Fulton Market tower plans to be a pioneer in keeping business rents affordable

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This building, with entrances at 1367-1377 W. Fulton Market and at 213-233 N. Ogden Ave., will have affordable space for businesses to rent. | Provided

Chicago’s affordable housing crisis is a big issue in the mayor’s race — so much so that Mayor Rahm Emanuel is resurrecting the disbanded Department of Housing and proposing a parade of programs to help longtime residents stay in gentrifying neighborhoods.

But what about keeping rents affordable to prevent small businesses from also being pushed out of booming neighborhoods?

A 13-story office tower in the fast-growing Fulton Market District just might be a trend-setter in that arena.

The Chicago Plan Commission on Thursday signed off on the project at West Fulton Market and North Ogden Avenue.

It happened after developer Trammell Crow agreed to accommodate a request from local Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) to rent at least some of the 15,000 sq. ft. of retail space at affordable rates to small neighborhood businesses.

“We identified a couple of candidates that may be a good resource or, for that matter, incubator into the space. Examples would be ICNC, where they have a tremendous number of incubated businesses in a really successful center just west of our site,” said Grady Hamilton, managing director of Trammell Crow Company’s Midwest Business Unit.

“We intend to reach out to organizations like that and try to find ways that we can encourage the occupancy of those businesses where suitable in our project.”

Pressed on how low the rents might go, Hamilton said: “We haven’t even begun to characterize or clarify our rents … until we get started with the project and have a better understanding of where the market for rents are.”

But, he said: “It’s a goal of ours to try and encourage more local businesses to be in that space and we introduced that concept” to the Industrial Council of Near West Chicago “as a way to help engage with them better.”

Plan Commission member Fran Grossman hailed the affordable business rent program as a potential game-changer — even without those details.

“It’s very exciting. It’s a way to really think about affordable rents — subsidizing just as we do for apartments. Not necessarily for incubators,” Grossman said.

“ICNC and Accion are terrific. But, there’s lots of small Ma and Pa businesses who could do really well, who are experienced, who can meet all of the criteria. And I’m hoping that the city can think about that — as well as the aldermen — and we put it in many of the retails. Whether it’s a cigarette stand, a cigar stand, newspapers, a shoemaker, which a lot of people would like in their buildings.”

An embarrassed Grossman then caught herself, adding, “I’m sorry I said cigarettes. That was bad.”

Burnett noted that all four community organizations in the area signed off on a project initially proposed as a residential development — and a much taller one at that.

That earlier version would have had 18 floors and 315 apartments.

“We’re not allowing residential to go in that part of the area. So the developer went back to the table, made it an office building, a commercial building with retail on the first floor,” the alderman said.

“We appreciate the fact that they’re going to participate in the streetscape that’s happening on Fulton Street. We also commend them for having a part of their retail space as an affordable component, which is going to allow for some local businesses to [remain in] the area.”

The project is not only a potential groundbreaker for affordable business rents. It’s another boon to Emanuel’s Neighborhood Opportunity Fund.

In exchange for the right to build a bigger and taller project on the site than zoning allows, Trammell Crow will contribute $2.7 million into the pot of money used to share the wealth with impoverished South and West Side neighborhoods.

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