ZSD Lands Full Permit for 149-Unit River North Rental

Another surface parking lot in River North is officially on the clock.

A full building permit has been issued for ZSD’s mixed-use development at 310 West Huron Street, paving the way for construction to begin on a 149-unit residential project with ground-floor retail. The site, which stretches along Huron Street from Franklin Street to Orleans Street, is currently occupied by a parking lot — a fading but still familiar sight in one of downtown Chicago’s most built-out neighborhoods, Urbanize Chicago reported.

With caisson and foundation permits already in hand, the final approval allows ZSD, described as a boutique real estate developer on its website, to build the project from top to bottom. ZSD, led by Zev Salomon, bought the parcel for $9 million in April, acquiring it from North Wells Capital, which paid nearly double that price in 2019 and had once pitched a 24-story office building for the site.

Construction is expected to kick off imminently, with completion targeted for 2027.

The building will occupy nearly the entire site, broken only by a narrow strip of green space along North Orleans Street and a small portion of the western edge carved off into a separate parcel. Urbanize reported that the massing is a clean rectangle, articulated with a mix of facade treatments intended to break down its scale. Plans call for black and dark gray standing-seam siding, random-pattern box rib metal panels and brick cladding at the first two floors, including at the main entry and along the ground-floor residential units.

Street-level tenants will be concentrated along Franklin and Huron. Two retail spaces will anchor the corner, while the residential entry sits just west of the storefronts. Inside, residents will access a lobby, management office, package and mail rooms and bike storage.

The western end of the ground floor is reserved for 11 duplex units, a design choice that brings a more townhouse-like feel to the block. Those units will feature recessed private terraces facing both the street and the alley, buffered from pedestrians by screening and planters rather than blank walls.

The 149 apartments skew toward smaller layouts, reflecting both River North demand and current financing realities. The mix includes 48 studios and 78 one-bedrooms, alongside 12 two-bedrooms. The duplex inventory adds seven one-bedroom and four two-bedroom units.

Amenities are stacked at the top of the building, where residents will have access to an indoor lounge, private gathering space, coworking area and fitness center. An outdoor roof deck rounds out the package with lounge seating, fire pits and grilling areas.

— Eric Weilbacher