A rotten tooth in the Fulton River District is finally going to be extracted.
Yesterday, the Chicago Plan Commission approved the construction of 500 North Milwaukee, a two-building complex of residential and retail that will rise on the northwest corner of the intersection of Milwaukee, Grand, and Halsted.
Right now, it’s the location of a derelict restaurant supply store that burned years ago, and has never been brought back to life. Since then, it’s been the home of graffiti, squatters, vagrants, and more rats than an FBI witness protection convention.
The developer, Urban Form Investments, has been given city approval to put a four-story building on the corner, and a 14-story building behind it, just across North Green Street. The Pappageorge/Haymes-designed project includes 227 residences over 16,000 square feet of street-level retail. There will also be a 113-space parking garage.
Increased setbacks mean it’s possible for there to be a change in the design of the busy corner, and opens the possibility that the CTA will have more space on the sidewalk for its Blue Line subway entrance, could have room to install an elevator, and perhaps an enhanced bus stop for the busy intersection.