According to Curbed Chicago, 42nd Ward Alderman, Brendan Reilly and the River North Residents Association held a community meeting to unveil the revised plans featuring a 38 story tower located at the southwest corner of Grand Avenue and Orleans Street. This was the site of the former Clark and Barlow Hardware Store. The architect for this plan has been changed from Pappageorge Haymes Partners to Brininstool & Lynch. The new structure tops out at 452 feet and includes 354 residential units and 284 parking spaces for tenant use only. The ground floor will have 11,000 square feet of retail space and a new pocket park fronting Orleans at the eastern edge of the site.
The surrounding community has also provided feedback on integrating some improvements such as making the tower more narrow and pushing it to the west end of the parcel to provide more air and light to the Sexton Lofts just south of it. The distance between the two buildings was also extended from 10 to 28 feet.
The development will have an exterior of glass, metal panels and cladding material referred to as Okoskin. This material was also used on other Brininstool & Lynch projects such as 710 W. Grand and 1355 N. Sedgwick. The tower has been designed to simulate the loft style that the area is known for but lighter materials have been chosen for a more contemporary look. Fritted glass will be on the exterior walls. These are panes with ceramic patterns baked into the back side which will screen its six levels of parking and give the garage the appearance of residential units.
Onni Group, who bought the site, will be choosing between two options for affordable housing - whether to build 35 new units within two miles of this side or to provide nine onsite units and offer $4.6 million to Chicago's Affordable Housing Fund. 353 W. Grand could open in about two and a half to three years from now if approved. The Onni Group is currently working on Old Town Park which is the multi-tower redevelopment on the near North Side of the old Atrium Village complex.
Per BisNow, Vancouver based Onni Group obtained the site at 353 West Grand in June of 2015. The firm's first plans in September 2015 were halted because the original tower's design blocked Sexton Loft's views and cut into a neighboring alley.
According to Curbed Chicago, surging demand and a profusion of developable sites has induced a lot of investment in the Chicago area. Onni Group has made a significant commitment to this area and is presently involved in three projects in and near downtown and River North. Onni's Brian Brodeur said "We've had great success in Vancouver and Toronto, but the markets there were getting crowded." "We then saw an opportunity to come down to Chicago and invest in great sites at a great price."
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