“Success follows those adept at preserving the substance of the past by clothing it in the forms of the future.” – Dee Hock
The West Loop has grown from its gritty past to become an economic driver for the City of Chicago. Revenues collected from development fees, property taxes, and the commerce that takes place in the neighborhood leads to prosperity for all Chicagoans. The recommendations defined in this document will help to nurture prosperity for both the city and the West Loop, while preserving the neighborhood’s history as it progresses further into the 21st Century.
As demonstrated in the numerous references to other organizations and studies, implementation of these improvements will require cooperation and coordination amongst City government (including the Department of Planning & Development, the Department of Transportation, the Chicago Police Department, the Chicago Park District, and the Mayor’s Office), the West Loop Community Organization, the West Central Association, park advisory councils, and other resident and business groups.
Neighbors of West Loop will use this plan as a guidance for the comments that we provide to developers on their projects, the positions that we take in letters to local aldermen about development, and the neighborhood improvements for which we advocate at every opportunity. We will take these steps to achieve the vision contained herein:
To preserve and enhance the high quality of life for residents and neighbors of the West Loop, allowing the neighborhood to remain a desirable place for residents to live, work, and play for decades to come.
From this page we will track progress on each of the identified recommendations. Please forward any updates that you can provide on each and all of the following:
| No. | Recommenation | Status |
| Development & Land Use Recommendations | ||
| 1.1 | Design guidelines set forth in the Jackson Boulevard Historic District, Fulton Market Landmark District, and West Loop Design Guidelines efforts should be observed, with any exceptions requiring approval by the community. In particular: | In progress |
| o Preserve and integrate existing historic buildings | In progress | |
| o Preserve and enhance street walls | In progress | |
| o Provide buffering of parking decks | In progress | |
| o Provide setbacks for taller structures | In progress | |
| Use a stepped approach for building height (see 1.3 below) | In progress | |
| 1.2 | All new developments that require a zoning change should be designated as Type 1 to require that any future proposed changes be brought to the community for evaluation. | In progress |
| 1.3 | Consistent with the Near West Side Area Land Use Plan, heights for new buildings should be consistent with – i.e., no more than 25% taller in height than – existing (pre-2015) structures within one (1) block. | In progress |
| 1.4 | High-rise buildings (150+ ft in height) should be limited to areas along the expressways (east of Halsted and south of Van Buren), along the railroad tracks in Fulton Market (between Wayman/Carroll and Kinzie), and east of the freeway in the 42nd Ward. Setbacks should be used to limit the imposition of taller structures along these routes. | In progress |
| 1.5 | West of Halsted, taller buildings (120-150 ft in height) should be confined to wider thoroughfares, specifically Halsted, Ashland, Ogden, Washington, Randolph, and Lake Streets. Setbacks should be used to limit the imposition of taller structures on these routes. | In progress |
| 1.6 | Retail spaces that cater to neighborhood residents should be provided on the ground level of new developments. Sidewalks around new buildings should be at least 8 feet wide. | In progress |
| 1.7 | Developers should observe the architectural style of historic West Loop structures while introducing new design elements to create a unique style for the future of the neighborhood. | In progress |
| 1.8 | Developers should provide alleyways that are at least 18 feet wide, consistent with City requirements. | In progress |
| 1.9 | New structures should seek LEED certification and apply green technologies. | In progress |
| 1.10 | New developments should meet City requirements for affordable housing on-site. | In progress |
| 1.11 | Developments should include open space for public use, public art installations, and other elements that create a safer and inviting space around the building (see 4.4 and 5.1.d below). | In progress |
| 1.12 | New residential buildings should provide a parking space-to-unit ratio of at least 0.65:1 for apartment buildings and 1.0:1 for condominiums (values based on observed residential parking rates in West Loop buildings.). Any buildings with parking levels below these values should be exempt from the future permit parking program (see 3.8 below). | In progress |
| 1.13 | Buildings should provide off-street drop-off areas while preserving sidewalk width to account for taxi and transportation network company (TNC, e.g., Uber) use. | In progress |
| 1.14 | Above-ground parking should be applied against building floor area ratio (FAR) to encourage underground parking. | In progress |
| 1.15 | The community should continue to play a role in the assignment of Neighborhood Opportunity Bonus funds through an open process. | In progress |
| Traffic Recommendations | ||
| 2.1 | A neighborhood-wide traffic study is needed to highlight problem areas and recommend capacity, traffic control, and traffic signal timing improvements. Ideally this would include a traffic model for the area that could be updated as new development projects are proposed so their true macroscopic impact can be determined, as opposed to localized traffic studies that do not consider cumulative effects. | In progress |
| 2.2 | Improvements to the safety of pedestrian facilities should be provided near parks, schools freeway access points, and along routes that see high vehicular and foot traffic, especially Madison, Washington, Randolph, Lake, and Ogden Streets. This should include measures that promote pedestrian and cyclist safety, such as corner bump-outs on Madison as proposed in the West Loop Design Guidelines. | In progress |
| 2.3 | As proposed in WCA’s parking and land use plan, residents support the idea of a Metra stop near Ashland Avenue and want shuttle buses to operate between Union and Ogilvie stations to support the increasing number of commuters headed to West Loop employment centers like Google and McDonald’s. | In progress |
| 2.4 | The following transit improvement recommendations are intended to manage commuters headed from the West Loop to the central business district: | In progress |
| a. Increased CTA bus and train service on the #20 Madison and #126 Jackson lines | In progress | |
| b. Reintroduction of the X20 express bus on Washington. | In progress | |
| c. A new north-south bus route within the West Loop that provides a connection to the Morgan L station. | In progress | |
| d. Extension of the Morgan L stop platforms | In progress | |
| e. All bus stops should have shelters where space is available (new development projects should account for this concept) | In progress | |
| 2.5 | One or more contiguous bike lanes be installed to/from the West Loop to those on Washington (inbound) and Randolph (outbound) are recommended. Lake Street is not a desired bike lane route. | In progress |
| Parking Recommendations | ||
| 3.1 | Expand the resident permit parking program geographically, initially to those routes highlighted in gold in Figure 14 and then to remaining West Loop residential streets that currently have free parking. | In progress |
| 3.2 | The program should include the ability for residents to obtain temporary guest parking permits. | In progress |
| 3.3 | Wherever the program is applied near businesses, the City should allow the businesses to obtain parking permits. | In progress |
| 3.4 | The City should diligently enforce the resident permit parking program and consider extending it to the hours of 4 to 6 pm (in addition to the proposed 7-9 am timeframe) to preserve parking capacity for residents on their evening commutes. | In progress |
| 3.5 | Loading zones should be provided for businesses that have frequent drop-offs/pick-ups, e.g., along Green Street north of Washington. | In progress |
| 3.6 | Private parking lots should be invited to offer shared parking, whereby commuters to the West Loop can pay to park during working hours and residents and West Loop visitors and valet services can reserve the parking spaces in the evenings, overnight, and on weekends. | In progress |
| 3.7 | Additional consideration should be made to provide parking for suburban commuters displaced by the West Loop resident permit parking program, e.g., United Center parking lots and business- or building-funded shuttles. | In progress |
| 3.8 | Developers of Transit Orient Developments (TOD) should sign an agreement similar to other neighborhoods where their residents will not be able to participate in permit parking (see 1.12 above). Residents from TOD developments may still purchase visitor permit parking stickers. | In progress |
| Infrastructure Recommendations | ||
| 4.1 | Infrastructure repairs should be made in a more timely fashion, commensurate with other areas that are classified as downtown zoning districts. This includes broken sidewalks and ADA pedestrian crossing pads that create a safety hazard. | In progress |
| 4.2 | West Loop residents want more infrastructure amenities like trash/recycling cans (e.g., solar powered) on street corners at the same density as other areas zoned as “downtown”. | In progress |
| 4.3 | Street lighting should be improved in poorly-lit areas both by the City and by developers through the installation of exterior lighting on their buildings, e.g., near Skinner West Elementary, along Lake Street (see 6.3 below). | In progress |
| 4.4 | Public art projects should be encouraged (see 1.11 above). | In progress |
| 4.5 | The City should provide more consistent upkeep and more regular planting and trimming of trees. | In progress |
| 4.6 | Residents in the West Loop are divided on the draft West Loop Design Guidelines recommendation to remove planters along Madison Street. Existing planter installations should be removed near intersections to support corner pedestrian bump-outs but retained in mid-block locations to optimize safety, roadway capacity, and aesthetics. | In progress |
| Parks & Green Space Recommendations | ||
| 5.1 | Develop a strategic plan to address the West Loop’s green space deficit. | In progress |
| a. Develop a holistic strategic plan to address the deficit of public green/open space in the West Loop especially in the subareas of Fulton Market, West Loop Gate, and Fulton River. | In progress | |
| b. First proposed in the 2003 Central Area Action Plan, CAP the Kennedy should be made a priority. This is an elegant solution to address the open space deficit in a substantial and meaningful way. Public funding sources and private donations (including by developers that will benefit financially from the project) should be gathered to make the project a reality. | In progress | |
| c. Increase the open space impact fees structure for the West Loop; the current fee structure is insufficient to meet the open space needs of the West Loop especially given the skyrocketing cost of land acquisition. | In progress | |
| d. Reprioritize the use of CPS facilities, e.g., green space, gymnasiums, pools, for public access vs. private programs. | In progress | |
| e. New development projects should include ground-level public green space, e.g., pocket parks at corners – especially larger projects (see 1.11 above). The minimum size to these pocket parks should be 3,500 sq ft and should increase proportionally relative to the size of the building/development. | In progress | |
| f. Expand existing parks, acquiring land where necessary. | In progress | |
| 5.2 | 5.2. Ensure that parks, park facilities, and green spaces meet the needs of ALL residents. | In progress |
| a. Better manage use of existing parks to ensure all residents have quality access. | In progress | |
| b. Coordination should take place to limit permit types issued for each park so the community has access during quality times. | In progress | |
| c. Concert promoters, City officials, the Park District, and residents should continue to coordinate ahead of major concerts/festivals at Union Park to minimize adverse impacts on residents. | In progress | |
| d. Parks should be monitored to curb illegal usage, e.g., unauthorized parties and gatherings. | In progress | |
| e. Develop a plan to help address the conflicts between some dog owners and other park users over the sharing of the green space at Bartelme and Fulton River Parks. | In progress | |
| f. Redesign existing parks with improved facilities to better meet community needs. | In progress | |
| 5.3 | Provide more dog friendly areas (DFAs). | In progress |
| a. Build quality and larger dog friendly areas that are designed to meet the needs of dog owners to resolve some of the conflicts of sharing common green space and parks in the West Loop. | In progress | |
| b. Developers should fund the development & upkeep of large public DFAs near their projects that will benefit the residents and users of their properties as well as the larger community, including progressive companies in the neighborhood that allow employees to bring dogs to work. | In progress | |
| c. DFAs should have small & large dog areas. | In progress | |
| 5.4 | Park-specific recommendations: Union Park (27th Ward) | In progress |
| a. As identified in the Near West Plan, pedestrian access to Union Park should be improved, in particular from the east. | In progress | |
| b. The Union Park outdoor swimming pool should be improved and better promoted to attract more residential use. | In progress | |
| c. Recommendations for ongoing improvement from the Union Park Advisory Council should be taken into consideration to better activate Union Park in the future. | In progress | |
| d. Ensure that more music festival revenue is retained for improvements at Union Park. | In progress | |
| 5.5 | Park-specific recommendations: Skinner Park (27th Ward) | In progress |
| a. Build a new fieldhouse with an indoor community pool to replace the 1950s era fieldhouse at Skinner Park is outdated and undersized to serve the community. | In progress | |
| b. Expand Skinner Park’s green space to meet the green/open space needs of the growing residential community as well as the 4,000+ students from nearby public and private schools who rely on Skinner Park for recreational and sports fields. | In progress | |
| c. Retain usage of the Whitney Young High School pool and gym by the Chicago Park District for lifeguard training & testing, city wide programs and events like swim meets, and additional programs. | In progress | |
| d. Expand the vegetable community garden in Skinner Park which has a long waiting list. | In progress | |
| e. Develop a public DFA for small dogs to complement the current DFA near Skinner Park. Opportunities exist with new developments near Skinner Park especially in the 28th Ward. | In progress | |
| 5.6 | Park-specific recommendations: Fulton River Park & Heritage Green Park (42nd Ward) | In progress |
| a. Park advisory councils should be developed for Heritage Green and Fulton River Parks to advocate and identify needs for programs and events, maintenance and repairs, and capital improvement projects to better serve nearby residents. | In progress | |
| b. Develop a plan/redesign of the parks to balance the sharing of park space to resolve current conflicts with some dog owners and to better serve all park users, e.g., a dog friendly area (DFA) at Heritage Green Park, redesigning Fulton River Park to better serve the community. | In progress | |
| c. Create community gardens in Heritage Green Park and Fulton River Parks. | In progress | |
| Public Safety Recommendations | ||
| 6.1 | Participation in the CAPS Program should be encouraged, possibly through consolidated CAPS meetings and better promotion. | In progress |
| 6.2 | Neighborhood watch programs and other grass roots public safety initiatives should be started. | In progress |
| 6.3 | Street lighting should be improved in poorly-lit areas both by the City and by developers through the installation of exterior lighting on their buildings, e.g., near Skinner West Elementary, along Lake Street (see 4.3 above). | In progress |
| 6.4 | Safety improvements to pedestrian facilities should be made, including measures that promote pedestrian safety through increased visibility, especially at night. | In progress |
| 6.5 | CPD should continue to increase the number of police officers and patrols assigned across the West Loop. | In progress |
| 6.6 | The Chicago Police Department (CPD) 12th District should be split into two districts with a new station located within the West Loop. | To be started |
| 6.7 | Business owners and residents should install camera systems that support the sharing of security camera footage with the police and Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC). | Complete |