Chicago's Plan Commission is set to weigh in on a fresh redesign for a high-rise at 1338 W. Lake Street later this month, a move that could swap out the former Leslie Hindman Auctioneers complex for a much taller residential tower. The updated pitch calls for a denser building than earlier versions and could bring hundreds of new apartments to the Fulton Market edge of the West Loop.
As reported by Chicago YIMBY, the latest proposal climbs to 33 stories with about 321 residential units and roughly 7,800 square feet of ground-floor retail. CEDARst Companies is listed as the developer and Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) as the architect in the materials headed to the Plan Commission.
Demolition and site history
Demolition permits for 1332 and 1338 W. Lake were issued late last year to clear the way for redevelopment, and crews have been prepping the lot for new construction, according to Urbanize Chicago. The teardown of the former Hindman Auction complex is the clearest sign so far that the property is shifting from a paper proposal to a build-ready site.
What's changed in the updated design
The revised scheme boosts both the height and the number of apartments from earlier drawings, calling for a 33-story tower with 321 units and a podium pulled closer to Lake Street to energize the sidewalk, per Chicago YIMBY. The documents outline about 191 vehicle parking spaces, 64 units set aside to meet the city's Affordable Requirements Ordinance, and an anticipated 18- to 24-month construction timeline if the necessary approvals come through.
What comes next
The proposal still has to clear the city's approval gauntlet before any groundbreakings or crane sightings. Planned-development zoning changes typically move from a Plan Commission public hearing to a stop at the Committee on Zoning and then on to a final City Council vote, according to the Chicago zoning code. CEDARst's 2025 purchase of the Hindman property, reported by The Real Deal, laid the groundwork for the filings that are now up for review.
Why West Loop watchers should care
The West Loop and Fulton Market remain among Chicago's busiest development zones, with a steady stream of towers reshaping both the skyline and the street-level mix of shops and restaurants, as Block Club Chicago and others have chronicled. If the Plan Commission signs off and the project advances, the 33-story building would join a recent wave of residential proposals that are steadily rewriting traffic patterns, parking pressures and retail dynamics along Lake Street.
