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Chicago

Lincoln Property secures final permits for controversial Uptown housing

Locals protested development, camping on site in tents, calling it a threat of gentrification

Lincoln Property's John Grissim and rendering of 4600 Marine Drive (Chicago Department of Planning & Development, Lincoln Property Company, Getty)
Lincoln Property's John Grissim and rendering of 4600 Marine Drive (Chicago Department of Planning & Development, Lincoln Property Company, Getty)

Lincoln Property Company endured protests as extreme as activists camping out in tents on a development site to win final approval for a 12-story project in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.

The city granted permits for a residential development at 4600 North Marine Drive, a site that currently serves as a surface parking lot for the nearby Weiss Hospital, Urbanize Chicago reported.

Developer Lincoln Property Company is teaming up with Valerio Dewalt Train Associates to design the 303-unit residential building, a plan that drew fierce criticism from local neighborhood residents who argued the site should have been turned into more affordable housing or perhaps used to expand the hospital.

Plans call for a 159-foot-tall structure with parking for 136 vehicles and 150 bikes within the podium. The apartments will range in size from studios up to two-bedroom units and will be offered as rentals.

Designs show a U-shaped building with a courtyard sitting on top of a two-story podium. The south-facing courtyard will hold an amenity roof deck.

Housing activists over the summer camped out in tents in the existing parking lot to protest the new development. Locals stayed on the site day and night in an attempt to stop construction from beginning in August, according to published reports.

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Despite Lincoln promising to pay $3.1 million to nonprofit Sarah’s Circle that will be put toward another Uptown housing development aimed at serving women facing homelessness, the residents felt the Weiss Hospital parking site itself should have been developed with a stronger focus on serving needy community residents. They said poor, elderly and homeless people have been pushed out of Uptown by rising costs of living in the area.

The development will also include eight affordable units — the minimum required.

Those protesting the new development said they want the property to be used to either expand the hospital or serve as needed housing for lower-income residents.

With the full building permit, general contractor Gilbane Building Company will complete the project.

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— Victoria Pruitt

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Lincoln Property CompanyNorth SideUptown