Facts of the “original “New York” Residential Planned Development (3660 Lake Shore Drive)

The original New York development (AKA Residential Planned Development No. 266) was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission and the Chicago City Council in 1981. RPD 266 allowed two 48 story towers and a total of 1,200+ rental units.

The first tower (and parking garage) was built by the original developer in mid-1980s as rental housing. This building has become known as the New York at 3660 N. Lake Shore Drive.

Facts of the new Residential Planned Development

The new RPD does not include the original building (3660 N. Lake Shore Drive). It includes all of the currently vacant land to the east of 3660 N. Lake Shore Drive.

A 28-story building with 212 apartments and 16 town homes and 201 parking spaces are in this new plan. The addresses for this RPD are 3638-58 & 3662-64 N. Lake Shore Drive.

This development is also governed by a collateral agreement that is recorded on the property. Click here to view a PDF of the collateral agreement as filed.

History of Lawsuit & Negotiated Settlement

In 2000, multiple properties in the southeast corner of the 46th Ward were rezoned to reduce the permitted density for any new development. This included property at 3660 N Lake Shore Drive, which is commonly known as the New York building, and includes its garage, driveway and front lawn. The new zoning allows for the construction of an additional approximate 20,000 square feet on the vacant land in front of the New York building and garage. The original zoning on this land was a planned development, which allowed the construction of a second 48-story building of 600 units (600,000 square feet) and half as many parking spaces.

After acquiring this entire property, American Invsco filed a lawsuit against the City to contest the reasonableness of the zoning classification that would permit development of only 20,000 square feet on the vacant parcel. For a variety of reasons, Invsco sought to settle this suit through a compromise. The City's Law Department believed such a settlement was worth exploring.

Alderman Shiller felt that first area residents must decide whether or not they wanted to pursue a compromise. To that end, Alderman Shiller convened a community-wide meeting to discuss the benefits and negative aspects of pursuing a negotiated compromise.

Alderman Shiller was clear from the beginning that she wanted consensus. In order for any compromise to go forward, it would have to be approved by residents of each of the buildings in the immediate area around the vacant parcel. If a consensus could not be reached, then the City of Chicago would litigate the lawsuit in court and be bound by the judge's decision.

To that end, Alderman Shiller convened a group of building representatives from each of the neighboring buildings. She asked that in addition to representing the interests of people living in their particular building, building representatives consider the broader implications on the community of any development on the vacant land (traffic, parking, wind effects, etc.).

For over a year, the building representatives met regularly with their building neighbors and with Invsco, City of Chicago attorneys and planners, and Alderman Shiller. Following many meetings, information sharing and negotiations on potential options, the building representatives met with their building neighbors and ultimately agreed that if the choice were made to negotiate, our goal would be to reach consensus and move forward on a principle of "shared pain."

The building representatives worked with a planner and architect to draft a proposal that reflected the concept of shared pain so that no single building fared better or worse than any neighboring properties. The representatives also sought a plan that would significantly reduce the size and density of Invsco's preferred development for the site while still affording Invsco reasonable development rights to make the project economically feasible. One this proposal was drafted and each building's representatives had an opportunity to view and ratify the plan, the proposal was presented to American Invsco. American Invsco's architect then took the proposal, made some minor changes and submitted the revised proposal to the building representatives for approval. This proposal was posted on Alderman Shiller's website and several community meetings were held so that area residents could ask questions and comment on the proposal.

A final proposal was presented to a general community meeting and two of the larger neighboring buildings. After fourteen months of these negotiations, all parties have agreed to a compromise settlement in principle.

On January 20, 2005, attorneys for both sides appeared in court and informed the judge that a compromise had been agreed to in principle.

On March 16, 2006, the Chicago Plan Commission approved a revised Planned Development that includes a detailed description of exactly what can be built.

On June 28, 2006, the Chicago City Council approved the Planned Development ____ (3638-58 & 3662-64 N. Lake Shore Drive.)

Click here to view a PDF including: Map of Vicinity of the Site, Site/Landscape Plan, Existing Zoning Map, Existing Land Use Map, Typical Floor Plan, Additional Floor Plans, and Elevations.

Click here to view a PDF including: Map of the Vicinity of the Site, Map of Existing Site, Proposed Site Plan, Ground Floor Plan, Typical Upper Floor Plan, Typical Floor Plan, Penthouse Floor Plan, and Building Section.