When the residential tower at 1200 North Clark known as The Sinclair went up four years ago, people were dazzled by its size, scope, and the fact that combined with other regenerative projects in the area, it was going to transform a semi-gritty corner of Chicago. But what most people didn’t notice in all the hullabaloo is that The Sinclair plan came with a little buddy across the street at 1201 North Clark. That project is under construction now.
Joe Zekas from YoChicago! shot the photograph above from the roof of Old Town Park II. It shows steel work progressing on 1201 North Clark.
Before Jewel-Osco and Fifield put up The Sinclair, 1201 was an unremarkable four-story building known for itinerant storefronts and not much else. It’s where we got a motion-sensitive scream box from one of those Halloween pop-up stores. And where we met the woman responsible for Starbucks’ uncomfortable furniture, which seems designed to keep people from spending time inside the cafes. When we brought it up, she didn’t seem to understand the issue; perhaps because she was tiny and perching on spindly-legged stools wasn’t a problem for her. But that’s a rant for another time.
Instead of being replaced, 1201 is getting a four-story vertical extension, just the latest Chicago building to gain height long after it was completed.
The maximum height permitted for this property is now 125 feet with the extension. It is allowed to have a maximum of 98 residences above the ground floor retail space.
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January 2015 diagram of the plans for 1201 North Clark -
January 2015 diagram of the plans for 1201 North Clark -
January 2015 diagram of the plans for 1201 North Clark -
January 2015 diagram of the plans for 1201 North Clark -
January 2015 diagram of the plans for 1201 North Clark
Location: 1201 North Clark Street, Gold Coast
Editor founded the Chicago Architecture Blog in 2003, after a long career in journalism. He can be reached at chicagoarchitectureinfo@gmail.com.
