Tall & Urban News

JDL Development plans nearly 2,700 homes on Near North Side property it would buy from the Moody Bible Institute, one of the biggest residential developments in Chicago in decades.

The Chicago-based developer will unveil its proposal for the 8.1-acre (3.2-hectare) site at a 12 November 2020 community meeting, according to emails from the Department of Planning and Development and Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd). The emails were short on specifics, but did include a key, previously unreported detail: The project northwest of Moody’s campus would encompass about 2,680 residential units. (See architect's renderings below.)

It would be the biggest development by far for JDL, a prolific residential builder that has completed several high-rises in the South Loop, River North, the Gold Coast and Wrigleyville. JDL’s projects include One Chicago, an US$850 million development with two towers, one rising 76-stories, under construction in River North.

Called North Union, the development on the Moody property would be bounded roughly by CTA Brown and Purple Line tracks, Oak, Chestnut and Wells streets. It would include a mix of low-, mid- and high-rise buildings, 30,000 square feet (2,787 square meters) of commercial space and about 1.3 acres (0.5 hectares) of public open space, according to the emails. Two towers, one 600 feet (182 meters) tall, would rise on the northwest corner of the site, said JDL President Jim Letchinger.

“It’s proximate to everything, and it’s a big enough opportunity where we can really create something great,” he said.

If approved, North Union would be the biggest residential development in downtown Chicago since Lakeshore East, a project along the Chicago River and Lake Shore Drive zoned for 4,950 homes nearly two decades ago. Its developer, Magellan Development Group, is still working on the project, putting the final touches on its biggest building there yet, Vista Tower. 

North Union would also take a long time, constructed in phases depending on market conditions. JDL needs zoning approvals from the city before it can start construction, and community meetings are a key early step in that process.

“It’s a 10-year build,” Letchinger said.

JDL plans a mix of apartments, condominiums, townhomes and single-family homes on the site. Letchinger didn’t know how many units JDL would rent and how many it would sell.

“It’s really going to be market driven,” Letchinger said. 

To comply with the city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance, North Union would include about 246 affordable units set aside for people below certain income levels, he said. The developer also would pay the city to support the creation of about 110 more units elsewhere.

Letchinger is making a big bet that demand for housing in downtown Chicago will bounce back after plunging this year. The coronavirus pandemic, recession and civil unrest have depressed condo sales and apartment rents and occupancies as people have moved out of the city and companies have required employees to work from home,  stopped hiring or even cut jobs.

Letchinger acknowledges that the market looks pretty bleak now. But that will change once the virus is under control and companies start re-opening their downtown offices.

“I do think the market will come back, I think it will come back strong,” he said. “I don’t know the timing.” 

Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, which has designed several of JDL’s recent buildings, is leading the design team for North Union. JDL also is requiring construction firms and other vendors that work on the project to meet minority hiring and training requirements. After the civil unrest this summer, Letchinger decided he could do more to improve economic opportunities for Black and Brown people who live on the city’s South and West sides.

“Unfortunately, it took that to wake me up,” he said. “JDL hasn’t done enough, and I don’t think any of us have.”

The community meeting will be held via Zoom at 6 p.m. on November 12.

For more on this story, go to Crain's.