No New Supertall In River North: Ald. Reilly To Symmetry Property Development
A JV led by Symmetry Property Group wants to build a 60-story mixed-use tower at the northeast corner of Wabash Avenue and Superior Street in River North. But the plan does not have the support of 42nd Ward Ald. Brendan Reilly, Crain's Chicago Business reports. So it is back to the drawing board for Symmetry and its partners, Golub and Fordham Real Estate.
The Symmetry-led JV paid $3M for the site in 2015 and announced plans to build a 36-story tower housing 154 luxury apartments and a 140-room Tryp Hotel by Windham. Those plans expanded just a bit: at a community meeting last month, Symmetry unveiled renderings for a 60-story tower with 246 condos, 216 hotel rooms and 120 timeshare units. It would be the tallest building built in River North in a decade and require a zoning change and Reilly's blessing.
The alderman, whose ward includes River North and the Michigan Avenue shopping district, said the size of the project made it a non-starter because of negative neighborhood feedback, and the expected curbside traffic from taxis and delivery services would add to an already overcongested part of the neighborhood. Reilly suggested Symmetry consider focusing on one asset class. This site is a couple blocks east of the Holy Name Cathedral parking lots, which JDL Development agreed to buy in a $110M deal last week. That site is in the 2nd Ward.
