The developers, Fern Hill, will be partnering with architect David Adjaye to transform a series of properties in Old Town including the vacant Treasure Island building. The project could include a new grocer, construction on a parking lot and the elimination of two gas stations.
During a virtual community meeting with Alderman Brian Hopkins, Nick Anderson, founder and president of Fern Hill shared updates on the project. The development would entail a few properties around 1600 N. LaSalle Drive.
The sites would include:
- The BP Gas Station at 1647 N. LaSalle Drive
- The Shell Gas Station at 130 W. North Avenue
- The Moody Church campus around 1635 N. LaSalle Drive
- The parking lot at North Avenue and LaSalle Drive
- The Walgreens at 1601 N. Wells Street
- The vacant Treasure Island retail space on Wells Street
Block Club Chicago states that Fern Hill owns both gas stations and the Treasure Island. Moody Church owns its campus and the surface parking lot, but has agreed to let Fern Hill build on the parking lot as part of the development.
Fern Hill is also in a tentative partnership with the Walgreens building owners that would transfer that lot's air rights to the parking lot which would allow a taller residential tower to be built there.
The plans show that Fern Hill has divided Old Town into the following two sections:
- The Old Town Historical District, spanning west of Wells Street
- The "cultural triangle" east of Wells Street
The cultural includes institutions like the Moody Church, Chicago History Museum and the Latin School of Chicago.
According to Anderson, Fern Hills developers want to overhaul the car dominated environment by making the area more walkable and removing the two gas stations.
"The gas stations pump roughly 2 million gallons of gas per year, and on average that's about a quarter-million vehicle trips just between these two locations. So, yes, traffic is added by this new development, but it's being subtracted by a quarter-million cars a year. Multiple parties are interested and we hope in sharing this vision with the grocers that they will understand they are becoming part of a much more world-class project that's not just back-filling a once-closed grocery store."
Founder & President of Fern Hill | Nick Anderson
Another plan of Fern Hill is to attract a world-class grocer back to the Treasure Island building and transform it with a more historically contextual facade and possible glass storefront.
In the historic triangle, Anderson wants to invite people who own buildings that are not landmarked but still architecturally significant to join his project by agreeing to transfer air rights to the parking lot construction.
Urbanize Chicago reports that after extensive community engagement, Fern Hill has identified eight common themes:
- Concern around increase of violent crime and theft
- Northern progression of the Wells street nightlife and bar scene
- Preserve and enhance the unique historical charm of Wells Street
- A walkable neighborhood grocery store
- Promote opportunities for community interaction
- Rethink vacant properties and disengaged storefronts
- A plan for organizing and managing growth
No formal plans have been drawn up yet, but Fern Hill hopes to be able to present them by the end of spring. The company is taking a new approach to the planned development process by including community members in on the conversation earlier than usual through two dozen meetings and a community engagement website where neighbors can review updates and comment their thoughts.