels broken up by splashes of green and protruding balconies. The plan also includes ground-floor retail fronting Ogden, a 29-car garage, and a second-floor outdoor terrace for residents.
Inspire West Town earned zoning approval from the city last fall and scored its building permit in February. The transit-oriented development is expected to welcome its first renters sometime in 2022.
Foundation work is underway at 1140 W. Erie Street. Two recently completed River West apartment developments, Westerly (center) and Avenir (right), are visible in the distance. Jay Koziarz/Urbanize Chicago
