Chicago's new mixed-use scheme, called Lincoln Yards, has been approved by the Chicago Plan Commission, reports Chicago Tribune. The  $6 billion project will transform a 55-acre land of riverfront in the city’s North Side.

Proposed and developed by real estate investment firm Sterling Bay, the new development will connect the riverfront sitting between two of the city’s most iconic neighborhoods: Lincoln Park and Bucktown.

Lincoln Yards project will include office, residential and hotel towers, restaurants, retail and entertainment units along Lincoln Park and Bucktown. Reportedly, the design scheme has faced with resistance by the neighborhood groups due to many concerns about building heights, density and the potential impact on traffic, public transportation, nearby businesses, schools and other resources.

However, the Plan Commission voted 10-0 for the scheme to move forward, while the developer still needs to follow additional steps to finalize zoning approval, including a full City Council vote.

Construction work for the first phase is set to begin, including two office towers and a shared parking structure just south of the already built C.H. Robinson office building along Webster soon after officially approved. The developer plans to open at least part of the largest planned park by 2020.

Sterling Bay is also waiting approval to build one residential tower reaching 650 feet, and two others tower up to 595 feet tall, provided in the documents at the meeting by the city’s planning department.

According to estimations, Lincoln Yards project is expected to create 10,000 construction jobs and more than 24,000 permanent jobs, putting an annual economic output of $4.5 billion.

The new plans will incorporate 1,200 affordable housing units on and off the Lincoln Yards site. It is reported that only 300 of those units are promised within the development. 

The developer will have to pay more than $39 million to the city to meet its obligation for another 25 percent, per the city’s affordable housing prerequisite.

The remaining 50 percent of the units will include some combination of additional on-site units, further in-lieu payments and off-site units within 3 miles of Lincoln Yards.

The recent plans will comprise an 11.2-acre park that can accommodate sports fields for youth and recreational areas. The revised version of plan increases the proposed park space to 21 acres total. The new scheme also proposes a number of residential units up to 6,000, from a previous 5,000, while promising to include some affordable units on-site.

All images courtesy of Sterling Bay

> via Chicago Tribune