CHICAGO, September 8, 2026 – This fall season, high-stakes real estate developments are being considered at City Hall. The Department of Planning and Development has unveiled its final proposals to be deliberated during the Chicago Plan Commission hearing on September 17th, and it appears that there are many interesting proposals on the table that could change important areas in the city.
The hearings are set for 10:00 AM on the 11th floor of City Hall (Room 1103), and the proposals under consideration include major medical expansions, Fulton Market zoning changes, Lake View teardowns, and Northwest Side corridor planning.
Leading the charge is the proposed rezoning by Northwestern Memorial Hospital of 330 E. Erie Street to develop a large-scale expansion of approximately 1.2 million square feet of new hospital space. The healthcare giant is proposing to use the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund bonus offered by the City to raise its FAR from 12.0 to an astronomical 18.4. This will represent a massive increase in density for Streeterville, and one should expect block groups within the community to be closely watching how the traffic impact studies come out.
Meanwhile, in the Fulton Market District, a developer of 370 N. Morgan Street, along with other sites at Morgan and Carpenter Streets, is requesting to amend Residential Business Planned Development 1578. They are looking to change their light industry zoning to DX-7 mixed-use zoning. It is intriguing because their total FAR is being reduced from 11.2 to 10.02, limiting their FAR bonus in the process.
Further north in the 46th Ward, Wildwood Investments LLC is planning to demolish a three-story building located at 665 W. Sheridan Road to construct a 50-foot-tall, 20,450-square-foot residential building. Due to the building’s location near the lakefront, it needs Chicago Lakefront Protection Ordinance approval. On the other hand, Francis W. Parker School in Lincoln Park seeks the authority to construct a 53-foot educational building that will have a sports field lighting system and a pedestrian bridge over Webster Avenue.
On the Southwest Side at 5050 S. Kedzie Avenue, LXG Kedzie Retail LLC aims to develop drive-through retail stores. This project entails a 2,790-square-foot commercial building as well as a 1,650-square-foot building with a drive-through lane.
In addition to addressing individual rezoning requests, city planners are set to introduce the long-awaited Cicero Avenue Land Use Plan to be officially adopted. Extending along a two-and-three-quarter-mile section in the Northwest Side area, the plan is intended to transform the commercial strip into a safe and pedestrian-oriented district with new housing possibilities.
The draft proposals will be available online by September 14, before the September 17 vote.
