Prolific Chicago developer Sterling Bay has downsized its plans for an apartment tower next to the Morgan CTA station in the West Loop. The transit-oriented project, which would replace a drive-through bank and parking lot at 160 N. Morgan Street, appears on the Chicago Plan Commission's September agenda with a design that is both shorter and less dense.
Sterling Bay first presented the project in May as a 33-story, 380-foot-tall tower containing 320 luxury rental units. The current plan calls for a 29-story, 350-foot building with 282 apartments, according to the city's website. The bKL-designed project still includes a ground-floor commercial component, and the amount of on-site parking has only slightly decreased from 90 to 89 spaces.
It's unclear what motivated the reduction in height and unit count at 160 N. Morgan, and a Sterling Bay spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Urbanize. It's possible that the changes were a concession to the two neighbors at May's meeting who voiced concerns regarding increased traffic congestion at the transit-rich location.
It's also within the realm of possibility that the developer counted on a degree of NIMBY opposition and pitched a larger project than they intended to ever build. We'll update this post if and when we hear back from Sterling Bay.
160 N. Morgan Street. Jay Koziarz/Urbanize
