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Near South High School
A new $120 million high school serving the Near South Side is galloping toward construction. City Council voted Dec. 14 to give $8 million from a special taxing district to buy land at 24th and State from the Chicago Housing Authority for the new school.
Attendance boundaries for the school will include the South Loop, Chinatown, Bridgeport, and parts Bronzeville and the Near West Side.
Concerns have been raised, including by Chicago Public School officials, that the project could undermine enrollment at historically Black schools in the area such as Wells Community Academy, Wendell Phillips Academy, and Tilden High School. There have also been objections raised to taking CHA land for the school, with land to be purchased at 23rd and Wabash for future public housing units. State Rep. Theresa Mah had previously said she would try to halt millions in state and city funding until city leaders make good on their promise to engage the community.
Hudson Motor Row
Restoration and construction should soon get under way on 2222 S. Michigan, a historic Motor Row building being redeveloped by former Bears defensive end Israel Idonije. The project “ran into complications” after previously being announced with a different program including co-working space.
The $62.5 million development will now include 18 hotel rooms and 53,700 square feet of retail. Plans also include a restaurant and event venues on the ground floor and mezzanine. The second and third levels have apartments ranging from one to four bedrooms, and hotel rooms. Part of the city’s Motor Row Landmark District, the three-story terra cotta building, designed by Chicago architect Alfred Alschuler in 1922, was once a dealership for the Hudson Motor Car Co.
620 S. Wabash
A full building permit has been issued for the new building to rise at 626 S. Wabash, site of Louis Sullivan’s landmark Wirt Dexter Building, home of George Diamond Steak House, until a 2006 fire. The new project will be a 19-story mixed-use building with 164 residential units as well as 4,100 square feet of ground floor retail space. The unit mix will be 80 studios, 24 two-bedrooms, and 60 four-bedroom configurations, suggesting students are the primary market.
National Heritage Area for Bronzeville
A new Bronzeville-Black Metropolis National Heritage Area was included in legislation that cleared Congress last week and that Pres. Biden is expected to sign. The new area’s boundaries run south from 18th St. Paula Robinson, president of the Black Metropolis National Heritage Commission, which will oversee the National Heritage Area, told the Sun-Times, the designation means “up to $1 million a year over a 10- to 15-year period.” The specific projects the effort might fund aren’t yet known.
In Brief . . .
Foundation work has begun at 633 S. LaSalle for a co-housing building being developed by London-based The Collective as part of a worldwide chain.
Two South Loop locations have been approved for marijuana dispensaries. Green Rose dispensary in the South Loop, at 1233 S. Wabash, and a dispensary by High Hopes Chicago at 624 W. Roosevelt have both been approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals. (Tribune story)
The three-level house occupying the floors above Totto’s Grocery, at 747 S. Dearborn, is listed for sale—at $5.95 million. The building was designed by architect Chris Talsma for his family, and was completed in 2019. Sale of the building isn’t expected to affect Totto’s. Ever curious what the interior of the residence at the corner of Polk and Dearborn looks like? You can peek inside here.
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