Chicago, Illinois
Architectural
7 Stories
179 Apartments
Parking for 400 Vehicles
180,000 SF Target Retail Store
25,000 SF Retail & Office
606,000 SF Total
Designed to seek LEED Certification
Wilson Yard was awarded top honors in the ‘Green' category at the 2009 ‘Future Image' Architecture Awards by the International Council of Shopping Centers.
The Wilson Yard site is at one of the most preeminent locations in the Uptown neighborhood on Chicago's North Side, within the city's 46th Ward. This $150 Million redevelopment of a century-old Chicago Transit Authority rail yard and repair shop brings a variety of needed retail, residential and green-technology to the neighborhood.
FitzGerald Associates was tasked with a challenging design equation on this full block site. The program called for space to accommodate a two-level Target store, additional retail and office space, two residential buildings totaling nearly 180 dwelling units and parking facilities for the entire development. Regular input from the local neighborhood group, the ward Alderman and city departments throughout the design process was essential and ultimately led to a superior result for the site.
FitzGerald Associates completed multiple design iterations working to solve the complex needs of multiple site uses, which at one point in time also included a multi-screen movie theater. Target's urban store concept was still relatively new, with only a short timeline of statistical data to provide rationale for important decisions like the parking needs of a multiple-node TOD site. The FitzGerald Associates team was enrolled in ‘Target School', Target's in-house design and architecture workshop, to gain a better understanding of the company's needs and make sure we were able to provide fresh design solutions while making certain that Target's evolving store requirements were kept in the highest regard.
With so many uses on the site, FitzGerald Associates remained attentive to access, separation and mobility-based issues. Signage and clarity expressed through the architecture would strengthen one's ability to easily navigate the development. The permanent residents in the two residential towers needed to have a home in what would otherwise be described as a very transient site. Target had its own challenging mobility requirements, including the receiving of massive shipments of goods and loading requirements to accommodate. Patience, flexibility, creativity and collaboration were key attributes in producing this award winning sustainable design.
This $150 million redevelopment of the former home to a Chicago Transit Authority rail yard brings a wide variety of retail, residential and green-technology improvements to one of the most prominent locations in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. A new Target store on two levels features an energy-saving green roof and anchor the retail portion of the project, with additional retail and office spaces throughout the project.
Working Group Participants
