Plan Commission OKs Vista’s $448M trio of Fulton Market towers

Officials also approved Royal George Theater revamp, Blackhawks’ Fifth Third expansion

Plan Commission Approves Vista’s $448M Fulton Market Towers
From left: Vista Property's Hymie Mishan and Saul Sutton along with renderings of 370-401 North Morgan Street (Getty, Vista Property)

Vista Property Group is poised to deliver a massive multifamily development to Fulton Market that would be one of the largest the West Loop neighborhood has seen in years.

The Chicago Plan Commission approved a proposal that will allow Vista’s $448 million proposal to build 1,450 units spanning three towers at 370 North Morgan Street, 400 North Morgan and 401 North Morgan, the Chicago Tribune reported. 

Commissioners unanimously supported Vista’s project. However, Chicago Park District CEO Rosa Escareno is worried that the booming Fulton Market District is getting overtaken by too many apartments too fast, while mentioning the need for more parks and green space.

“I travel it almost every day, and it’s already a headache, so I think we need to be more thoughtful about that,” Escareno told the outlet.

To try to alleviate this concern, Jim Prendergast, design director for Gensler, which designed the Vista project, assured that the site would include 32,000 square feet of public space to open up the area’s narrow streets.

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The commission also approved residential redevelopments at Lincoln Park’s closed Royal George Theatre and a West Englewood school that’s been shuttered for a decade, among other projects. The city council still needs to approve the various developments.

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The Royal George Theatre, at 1649 North Halsted Street, will be replaced with an eight-story apartment building. And the vacant Earle Elementary School at 6121 South Hermitage Avenue will be converted into a 50-unit apartment complex, reserved for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, the outlet reported.

For the Englewood school conversion project, Developer Gorman & Co. will use a combination of low-income housing tax credits, historic tax credits and other housing grants to help fund the $30 million redevelopment, which neighborhood leader Asiaha Butler supports.

The plan commission also approved the expansion of the Chicago Blackhawks’ Fifth Third Arena practice facility and the Resurrection Project’s proposal for a $44 million, fully affordable housing development at 2134 South Ashland Avenue.

— Quinn Donoghue