Tag Archives: ZSD Corp

West End Woman’s Club gets new life on the West Side

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An historic two-story brick building at 37 South Ashland Avenue in the Near West Side Community Area is getting new life, thanks to a renovation from ZSD Corp. Built in 1904 as the West End Woman’s Club, it became the home of the United Electrical Workers in 1948. ZSD purchased the building from the union in March of this year for $1.65 million; they’re in the midst of overhauling it into apartments. In keeping with the original name, it has been dubbed West End Club. They hope to welcome their first tenants in summer 2025.

The West End Woman’s Club, via Chicago History Museum
Rendering of West End Club courtesy of ZSD Corp.

A permit was issued by the City of Chicago to make the office-to-residential conversion to the building, located on the northeast corner of Ashland Avenue and Monroe Street, on May 15, 2024. It calls for a two-story addition atop the two existing levels, while lowering the original basement, and adding a rooftop deck. There will be 22 rental units here: 16 one-bedroom, 4 three-bedroom, and 2 four-bedroom apartments. An elevator will be added, and the front of the building will feature a sunken patio. The main entrance will be placed along Monroe Street. There will be no parking spaces included in the development.

Google image shows the UE Hall limestone nameplate that covered “West End Woman’s Club”
Google Street View image of Electrical Workers murals on the south façade.

Before gutting the interior, yeoman’s efforts were made to remove and preserve a painted mural on the walls throughout the building’s interior. UE is leasing office space at the Chicago Teachers Union building at 1901 West Carroll Avenue, and the mural will be on display there. You can read more about those preservation efforts at the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times.

According to ZSD’s Zev Salomon:

“We’re proud to be restoring the facade of this historic building and we’re happy to collaborate with the seller to ensure the preservation of the Solidarity mural.”

ZSD Corp, along with developing West End Club, is also acting as their own general contractor. The design team includes Andrew R Wang as the Architect of Record, Philadelphia firm IS Architects as the Design Architect, and SK Design Group as the Interior Designer.

The photos below include some taken on the first of September when scaffolding covered the west façade. That has since been removed and reassembled for work on the south wall.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Four demolition permits clear the way for Madison+Carpenter

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Demolition fencing was set up May 11.

Thursday, the City of Chicago issued four demolition permits for the 1000 block of West Madison Street in the West Loop. Those four lots — 1032, 1034, 1040, and 1044 — will soon see construction begin on Madison+Carpenter,

Madison+Carpenter will be a six-story condominium building from ZSD Corp. They’re wrapping up work on another condo development, Peoria Green, just a couple blocks away. Sullivan Goulette & Wilson is the design firm. They’re part of the Peoria Green team as well. We’re also watching progress on their design at CA6 in the West Loop.

Precision Excavation will do the dirty work. I’ve been watching them tear apart the former Chase Bank at RaveLaw.

  • 1032 demo permit
  • 1034 demo permit
  • 1040 demo permit
  • 1044 demo permit

Coming Attractions: Madison+Carpenter

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Bye+bye, Phil’s Tavern. Hello, Madison+Carpenter.

Who among us hasn’t driven past a random site anywhere in the world and thought “I wonder what’s gonna happen here”? Isn’t nice when someone hangs a giant poster on said site and takes the mystery out of it?

Madison+Carpenter is coming to the corner of Madison and Carpenter Streets in the West Loop. We don’t know when yet, but it already has its own website, and that’s (almost) always a good sign. We don’t have a ton of detail yet either, but that website tells us to expect a six-story building with BIG (up to 5 bedrooms) condominiums.

ZSD Corp is the developer. This isn’t their first West Loop rodeo. They’re currently getting Peoria Green ready next to Mary Bartelme Park.

All you need to know about Madison+Carpenter, illustrated.

CTA and Metra rides, Zipcars, Divvy bikes, camera lenses, and solid walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses with a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Peoria Green tears up a parking lot

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Tear. It. Up.

The Tetris-shaped parking lot that will soon become Peoria Green is no more. (Is Tetris-shaped a thing? I couldn’t come up with a better way to describe this site. It’s like a long rectangle that broke, and healed wrong. Or a long rectangle with seismic plates that shifted, rendering it askew yet still in one piece.) It’s a funky lot. But at least it isn’t pavement anymore.

Soon it will be a six-story, 25-condominium development from ZSD Corp. And according to the Peoria Green website, only three of those condos remain unspoken for. And now that ground has broken, we can look for some deeper digging soon.

Sullivan Goulette & Wilson is the design firm behind Peoria Green. General contractor duties will be handled by Maris Construction. They’ve teamed up previously in the West Loop on CA Washington.

Peoria Green wants to squeeze its way into the West Loop

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A ZSD rendering of Peoria Green, as it would be seen looking east from Mary Bartelme Park.

Remember NIMBY heads exploding in the West Loop when Illume wanted to plant itself in the parking lot at 111 South Peoria Street? (Remember the fancy numerals in the 111ume name?) “It will block views of the skyline from Mary Bartelme Park!” was the best line locals screamed in an effort to keep the builders at bay.

Well, Illume is open now. The tiny parking lot immediately to its south is open too. But the construction fence around it says maybe it won’t be open much longer.

This is ZSD’s rendering of the Green Street elevation.

Signage on the site says Peoria Green wants to wedge its way into the neighborhood. Peoria Green already has a website. Peoria Green already has a flyer box on the fence so passers-by can get the scoop. Peoria Green has a sales center (located at 112 S. Sangamon Street.) Peoria Green is a thing.

Apparently, this has been a thing for awhile. But when you’re not paying attention, stuff gets past you. Crain’s and Dennis Rodkin were all over this project back in March. And The Real Deal posted about Peoria Green’s approval back in June. They even mentioned it being “controversial” and receiving “heated opposition from some neighbors.” (See first paragraph above. I am the opposite of surprised.)

ZSD Corp is planning 25 condos here, all with at least 4 bedrooms. That’s a lot of bedrooms. A childless couple could AirBnB the heck out of one of these. The on-site brochure claims a Fall 2020 opening for Peoria Green. I’m still efforting to find an architect for this project, plus a GC. Keep your ears open, if not your empty lots. A fall opening means they’d need to get started right soon.

A neon-green banner announces Peoria Green.

Looking west to east, Peoria to Green, at the full length of the lot.

Peoria Green ZSD site plan

The site plan from ZSD shows Peoria Green’s unusual shape.

I made a fancy Google Maps site plan, with the Peoria Green footprint outlined in red. I should get a drone.