WEST LOOP — A Chicago developer is now pitching plans to develop more than 600 apartments at the former H2O Plus site in the West Loop.
The John Buck Co. plans to build 620 apartments in four buildings on the block-long site bound by Madison, Green, Monroe and Peoria streets. The four towers would range in height from 13 stories to 17 stories, according to renderings obtained by DNAinfo Chicago.
Plans also call for 310 parking spaces and 45,000 square feet of open space on site with a pool, according to sources familiar with the project. Under the plan, about 14 of the 620 units developed would be duplexes.
Through a spokesman, John Buck Co. declined to comment on the project.
Under plans, the four residential towers on the former H2O Plus site would range in height from 13 stories to 17 stories. [Supplied photo]
The developer has already pitched the new proposal to the West Loop Community Organization and the Central Association, officials confirmed. On Wednesday, Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) said a community meeting on the project would be planned in the coming months.
Burnett said the developer might face an "uphill battle" with neighbors who worked tirelessly to oppose the nearby 111 S. Peoria St. project. Despite their efforts, the scaled-back residential building was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission in March.
"I let them know some of the challenges they may have in moving it," Burnett said. "We will see what the community says."
A rendering shows what the project would look like from Madison Street looking east. [Supplied photo]
The developer would seek a zoning change and aim to demolish the existing building on the site. The 845 W. Madison St. site is located near Mary Bartelme Park and across the street from Merit School of Music and Mariano's.
The John Buck Co. agreed to buy the property for $20 million in 2014, according to Crain's.
An earlier proposal called for 550 units to be developed at the site with 10,000 square feet of retail, according to the developer's website.
H2O Plus in July 2015 announced plans to move its headquarters to San Francisco and close the West Loop location. Earlier this year, H2O sought a new tenant to sublease the two-story property. A Realtor representing H2O declined to confirm the length of the lease.
Looking northeast, the proposed 845 W. Madison development would neighbor Merit School of Music and Mariano's. [Supplied photo]
A rendering shows the development's proposed entrance on West Madison Street. [Supplied photo]
The H2O Plus building at 845 W. Madison St. in the West Loop. [DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]
