New development plan envisioned for former DePaul College Prep site

A new development scheme has been proposed for the former DePaul College Prep campus. Located at 3601 N. California, the project site is bounded by the North Branch of the Chicago River to the east, W. Addison St to the south, N. California Ave to the west, and W. Grace St to the north. The Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ owns the land and is taking a more hands-on approach in developing the former high school campus in this iteration of development proposals for the site.

With Neri Architects leading the design, the new scheme would include two multifamily condominium buildings with a total of 72 homes as well as 53 individual single-family homes.

At the corner of W. Addison St and N. California Ave, the first multifamily condo building would stand four stories tall with 39 condos and ground floor retail space. The building would be served by 43 parking spaces. At the northern end of the site, the second multifamily building would be a four-story structure with 33 condominiums and 33 interior parking spaces. The condo buildings would follow the city’s affordable housing rules and set aside 20 percent of their units as affordable.

Occupying the remainder of the site, the individual single-family homes will front N. California Ave and the river in long rows. Each single-family home would be three stories with a single-story, detached two-car garage. The private garages will be accessed from a new internal service drive on the property. 

There would be some parking spaces available for guests in the new housing development. The design would also feature a pedestrian path along the riverfront to connect the property to the existing 312 River Run trail.

In 2021, Alderman Rossanna Rodriguez, of the 33rd Ward, formally denied a previous proposal to redevelop the site. After the most recent ward remap, the property became part of the 35th Ward.

The Congregation of the Resurrection needs a zoning change to move the plan forward and will need to receive approvals from 35th Ward Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, the Committee on Zoning, and City Council. If the zoning change is approved, the religious order would sell off tracts of land in a piecemeal fashion to developers to build the 53 single-family homes and two condo buildings in phases after the former high school is demolished.