Georgetown Company’s Clybourn Redevelopment to Plan Commission

A Chicago alderman is leaving a New York developer up in the air as it seeks approval from the city’s Plan Commission for a commercial-to-residential redevelopment on the North Side.

The Georgetown Company is due to submit its plans to the commission on July 18, a next step in its hopes of replacing a bank branch with a 37-story apartment tower at 1565 North Clybourn Avenue, CoStar reported.

The development, which calls for 396 units, would be among the few towers in the Clybourn corridor. A former Bank of America branch would be demolished to accommodate the project. A two-story retail building and a four-story parking garage would be preserved, according to filings.

Georgetown, which paid $64 million for the property in 2015, has not spelled out costs for the project.

An approval from city planners is necessary before the project would go to the Chicago City Council for a final okay.

Alderman Brian Hopkins, who represents the area as part of the 2nd Ward, has not weighed in on Georgetown’s proposal.

Members of the Chicago City Council are known to extend “aldermanic privilege” to one another, essentially giving each member veto power over project approvals in their respective districts.

Hopkins held a community meeting where Georgetown representatives provided details of their plan in December.

Since then, CRM Properties has proposed a taller residential tower development with 500 apartments a few blocks away, on Clybourn Place. That project would proceed as a redevelopment of an existing retail property that has lost the original location of the Goose Island Beer brewpub, along with two national retailers.

The plans for the tower hold the potential to hike the skyline in a section of the North Side that’s not far from single-family residents in Lincoln Park and Old Town.