The surface parking lot at the corner of North Ashland Avenue and West Leland Avenue is about to become a five-story, 78-unit apartment building after developer Honore Properties secured a full building permit for the project. Construction is expected to begin this fall and wrap up in the first quarter of 2028, bringing the total housing count on the former Our Lady of Lourdes school site to 120 units across two phases.
The project, known as the Schoolhouse on Ashland, is designed by Kennedy Mann and sits directly next to the former Our Lady of Lourdes School, which is separately being converted into 42 apartments, according to Urbanize Chicago. The new structure will rise 60 feet and include a mix of five studios, 61 one-bedroom units, 10 two-bedroom units and two three-bedroom units, with 16 of those apartments designated affordable under the city's Affordable Requirements Ordinance. Macon Construction Group can now begin work following the permit's issuance, and the project carries a $21 million valuation with an 18-month construction timeline.
A Multi-Phase Transformation of a Long-Vacant Parcel
The scale of what's rising at 4641 N. Ashland Ave. only comes into focus when viewed as a whole. The new five-story building represents Phase 2 of the broader 120-unit development, adding 78 units to the adjacent 42-unit adaptive-reuse conversion of the historic school building, according to a presentation reviewed by the City of Chicago Plan Commission. The Archdiocese of Chicago sold the closed school property to Honore Holdings for $5 million in 2023, years after the school shut its doors in 2004 following more than 50 years of operation, per Preservation Chicago.
Getting to this point required a zoning change. The Chicago City Council approved rezoning the parking lot parcel from RT-4 residential designation to B2-3 Neighborhood Mixed-Use under a Planned Development designation this past December, as reported by Chicago YIMBY. That shift cleared the way for the five-story project.
Community Pushback Reshaped the Building's Layout
The project didn't arrive at its current form without local input. 47th Ward Alderman Matt Martin supported the development, and Honore Properties agreed to shift the parking garage entrance from Leland Avenue to Ashland Avenue, addressing pedestrian and bike safety concerns near Chase Park, the same Chicago YIMBY report notes. That same community feedback pushed the development team toward further tweaks: the building's exterior was revised to include more brick and less metal paneling, along with an aesthetically improved facade along West Leland Avenue.
Per the permit details, the structure will step down from five stories to a single story on its northeast side along Leland Avenue, where it sits next to an existing three-story building. Residential entries will be placed on both Ashland and Leland avenues, and a bike room designed for electric and cargo bikes will hold 69 bikes near the Leland Avenue entrance. Car parking will total 33 interior ground-floor spaces accessed via a curb cut on Ashland Avenue, screened by residential units facing the street. The new structure will physically link to the converted school building through a shared ground-floor lobby and a second-floor residential lounge, according to the Plan Commission presentation.
Sustainability Features Draw Praise From Environmental Group
Honore Properties has committed to dark-sky lighting, a solar-ready roof, and a fully electrified building, with 30 percent of onsite parking spaces wired for EV charging. Construction waste is slated to be recycled at an 80 percent rate. Bird-friendly design is another consideration in sustainable building.
A Parcel Steeped in Parish History
The site carries weight beyond its construction timeline. Across the street, the historic Our Lady of Lourdes Church underwent a renowned engineering feat in 1929, when the 10,000-ton building was moved across Ashland Avenue, according to CBS News Chicago. The move was connected to Ashland Avenue's widening. That church held its final Mass in May 2024, and parishioners have established a nonprofit preservation society, per the Catholic News Agency.
The project will add studios and one-bedroom apartments to the surrounding Uptown community area.
Developer's Growing Chicago Footprint
Honore Properties has been active elsewhere in the city too. The firm received a construction permit in February for an 88-unit office-to-apartment conversion at 56 E. Superior St. in River North, continuing a pattern of pairing adaptive reuse with transit-oriented design. With the full building permit now in hand for the Schoolhouse on Ashland, Honore Properties and Macon Construction Group are positioned to break ground this fall, with completion targeted for the first quarter of 2028.
