Transit Oriented Development Ordinance in Chicago Saves Space and Money

According to Chris Bentley of Architect's Newspaper, an ordinance passed last fall in Chicago allows any residential developments within 600 feet of a transit station (or 1,200 on certain "Pedestrian Streets") to slash its parking requirements by 50 percent.

The first project taking advantage of this broke ground in July. As Bentley writes, "[t]he building will have 40 apartments... 2,500 square feet of commercial space, and 21 parking spaces—roughly half the amount of parking it would have been required to supply otherwise. 'Not having to put all these cars in there,' said firm principal David Brininstool, 'this is such a win-win for the city, the streetscape, and the developer.'"

Many other developers around the city have also taken advantage of the ordinance. One company, Wicker Park Apartments, "secured 16 percent more space by cutting parking—square footage that Brininstool said was a boon to the design team as they tried to shoehorn 40 apartments and commercial space into a triangular site with just 33 feet of street frontage. The angular site plan would have hamstrung the development’s density, which now boasts a 3.5 FAR at five stories tall."