We first noticed signs on construction at 4054-64 Powelton Ave. back in August, prompting us to reach out to the owner of the property to ask what was happening. We weren't sure whether the home and warehouse on the property were simply getting renovated, or whether they'd perhaps get demolished in favor of some new student housing. Passing by in early September, we saw that the buildings had indeed been demolished, making the idea of student housing feel like a bit of a foregone conclusion.
Amazingly, just one day after sharing that we were wrong about student housing for a nearby project on Chestnut Street, we find ourselves having to admit that our instincts failed us again. According to the developer, Lions Investment Group, the demolition of these buildings will instead make way for the expansion of the surface parking lot around the corner on 41st Street from 80 spaces to 120 spaces. This parking lot was created a few years ago to service the 2.0 University Place building at 41st & Powelton, and the expansion of the parking lot is taking place with the upcoming construction of 3.0 University Place at 41st & Market in mind.
We told you a year ago about this project, which will rise six stories and will contain 189K sqft of leasable space. Like its predecessor, it will come precertified LEED Platinum, with a collection of green elements. According to the developers, construction will get started as soon as they ink an anchor tenant.
On the one hand, the loss of the buildings on Powelton Street in favor of surface parking is a bit of a bummer, as we've expressed time and again how we feel about such a use for land in the city. The owners of the property totally get this, and are already thinking toward the redevelopment of the property in the future, after the construction of 3.0 University Place. That project, while still in the planning stages, could involve retail, apartments, and a "state of the art modular parking facility." All of this sounds great, and with that future project in mind we can handle a surface lot as a placeholder for the time being.
Now, who wants to lease space at 3.0 University Place? We wanna see this thing get built asap.