Amended Planned Development Approved by Chicago Plan Commission

An Amendment to the Planned Development No. 89 that includes the parcels involved in the Fern Hill proposed Old Town project was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission on Thursday, February 20.  Second Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins gave support for the plan. Videos of meetings are typically posted on the City of Chicago site HERE. 

Alderman Hopkins pulled the Fern Hill Project from the Tuesday March 11 agenda of the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards meeting.  The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday April 15.

Old Town Merchants and Residents Association (OTMRA) conducted a survey of our membership and expressed the concerns and desired changes that were voiced by our constituents in a letter to Alderman Hopkins on October 22, 2024. The OTMRA publicly took a position of non-support for the Fern Hill proposed development the week of January 22.

On February 7, Old Town Merchants and Residents Association had announced support for the compromise plan that had already been approved by Alderman Hopkins earlier that week , but subject to a list of conditions.   

The conditions have not been agreed to and codified with the Developer, and OTMRA gave a public statement at the February 20 Plan Commission meeting that OTMRA was thus not currently in support of the project.

The conditions OTMRA has requested include:

• No short-term rentals under 6 months, including, but not limited to Airbnb, Vrbo, etc.

• No balconies

• No construction on Saturday and Sunday

• All rideshare, deliveries (food or others), moving trucks, etc. only allowed inside the Motor Court off LaSalle. None will be allowed on North Avenue

• Parking spaces in the garage are not allowed to be used for short-term parking other than for Moody Church services and previously approved users. No parking will be allowed to the general public by SpotHero, ParkWhiz, etc.

• The developer and 1600 N LaSalle building management must support and partner with the community and local businesses.

• The establishment of a panel, composed of community representatives (including an OTMRA representative), that meets quarterly (more frequently if needed) to work with the developer and the Alderman’s office to mitigate impact on the community during construction and at regular intervals for 5 years after construction to address building operations or policies that might disrupt the neighborhood.

• Developer funding for a community-wide initiative that benefits the entire community such as rat sterilization/rat abatement beyond that at the site of the immediate building.

OTMRA also feels it is crucial that the building windows are bird-safe (per the 2024 resolution sponsored by Alderman Hopkins)  and that there is proactive ice mitigation to keep the sidewalks below safe to pedistrians

We will continue conversations with the developer and Alderman Hopkins office, and are hopeful that we can come to a binding agreement on these conditions before the project is considered by the City of Chicago Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards, which meets monthly.  

OTMRA sees our role as pragmatically working to advocate for community benefits and investment, preserve the history & uniqueness of Old Town, and help mitigate issues including traffic and construction-associated disruption.

 

More information below on activities that occurred the year before OTMRA taking a position:

Fern Hill has proposed a “Planned Development” on the northside of North Avenue between North Park and Clark Street. The Planned Development would permanently change the zoning of three sub-parcels of land: the Piper’s Alley parcel, the Walgreens and parking lot parcel and the Moody Church and gas stations parcel.

A tower of up to 480 feet (approx. 43 stories) was proposed for the parcel north of North Ave between Wells and LaSalle. The planned development application shows 500 residential units (100 that will be affordable), 20,000 square feet of retail use on the ground and first floors, 450 accessory parking spaces, bicycle parking spaces, together with accessory and incidental use.

Fern Hill filed their planned development application in early 2024. This filing enabled further review by city departments.

The Piper’s Alley parcel is currently zoned for commercial use only and the density of the structure on the land is limited to “F.A.R. 2.3”, which basically limits the building height to its existing height. Under the Planned Development, the Piper’s Alley parcel would be zoned for mixed commercial and residential use. The newly submitted plan shows “0” residential units for this parcel. The Planned Development Application submitted to the City can be found HERE.

Alderman Hopkins and the Old Town Merchants & Residents Association held a community meeting at the Latin School Auditorium on May 7. CLICK HERE for a recording of that meeting.

CDOT did not attend the meeting and results of a traffic study have not been released. Alderman Hopkins assured attendees that he would not be taking a position before this study is released and there is an additional community meeting.

The OTMRA focus is on asking questions and getting answers. We take the prospect of a development of this size very seriously and want what is best for the community long-term.

OTMRA conducted a survey of our membership intended to find out how OTMRA members feel about the proposed Fern Hill Development, what factors influence their opinions, and what factors could change their opinions.

OTMRA summarized the top concerns / desired changes that OTMRA Staff, Zoning and Government Relations, and the OTMRA board has heard from our constituents from this survey and during many conversations and interactions in a letter to Second Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins on Oct 22, 2024. Click HERE to see this letter.

On Thursday, Dec 5, Fern Hill hosted a community meeting to present their traffic study and proposed infrastructure updates.

On Thursday Jan 9, Alderman Hopkins 2nd Ward office hosted a community meeting, co-hosted by Old Town Merchants & Residents Association and Old Town Triangle Association to review the proposed project, traffic mitigation OTMRA, and proposed infrastructure updates and to address questions from the community. CDOT participated in this meeting.

On Wed Jan 22, the OTMRA Zoning Committee met with Alderman Hopkins and informed him that the Zoning committee was not in support of the current proposal. OTMRA is not in support of the development as proposed.

On Thursday, January 23, Alderman Brian Hopkins announced that he will not be supporting the most recently presented development proposal and is awaiting a possible compromise proposal.

On Monday February 3, Alderman Hopkins announced his support for a compromise proposal that decreased the unit count to from 500 to 349 units, decreased the parking spaces from 450 to 339, includes a written commitment to find a grocery store to move into the vacant Treasure Island space (with the exception of Walgreens occupancy during construction), and has a higher proportion of larger, family-sized units.”

On Friday February 7, Old Town Merchants and Residents Association announced support for the compromise plan that had already been approved by Alderman Hopkins, but subject to a list of conditions.