A Cook County judge on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, shut down a last-ditch effort by Old Town condo owners to halt a controversial high-rise, handing developer Fern Hill a major early victory in the years-long fight over a new apartment tower near North Avenue and LaSalle Drive. The ruling keeps construction plans alive and wipes out the temporary pause neighbors were banking on to stop work at the site.
Leaders of the condo association, who had sought to block the project while their lawsuit plays out, said they were weighing next steps after the setback.
As reported by Crain's Chicago Business, the court denied the association's request for injunctive relief, so the plaintiffs will not get an immediate stay while their legal claims proceed. The decision leaves existing zoning approvals in place while the litigation moves forward.
The project at the center of the fight is Old Town Canvas, a 36-story proposal from Chicago-based Fern Hill that would replace a Walgreens and adjacent lots. The original 500-unit concept was trimmed to roughly 349 apartments in talks with city officials, and the scaled-down version includes several dozen affordable units along with parking commitments for nearby institutions, according to Block Club Chicago.
Neighbors' lawsuit and objections
The condo association sued, arguing that both the developer and the city mishandled the approval process. The complaint alleges that legally required notices were not properly provided and that the rezoning process short-circuited community input, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
"The main, gigantic elephant in the room is that a 36-story high-rise does not belong in Old Town," attorney Gene Murphy told the paper, as the suit argued the project would cause irreparable harm, including lost light and increased traffic.
What the judge's decision means
According to Crain's Chicago Business, the judge's order leaves the city's zoning approvals intact and allows Fern Hill to keep pushing ahead toward permits and site work while the case continues. That outcome narrows the kind of relief the plaintiffs can get in the short term but does not end the lawsuit. The condo owners can still pursue their claims in court and may consider an appeal.
What's next for the site
Fern Hill did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, and the city's Department of Law said it had not been served at the time the complaint was filed. Neighbors said they would review potential appeal options and other remedies, even as permitting and pre-construction steps on Old Town Canvas are likely to continue in the near term.
Why this matters for Old Town
The clash over Old Town Canvas highlights a familiar Chicago tension: calls for more housing running headfirst into fears about density, traffic, and neighborhood character. No matter how the lawsuit ultimately ends, this ruling shifts the immediate fight from whether the tower can rise at all to how it will be built and what can be done to soften its impact on surrounding blocks.
