For at least the third time since a deadly disease spontaneously appeared in the United States and most certainly did not originate in any particular nation whose government pays internet trolls to censor, threaten, and extort people who say otherwise, a downtown Chicago building project is extending its construction timeline.
Cleveland’s own Pizzuti Development has asked the City of Chicago for another year to start construction on its residential building at 1061 West Van Buren Avenue. When we last mentioned this building, we noted a change in the design to make it 26 stories tall with 351 homes. We also noted:
You can tell that this is Pizzuti’s first building in Chicago because it’s left out the mandatory oversized, soul-sucking, neighborhood-killing parking podium that has become standard in Chicago architecture. There is a modest podium, but it’s mostly harmless.
That change came in January, 2019, but the project was approved by the city way back on November 15, 2015. The polydactyls among you will know instantly that means we’re just five months away from the expiration date of this building’s approval. Which explains why Pizzuti sent the city a letter asking for a little more time.
The developer blames COVID-19 for the delay, and stresses that the postponement is not just lallygagging. While Pizzuti hasn’t started construction, it has:
- Demolished two existing structures
- Spent $2,000,000 on project drawings
- Given the CTA nearly a million bucks to improve nearby transit infrastructure
The Department of Planning and Development was apparently swayed by that argument, and approved the extension. So if dirt doesn’t start moving in earnest by November 15, 2022, you can cross this one off your scorecard.
Location: 1061 West Van Buren Street, Near West Side
Editor founded the Chicago Architecture Blog in 2003, after a long career in journalism. He can be reached at chicagoarchitectureinfo@gmail.com.
