North Halsted Mega Development Under Construction in Lake View

It’s been more than a month since Ald. James Cappleman (46th) and developers broke ground on Nov. 1, but the construction process is well under way for Lake View’s latest mega-development.

Sitting at 3740 N. Halsted St. near the intersection with North Broadway, the massive lot is fenced off and out of sight while workers prepare the land for the highly controversial addition to Boystown. In two years, residents will see the 15-story Halsted Flats at the site near Whole Foods and Hotel Chateau, rather than cranes and backhoes.

The new building by JDL Development Corp. will feature nearly 11,000-square-feet of retail space, 269 apartments and 276 parking spaces. Combined with a third-floor rooftop with a landscaped park, dog run, outdoor pool, fire-pit and hot tub, the massive glass structure is welcomed by 46th Ward officials.

However, some Lake View residents and business owners aren’t happy about the building’s construction. Between the threat of the new high-rise blocking existing views and the possibility of the development drastically increasing traffic in the neighborhood, some are calling the entire project “Corrupt (and) sickening,” such as a Patch reader did in our first article on the building.

But according to Cappleman, it’s far better than the alternative. Developers first proposed a big-box store in the space, complete with a massive parking garage. After a mass of public hearings, the Zoning Committee—made of a collection of community representatives—voted against the big box. 

“Had we gone with a big-box development, the traffic problems would have grown exponentially,” Cappleman told Patch in an email. “The big-box development was the other alternative that did not require a zoning change and the developer would have had every right to go down this path of building a big box. Also, the Zoning Committee was very clear about NOT wanting a big box.”

Want more details about the controversy and the project’s history? Check out Patch’s first story outlining the specifics. 

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