Permits are moving forward for a refreshed mixed-use tower at 7 W. Elm in the Gold Coast. The latest plan calls for a 28-story, 312-foot building with roughly 307 apartments stacked over about 24,000 square feet of retail. The project would replace the long-vacant Barnes & Noble site and the small Lou Malnati’s on the corner. Developers are targeting a June 2026 construction start and a March 2028 completion.
As reported by Chicago YIMBY, Convexity Properties presented the revised scheme to neighbors in December and plans to submit permit applications in early 2026. Chicago YIMBY notes that the development team aims to tweak the project’s original 2021 approval through an administrative adjustment rather than going back to City Council for a new vote.
Design and amenities
The updated tower is organized as two interlocking L-shaped volumes that rise above a contextual five-story podium clad in champagne metal panels and brick, with a highly transparent retail frontage along State Street. Balconies have been added to enliven the facades, and amenity levels are placed where the two volumes meet, including a large terrace on the 18th floor and a primary amenity floor on the 28th that will feature a fitness center, spa and exterior pool deck. The plan also includes about 132 parking stalls and 180 bike spaces, along with eight on-site affordable units and a $4.5 million in-lieu fee to cover the remaining required affordable units, as detailed by Urbanize Chicago.
Ownership, approvals and timeline
Convexity Properties, the real estate arm of DRW Holdings, acquired the parcel for roughly $39 million last September, according to REBusinessOnline. The developer plans to file permits and pursue an administrative adjustment through the city's Department of Planning and Development to avoid a fresh City Council vote, and Chicago YIMBY reports the team expects to submit permits in February and begin construction in June 2026.
What to watch next
Neighbors and Gold Coast businesses will be watching how the Department of Planning and Development handles the administrative adjustment request, along with any early retail leasing moves for the podium and terrace spaces. If the adjustment is approved and permits land on the current schedule, demolition and early site work could roll out ahead of the planned June ground-breaking. We will continue to track permit activity and any tweaks to the program as the project moves through the city’s review process.
