Plan Commission approves development at 7605 N. Paulina

The Chicago Plan Commission has approved a mixed-use workforce housing development at 7605 N. Paulina. Planned by Housing for All LLC and Visionary Ventures, the development will occupy the northeast corner of W. Howard St and N. Paulina St, which will include the demolition of the one-story building at the corner, while preserving the Werner Bros. Storage building, an orange-rated structure built in 1921.

With Cordogan Clark & Associates serving as the architect, the project will feature a total of 80 affordable, family-size, accessible workforce apartments, with 60 of the units within a new eight-story building and 20 units within the existing Werner Bros Building. All units will be reserved for households earning between 30% and 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Additionally, 10% of the units will be fully accessible, with another 20% easily adaptable to be fully accessible. Residents will have access to 28 car parking spaces within surface parking lots on the overall site and 80 bike parking spaces.

In the new eight-story, 89-foot-tall building, the project’s ground floor will have approximately 5,000 square feet of commercial space facing W. Howard St and wrapping around onto N. Paulina St. The residential lobby, community room, and bike room will be located along N. Paulina St north of the commercial space. 

The building’s second floor will have five residential units, an activity room, a fitness room, laundry, and resident storage. Typical residential floors will have nine units per floor with the eighth floor having 10 units. 

In the repurposed Werner Bros building, the ground floor will have the lobby, community room, laundry, bike storage, resident storage, and mechanical space. The second floor will have five units, and typical floors above will also have five units per floor. 

With a total of 80 residential units across the two buildings, the project’s unit mix will include 15 studios, 24 one-beds, 21 two-beds, and 20 three-beds. 27 units will be rented at 30% AMI, 21 units will be at 50% AMI, 15 units will be at 60% AMI, and 17 units will be at 80% AMI. 

To allow for the scope of the $60 million project, the developers are seeking to rezone the site from B1-3 and B3-3 to a unified B3-3 with a Planned Development designation. With Chicago Plan Commission approval secured, the proposal will now seek final approvals from the Committee on Zoning and City Council. If approved, construction is expected to begin in September 2026 with completion set for February 2028.