McHugh Construction, one of the Midwest’s largest commercial contractors with a concentration in high-end multifamily, has announced the start of work on Platform 4611, a nine-story mixed-use development at 4611 N. Broadway in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. The building will bring 200 rental units and approximately 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space to the northeast corner of Broadway and Wilson Avenue, just steps from the Wilson CTA train station.
Chicago-based co-developers The John Buck Company (JBC) and Free Market Ventures tapped McHugh Construction to serve as general contractor on the approximately 154,000-square-foot project, which replaces a cluster of low-rise commercial structures. JBC and McHugh previously collaborated on developments such as the Virgin Hotel in the Loop and MILA Luxury Apartments.
“Whenever a developer with an outstanding reputation like The John Buck Company chooses to partner with us for repeat work, we know it’s because our team has proven themselves in the past and is ready to exceed expectations once again,” said Ray Cisco, project executive with McHugh Construction.
The Uptown project gets the Platform 4611 name from its convenient location across the street from the renovated Wilson CTA train station, which serves the Red and Purple Lines. As a transit-oriented development, Platform 4611 will offer its residents easy access to downtown Chicago as well as provide surface level parking for 22 vehicles and 178 bicycles.
Designed by architecture firm Pappageorge Haymes Partners, the mid-rise building will feature a masonry and glass façade. Levels two through eight will offer a mix of studio, one-, and two-bedroom units, while the top floor will include four three-bedroom penthouse units and a host of building amenities.
Like many projects in a post-Covid world, JBC, McHugh, and Pappageorge Haymes spent a significant amount of time during the preconstruction phase in identifying building features and programming to respond to the changing needs of all building residents and users and ensure occupants feel safe. Some of those changes include a completely touchless entry sequence, destination dispatch elevators, reservable individual office space on each residential floor, and a fitness center with heat map technology to ensure that occupants maintain social distancing. The rooftop amenity floor is home to a dedicated co-working space as well as an outdoor terrace offering grilling stations for residents, multiple seating areas, and sweeping views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline.
“With a few exceptions, based on the discussions we’re having with multifamily developers, the Chicago market is likely to see more projects like Platform 4611 — sophisticated mid-rises containing the same finishes and amenity packages you would find in a Class A high-rise,” added Cisco. “By leveraging our decades of experience in multifamily construction, McHugh is able to apply the same level of expertise from our work on downtown’s skyscrapers to more modestly sized, neighborhood-oriented developments like Platform 4611.”
With work on Platform 4611 now underway, McHugh has completed the building’s caisson foundation and has begun vertical construction. The building is on track to top out in spring 2022 and welcome its first residents in late 2022 or early 2023.
