HereAreExcerptsfromtheREALNearWestSideAreaPlanStillontheCityWebsite

AREA ANALYSIS

Residential Use:Residential rehabilitation and construction comprisesthe majority of development initiatives on the NearWest Side. Over fifty projects have recently beencompleted, are currently underway, and/or areplanned. Overall, approximately 4,000 new and/orrehabilitated residential units have been developed,planned, or proposed. Most of these projects haveinvolved loft condominiums.

As the area continues to grow there is a need todiversify housing opportunities with various sizes andbuilding types including townhouses, single-familyhouses, and affordable housing alternatives. Also,future residential development needs to be designedto create linkages with adjacent streets to promotethe unique urban character of the community.

Commercial Use:While neighborhood oriented retail and servicebusinesses have been slow to develop to serve thearea's growing residential population, a few commercialdevelopments have recently been implemented.Ground floor retail should continue to be encouraged inboth rehabilitation and new residential projects.

Small groceries, bakeries, dry cleaners, drug stores,convenience stores, and food/beverage shops are stillneeded. Opportunities for commercial development orexpansion are decreasing as land and buildings areconverted to residential use.

Adding retail food shops to existing wholesale foodoperations in the Randolph Market has beenconsidered by local businesses. However, it is difficultto add such shops due to the Market's physical layout,lack of vacant land, and typical wholesale businessoperations and layouts.

Numerous art galleries have located in the areaincluding: An Art Place; Frederick Baker Gallery; Gallery312; Klein Art Works; Museum of Holography; andVedanta Gallery.

Office Use:Office development has increased as companies areattracted to the area because of its location and access.In recent years several loft industrial buildings havebeen converted to office space for small companies.

A major corporate campus for Whittman-Hart, aninformation technology company, is under constructionnearby in the Kinzie Industrial Corridor west of theFulton Market (at Fulton and Elizabeth Streets).

The campus, which is 3 acres, will include a parkingdeck and 485,000 square feet of office and trainingspace in 3 new and 2 rehabilitated buildings. The hightech training center will include classrooms, anauditorium, and a theater. Dormitories for trainees willbe considered in the future.

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Buildings:Preservation Buildings should be preserved and renovated wherepossible to maintain existing building walls alongstreets.

Rehabilitation/renovation should be sensitive to theoriginal architectural character of the building andsurrounding area.

HeightNew buildings should not be more than 25% higherthan the average height of buildings on surroundingblocks to maintain the general scale of an urbanindustrial loft district, except on the properties abuttingthe Kennedy Expressway.

If tall buildings are developed along the Expressways,they should be stepped back away from adjacentstreets, approximately 50 feet above ground level toprovide a transition to surrounding buildings.

If a development is located in an area with buildings ofvarying heights, the transition or step down betweenbuildings should be considered in the overall heightand design of the new buildings.

New building consistent with existing streetwall.

AREA LAND USE PLAN

New building at streetwall with ground level glass.

'11

existing buildings ,

Building step back along Expressways.

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111S.PeoriaisNOT”insubstantialcompliancewithunderlyingFAR(“floorarearatio”themeasurefordensity).111S.PeoriaDOESuseaPD(“planneddevelopment)“toup-zone”itssite.Thezoningrequestedtearsthe“fabric”of“thescaleoftheexistingbuilding(s).111S.Peoriaoffersluxurycondosnottypical“family-sizedunits.”