South Drexel Blvd. & East 43rd St., Chicago
Townhomes, Flats
Client: Thrush Development

Drexel Boulevard was created as part of the City of Chicago's Burnham plan street system featuring radial monumental boulevards within a rectilinear street grid. The landscape design for the boulevard was conceived by Frederick Law Olmstead.

Over time, existing buildings on a entire blocks of the Boulevard were removed for the creation of high rise public housing units in direct conflict with the street orientation of the historic buildings. Adjacent blocks deteriorated and were eventually demolished.

The CHA's plan for transformation' a series of RFP's proposing mixed income development for former CHA sites created the opportunity to reintroduce appropriately scaled buildings into the streetscape.

Fitzgerald Associates worked with Thrush Development to create a response to a City of Chicago RFP to infill low-rise residential building types into the historic context of Drexel Boulevard.

The site is comprised of three separate parcels, the northern site covers an entire city block, the middle and southernmost sites contain only lots facing Drexel Boulevard. The full block site to the north presented the design team with the opportunity to create a large internal landscaped park surrounded by town homes concealing a private ring drive. The creation of the park provided a new amenity for units not facing the historic boulevard. The landscape architect proposed a concept of rolling open landscaped lawn organized by overlapping rings of retaining walls which also provided site seating.

The mixed income project combines public housing, subsidized housing and market rate housing in low-rise town homes, flats and duplexes spread throughout the site. A range of interchangeable building types, allow each market groups and unit type the opportunity to face different site amentias.

The City of Chicago and a strong community organization provided suggestions and raised concerns the team incorporated into the project design.