One of Uptown’s last big empty lakefront sites might not stay empty much longer. Sarah’s Circle has rolled out a proposal for a multi-building supportive housing campus that would anchor the block with a mix of deeply affordable apartments and on-site services for women at risk of homelessness.
In the first phase, the nonprofit is proposing a seven-story building with 54 studio apartments reserved for women at risk of losing their housing. The ground floor would function as a community hub, and the plans swap out new parking for a trauma-informed garden. Perkins&Will is listed as the design partner, although Sarah’s Circle has not released a construction timeline.
Drawings filed this week show the site bounded by West Sunnyside Avenue to the north and West Agatite Avenue to the south, directly across from the Clarendon Fieldhouse, as reported by Chicago YIMBY. The documents lay out three phases: the Sunnyside-facing seven-story building for phase one, an 11-story tower in the middle of the property for phase two, and a third building along Agatite for a later phase. Together, the buildings are intended to replace the open lot, previously one of the neighborhood’s largest undeveloped parcels near the lakefront.
Sarah’s Circle Has Built Locally Before
Sarah’s Circle already runs interim shelter and permanent supportive housing programs in Uptown and has been steadily growing its campus, according to Sarah’s Circle. Its recent Sheridan project, a six-story, 38-unit building developed with Perkins&Will, is documented by Skender and showcases the group’s model of pairing housing with on-site services.
That local track record helps explain why the organization is now looking at a high-profile lakefront parcel, and why the new proposal arrives already wrapped in a familiar template of small units plus built-in support.
Design and Units
The first-phase building along Sunnyside is drawn as a seven-story block with a mix of red brick and precast concrete panels, and 54 studio units that each include a defined sleeping area, a small kitchen and a private bathroom, according to Chicago YIMBY. Plans show a laundry room on every residential floor, a small paved patio, and a large trauma-informed garden.
On the ground floor, the proposal calls for a community room with a kitchenette, a sensory room, a 24-hour security space, and offices for on-site services. The units in this phase would be limited to women earning at or below 30 percent of Area Median Income, which works out to roughly $25,000 a year for a single person. Phase one would add no new parking on site, a decision that is likely to spark at least a little sidewalk debate in a neighborhood that already feels the squeeze on street parking.
Entitlements and the Lakefront Rule
Because the property falls within Chicago’s lakefront protection district, the project cannot move forward without approval under the Lake Michigan and Chicago Lakefront Protection Ordinance. The Chicago Plan Commission handles those requests, and under the municipal code, it serves as the final decision-maker on whether a proposal complies with the lakefront rules.
Hearings typically feature a Department of Planning and Development staff report and public comment before commissioners vote. Past approvals, along with the procedural playbook, are laid out in the city’s regulations and reflected in recent Plan Commission cases, according to the Chicago Municipal Code and coverage by Block Club Chicago.
Why It Matters For Uptown
Uptown has a long history of shelters and supportive housing, and this proposed campus would convert a highly visible lakefront lot into new homes and services rather than another round of market-rate development. The site sits across from Clarendon Community Center Park and its fieldhouse, a neighborhood anchor, according to the Chicago Park District.
Sarah’s Circle says it serves hundreds of women each year, and the group frames new permanent units as a key part of its strategy to move people from shelter into stable housing, according to Sarah’s Circle and park documents from the Chicago Park District.
Next steps are expected to include formal city filings and a Plan Commission hearing, where neighbors, advocates and aldermanic staff will all have opportunities to weigh in as the proposal moves through the public review process. For now, the plan signals continuing nonprofit investment in Uptown’s housing stock and adds one more entry to the growing list of supportive housing projects across the city. Updates will follow as filings, hearings or a purchase agreement surface.
