Developer Steven Fifield disclosed the layout Thursday of his planned residential complex on old railroad land northwest of downtown, promising "an identifiable new community that will provide city residents with a sense of arrival and belonging."
Named K Station, the project will include about 2,000 apartments in five high-rises. Fifield said it will take five to seven years to complete.
The site is bordered by Kinzie, Clinton, Halsted and railroad tracks immediately north of Wayman. The eight-acre project will include a new city park and a Jewel Food Store at the southwest corner of Kinzie and Des Plaines.
City planning officials already have approved broad terms of the project. Fifield's announcement showed how he and his architects want to arrange the buildings around parks and landscaped decks.
He praised city officials for their work on the project. Underground, the CTA's Blue Line tunnel and the Kennedy Expy. portion that forms Hubbard's Cave crisscross the site. City officials also wanted certain land set aside for public transit improvements.
Plans call for units to be rentals, but that could change with market conditions. For now, Fifield said he's content marketing to people who don't want the commitment of condo ownership.
"And with job growth expected to continue, we should see a lot of interest in K Station by corporate renters and transferees seeking a high-end residence," he said.
The first building, designed by Pappageorge/Haymes Architects, will be a 39-story, 350-unit tower southeast of Kinzie and Des Plaines, across Des Plaines from the Jewel. Construction started in the fall and completion is expected in summer 2008.
Construction of the Jewel is scheduled to start this spring.
Fifield has been a major investor in the West Loop, bringing office and residential space to that market.
