Developers Complete Construction on Chicago Apartment Building

4611 N Broadway in Chicago. Image courtesy of McHugh Construction

The John Buck Company and Free Market Ventures have wrapped construction on on Platform 4611, a mixed-use transit-oriented development in Chicago’s historic North Side Uptown neighborhood.

Situated at 4611 N Broadway, steps from CTA’s Wilson Red Line Station, the nine-story structure was built by contractor McHugh Construction and designed by architectural firm Papageorge Haymes. The development offers 200 apartments and approximately 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

Inside the mid-rise masonry-and-glass building, floors two through eight feature a blend of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments. The top floor features two units each of two-bedroom and three-bedroom penthouse residences. Amenities are housed on the ninth floor and the rooftop, the latter of which features an outdoor terrace with grilling stations, seating areas and dramatic Lake Michigan views. Reservable office space is included on each residential floor. Residences include washers and dryers and ice makers.

Materials challenge

“The most difficult construction challenge on the project was coordinating and executing the façade, which is a mix of glass windows and brick,” Jeanne Bartels, the McHugh senior project manager who oversaw the construction, told Multi-Housing News. “The aspects that made it complicated were the requirement to account for the expected normal building movement, particularly at the transitions between window and masonry, and the fact it switches back and forth between the materials so many times.”

Exceptionally detailed coordination was required between the structural engineer, the architect and the subcontractors to account for the assortment of materials needed to support and build a masonry wall, according to Bartels. “McHugh implemented a very thorough quality assurance plan as the work was ongoing,” she reported.

“A lot of attention was put into the design and construction details, including an off-site mockup of the wall prior to even starting on the project. All that pre-planning paid off as the execution went smoothly and the architect’s design looks great.”

Historic enclave

The address of Platform 4611 puts residents in the heart of Chicago’s historic uptown, with Lincoln Park and the Lake Michigan lakefront located a few blocks to the east. Trains at the Wilson CTA offer access to downtown Chicago and Evanston, Ill.

Platform 4611 welcomed its initial move-ins in February. As of late May, the building’s occupancy stood at 43 percent.  Three months ago, The Habitat Company secured financing for the development of a mixed-use apartment building in Chicago.