New developers propose 525-unit development at 1450 N. Larrabee

The Chicago Housing Authority has selected a new development team for the 7-acre vacant site at 1450 N. Larrabee. Situated in Old Town, the wedge-shaped site is bound by N. Clybourn Ave to the south, N. Larrabee St to the east, and rededicated N. Ogden Ave and W. Blackhawk St to the west and north respectively. The site was previously home to the Near North Career Metropolitan High School which closed in 2001. The CHA acquired the site in 2014, and the school building was demolished in 2023, with the site vacant since. 

The CHA was recently forced to go back to the drawing board for the site after the most recent development group pulled out of the deal. The development team was made up of Hunt Development Group, Pennrose, and Imagine Group but Hunt Development Group who was leading the project backed out and partner Pennrose exited the Chicago market entirely, according to a report from the Chicago Sun-Times.

Dubbed Cabrini New Vision, the new plan comes from developers Evergreen Real Estate Group and KLEO Enterprises. According to a report from the Chicago Sun-Times, the developers have proposed something different from the previous plan to avoid similar financial issues contending with tariffs and interest rates while trying to assemble the complex financing packages that typically come along with affordable housing projects. 

With Pappageorge Haymes Partners and SmithGroup leading the design, the proposal will build approximately 450 apartments across four midrise buildings with at least 180 of those units subsidized by the CHA. A mix of condos and townhomes will add another 75 units to the site.

At the center of the site will be a new triangular park with townhomes running along N. Larrabee St and west along the north end of the site facing Park 598 to the north. A new road running parallel to N. Clybourn will cut through the site along the new park space separating the rental and for-sale buildings. The midrise apartment buildings will be built along N. Clybourn Ave.

The developers plan to build the development in five phases with a potential 5–6-year construction timeline. Construction could start in about 18 months, but the team will need to secure all necessary city approvals before work could start on the site.