Plan Commission approves revised development at 23 S. Sangamon

The Chicago Plan Commission has approved a revised condominium development, dubbed Marielle on the Park, planned at 23 S. Sangamon. Planned by Chicago developer Fern Hill, the project site overlooks Mary Bartelme Park at the northeastern corner of S. Sangamon St and W. Monroe St.  

Originally planned as a 19-story condominium tower that was approved back in 2021, the developer went back to the drawing board in 2024 and proposed a 33-story rental building with a community center at the base. In 2025, the design was revised to be a 27-story tower with both condos and apartments above the community center. 

Now in 2026, the approved plan, designed by Eckenhoff Saunders, calls for a 26-story mixed-use development that will reach 302 feet in height. The project will incorporate a small retail space and a restaurant space at the ground floor, with 70 condominium units in the building. The project’s parking has been reduced from 115 spaces to 71 parking spaces. 

As a residential project, the development must meet the 20% affordability requirements from the ARO. According to the Planned Development filing, the developer plans to fulfill the ARO obligation by constructing off-site affordable units through a partnership with the Pilsen Housing Cooperative (PIHCO) in the Pilsen neighborhood.

While the proposed schemes for the project in 2024 and 2025 called for a community center and fieldhouse to serve Mary Bartelme Park, this component of the project has been removed. According to a statement from Alderman Conway earlier this year, it became clear between the developer and the Park District that market changes and concerns about a community center causing additional overuse of the already popular park would prevent the community center plan from moving forward. In lieu of the full community center, the building will provide free public restrooms and a storage unit for the park. 

The project’s ground floor will front W. Monroe St with the building’s residential lobby, a restaurant, and a cafe at the corner. The S. Sangamon St frontage will include access to the public restrooms, a bike room, and the parking and loading access for the building which will also provide access to the park storage space. 

Above the ground floor, the building’s 71 car parking spaces will be located on two floors within the podium. On top of the podium, the fourth floor will have resident amenity spaces including a fitness center, lounge, and kids room. An outdoor amenity deck will overlook Mary Bartelme Park and include a pool and dog run. The back portion of the fourth floor will have three condominiums.  

Rising above, the residential tower will be broken down into multiple tiers of condominium units. Levels 5 through 10 will have four homes per floor, levels 11 through 16 will have three condos per floor, levels 17 through 22 will all be half-floor homes, levels 23 and 24 will have two duplex units, and level 25 will be a full-floor penthouse. Every home will have a private outdoor terrace. 

To allow for the scope of the $150 million project, the developer is seeking to rezone the existing Planned Development to DX-7 and then into an amended Planned Development. A 2.3 FAR bonus will be used to reach a 9.3 FAR. With approval secured from the Chicago Plan Commission, the development can look to secure final approvals from the Committee on Zoning and City Council. The developer plans to begin presales of the condominiums imminently and will need to pre-sell a certain percentage before commencing construction.