Plan Commission approves 450-foot-tall tower at 1565 N. Clybourn

The Chicago Plan Commission has approved New York-based developer The Georgetown Company’s plans for a mixed-use tower at 1565 N. Clybourn. Located at the intersection of N. Clybourn Ave and N. Halsted St, the new development will replace the retail structure that formerly held the Bank of America branch. The developer owns the four-story parking garage and the retail structure with Design Within Reach and will retain both of those structures as part of the development.

With bKL Architecture on board for the design, the team sought to create something special and unique for the prominent gateway site for this area. The new mixed-use tower will rise with a very slender massing, tapering at the ends to create a unique profile. The tower’s glass and metal facade will come down to the ground without a large parking podium, meeting the ground in an elegant and pedestrian-friendly way. The facade switches to a masonry expression at the base with punched window openings to relate to the pedestrian scale.

Rising 37 stories, the 450-foot-tall structure will include 396 residential units, with 79 of them set aside as affordable. The unit mix will feature 99 studios, 264 one-beds, and 33 two-beds. The 79 affordable units will include 26 units at 30% AMI, 7 units at 40% AMI, and 46 units at 80% AMI.

The ground floor will front N. Clybourn Ave with 2,500 square feet of retail space, with the residential entry facing back to the internal drive and north towards the pedestrian plaza designed by Confluence. Amenity space will be located on the third floor with an outdoor cutout in the building massing as well as rooftop amenities on the 37th floor which will include an outdoor pool.

In regard to parking, the new building will have no new car parking spaces but will include 396 bike parking spaces on the third floor. The existing parking garage behind the new construction has 158 parking spaces. The developer plans to make 70 of them available to residents, 73 available for retail parking, and 15 spaces for employees. An internal private drive that currently exists will remain for internal circulation as well as drop off and loading.

The developer is looking to rezone the site from its existing PD to B3-5 and then reinstate the Planned Development. If approvals move forward according to plan, construction could begin in early 2025 with a 20–22-month construction timeline. With approval from the Chicago Plan Commission secured, the $175 million development can now go before the Committee on Zoning and City Council.