After years of staring at a vacant lot across from Mary Bartelme Park, West Loop neighbors are being offered a very different tradeoff than they were first promised. Developers for 23 S. Sangamon have filed a revised proposal that scraps a community center in favor of a 70-unit condominium tower, plus a limited package of park-facing perks: four public bathrooms and dedicated storage space for the park.
The new plan calls for a roughly 290-foot-tall building aimed at family-sized buyers, according to Ald. Bill Conway, who says he is now gathering neighborhood feedback on whether this version flies.
What the filing says
According to Block Club Chicago, the site is owned by Fern Hill and Free Market Ventures, and the updated proposal leans heavily on three- and four-bedroom, market-rate condos marketed to families. The documents and developer comments say the four public restrooms would open directly onto the sidewalk and sit next to a proposed café, while part of the ground floor would be reserved for Mary Bartelme Park storage, including maintenance gear and program supplies.
Developers say they are still on the hook for the same affordable-housing commitment that was written into the original development agreement, so that obligation does not change under the new scheme.
Neighbors' priorities and reactions
Conway told residents the latest version "zeroes in on what neighbors value most: public bathrooms and park storage," as reported by Block Club Chicago. The Mary Bartelme Park Advisory Council has said that guaranteed, on-site restrooms and storage would cut costs for its volunteer-run programming and make it easier to expand events in the park.
Not everyone is thrilled with the swap, though. Some neighbors who previously pushed back on a larger field house warn that a new residential tower could bring its own set of headaches, from how crowds move through the park to when the green space feels busiest.
How does this compare to prior plans
This is only the latest iteration for the long vacant Sangamon parcel, which has gone through several makeovers. A 2021 plan cleared the way for an 80-unit condo tower. By 2024 and 2025, the conversation had shifted toward a larger apartment building with a multistory community center and field house attached.
Reporting in The Real Deal and project materials on architect Eckenhoff Saunders show how the team has repeatedly trimmed the amenity package and unit count while trying to land on something that pencils out financially. Earlier versions featured a 30,000-square-foot community center topped with an outdoor field house overlooking Mary Bartelme Park, a much more ambitious civic component than what is on the table now.
Park impact and community response
During those earlier rounds, neighbors raised alarms that a large community center and field house could drive up traffic and wear and tear on the park’s 2.71 acres. That concern helped fuel calls for smaller, more practical improvements that directly serve existing park users.
Park supporters now argue that public restrooms and secure storage are exactly the kinds of everyday amenities Mary Bartelme Park is missing. Critics counter that dropping a condo tower across the street will subtly shift who uses the park and when. Coverage in Chicago YIMBY has tracked the often tense community meetings as the proposal has evolved.
Next steps in the approval process
From here, the developers are preparing formal amendments for the city’s Department of Planning and Development, which will kick off a new round of review. "Approvals will be needed from local Alderman Conway, the Chicago Plan Commission, the Committee on Zoning, and the City Council," according to Urbanize Chicago.
If those bodies sign off, Fern Hill says it will move quickly into condo presales. Before that happens, neighbors and park advocates will get their say at additional community meetings and public hearings, where they can formally back or oppose the updated plan.
For now, the debate in the West Loop has narrowed to a classic city question: are smaller, guaranteed park amenities worth the permanent trade for a new condo tower on the edge of a beloved neighborhood park? Residents and volunteers are already weighing that choice, and the next round of public meetings will show whether this compromise version satisfies enough people to actually get shovels in the ground.
