A national residential developer has proposed constructing a 668-foot, mixed-use tower on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. AMLI Residential envisions a 56-story building with 498 units replacing the property best known as the home of Nike Chicago, the brand’s flagship store at 669 N. Michigan Ave., according to a Friday newsletter from Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd.
AMLI still needs to win approvals from city planners, City Council and Streeterville residents before it can break ground. It would be the first new skyscraper built in years on the Magnificent Mile, and could provide a much-needed shot in the arm for the well-known shopping district, which has suffered from a high retail vacancy rate.
“A new beautiful building like this will further reinforce the reputation of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile as a tremendous street in the retail world,” said John Vance, a principal of Stone Real Estate.
It could also help transform the Magnificent Mile into more of a residential neighborhood, boosting foot traffic and increasing the demand for retail. Other planned residential developments include 500 N. Michigan Ave., a 58-year-old office tower that developer Commonwealth Development Partners will early next year begin gutting and rebuilding into more than 300 new apartments.
“As a retail broker, I like to have some offices nearby, because that increases foot traffic, especially around lunchtime,” Vance said, but hundreds of new residents will be even better. “When it’s a residential project, that means a typical shopper will be shopping throughout the workday, including the evenings, and especially on the weekends when she has time to enjoy the experience.”
AMLI’s mostly glass-and-metal tower would provide 199 parking spaces with a garage entrance on Erie Street. The developer would also include 50 affordable units to meet its obligations under Chicago’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance, and pay additional fees to the city’s Affordable Housing Fund.
A London-based investor bought the existing property, including Nike’s five-story outlet, for $295 million in 2015. It’s not certain whether Nike will stay and anchor the two-level, 27,000-square-foot retail space proposed by AMLI for 669 N. Michigan Ave., or move elsewhere.
AMLI Residential did not return a call seeking comment. Reilly said in Friday’s newsletter that he is still seeking community feedback.
Many Streeterville residents support the idea of building a residential skyscraper on the Magnificent Mile, but still have concerns about possible traffic congestion, said Deborah Gershbein, president of Streeterville Organization of Active Residents.
“We like to see positive things happening on Michigan Avenue and in the neighborhood,” Gershbein said. “We just want to make sure people can get through the neighborhood.”
Gershbein said residents have met with the developer and Reilly about the proposed tower, and AMLI agreed to several requested changes, including making the parking garage facade more attractive. But traffic can already get heavy near the site of AMLI’s proposed tower, and Northwestern Memorial Hospital plans to construct a 1.2 million square foot hospital and clinic building on a vacant lot just to the east.
“Having two major projects going on at the same time means this has to be handled carefully,” she said. “It would just add to the congestion, so we’re looking for ways to alleviate the problem. Essentially, we’re positive about the project, but there are just a few tweaks we’d like to see. Michigan Avenue needs a lot of tender-loving care at this point.”
