Developers Ready for New Opportunities Along the Chicago River

Chicago's North Branch Framework Plan and Design Guidelines, approved in May, is already having the expected effect: big, flashy developments in the pipeline.

1 minute read

June 23, 2017, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Ryan Ori reports on the first signs of the market responding to land use changes made on a 3.7-mile stretch of the Chicago River.

"Belgravia Group has a contract to buy a triangular, 4.5-acre land parcel for about $20 million," according to Ori. "Belgravia's preliminary plan is for multiple low-rise buildings with about 90 condominiums, 250 apartments and 60,000 square feet of retail."

News of the project follows the May approval of a new plan for the 760-acre industrial corridor, the North Branch Framework Plan and Design Guidelines, though "specifics of the zoning overhaul still are being hashed out, and each individual development will require negotiations with the city."

Ryan Ori reported on the plan when the draft was released, predicting the new plan would precede a building boom.

Friday, June 16, 2017 in Chicago Tribune

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