
Fulton Street Development Boom Raises Questions About Infrastructure
New construction is making the trendy Fulton Market District look a lot more like downtown. Now city officials must decide whether the neighborhood needs Loop-like infrastructure to support its growth, reported Crain’s Chicago Business.
“The city needs to pick up the pace on investing in downtown-type [transportation] improvements” in Fulton Market, said Joe Schwieterman, director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University.
Developers last month formally proposed new projects in the once-industrial corridor totaling as many as 2,100 new apartments and nearly 1.4 million square feet of offices. And Related Midwest now plans to add a 41-story office tower to the mix.
The wave of plans shines perhaps the biggest spotlight yet on longstanding questions about whether the district’s narrow streets, lone CTA train station and sparse parking options are adequate to maintain the momentum of one of the country’s fastest-growing office destinations.
- ◦Development
- ◦Policy/Gov't