The District at Lincoln Park
Fifty-three riverfront acres, five residential tiers, and a ferry plan the Board is particularly pleased with.
Others saw a stalled megadevelopment. We saw jurisdiction.
In 2016, a developer assembled this riverfront for more than $100 million and called it a Yards. The City granted $900 million in increment financing. One building was completed. The land was returned to the lender.
TIV’s first decision was the name. Several of us felt that a yard suggested storage, while a District gave residents something more satisfactory to put on an invitation. We have retained the definite article throughout the plans.
At fourteen Community Listening Sessions, Members asked for convenient transport, generous kitchens, and fewer things they would have to carry themselves. The plans below respond to all three. The crane received considerable interest.
— Bradford W. Colehammer IV, Chairman
"The Village does not need to understand its infrastructure. The Village needs only to feel that the infrastructure understands the Village." The District Master Covenant, Article I
Zoned by aspiration, not by use.
The District has five residential designations, each with its own access arrangements. Members may begin with a rental and apply for another tier as their plans change. The Board receives many questions about crane privileges.
Start-Up Rentals
Entry-level river-adjacent living for the recently arrived. Shared crane privileges. Ferry access on alternating weekdays.
The Incubator Residences
Live-work lofts in the inherited laboratory building at 1229 W. Concord. The Incubator brings founders and their work into one address, with particular attention to the drinking water.
The Party House Quarter
The Ada Street firehouse anchors the Party House Quarter. Residents have already asked who will be responsible for the guest list.
The Mart of Kitchens & Water Fittings
1.4 million square feet devoted exclusively to smart kitchens and architectural faucetry, bridging the river itself. The largest concentration of pot-fillers in the Western Hemisphere.
Super Trixie Mini Mansions
The summit designation. Full crane rights, dedicated ferry berth, and a private gatehouse lane. Waitlist administered by covenant.
The river is the road.
The Mobility Plan replaces the parking garage with ferries, water taxis, and boat access. Members liked the prospect of arriving without circling for a space. Several have since asked where to leave the car that gets them to the ferry.
The East Bank Feeder Ferry
Eleven-minute headways connecting the District, the East Bank Club, and the Midtown Athletic Club. Towel service both directions.
The Husband Water Taxi
Direct, discreet service to the casino district. Southbound manifests are not published. Northbound arrivals are announced to the household.
Crane-to-Boat Provisioning
The warehouse-club dock lowers bulk purchases directly into a powerboat or sailing vessel. Residents supply the boat; the dock handles the pallet. Almonds are included in the loading calculations.
The river itself will be lowered into a fully serviced subterranean channel and pumped back to the surface for regattas, gender reveals, and other occasions of state — so that the 606 may extend, dry and unbroken, all the way to the Lakefront Trail.
The Board expects ferry, water-taxi, and crane service to continue during the work. Anong has requested another engineering meeting before anyone orders the invitations.
The Board of Directors
TIV — TrixieInterVentures — assumed control of the site through its Opportunistic Real Assets Fund IV, administered from the Village. The Board meets quarterly, at the Party House, weather and ferry permitting.
Bradford W. Colehammer IV
Acquires distressed property and chairs TIV’s District board. Bradford knows the financing papers thoroughly; the others are still trying to arrange his first visit north of the Merchandise Mart.
Dree Halloway
Previously with a lifestyle brand she cannot name. Dree oversees the District’s public spaces and signs. She would like arriving to feel intuitive; Anong would also like the exits labeled.
J. Emerson Whitcombe, Jr.
Oversees the firehouse and other inherited assets. Emerson’s grandfather operated a tannery on the river, a connection visitors generally hear about before reaching the model.
Anong Charoensuk
Responsible for the building systems and the engineering review. Anong brings drawings to the meetings and asks the Board to distinguish a decision from a suggestion.
Kimber St. Clair
Oversees wellness facilities, ferry towels, kitchen water fittings, and the proposed lighting improvements at Sheffield. Kimber has brought fabric samples to a transport meeting.
Gen. Dale R. Prucha (Ret.)
Reviews access and gatehouse arrangements for all five tiers. General Prucha has requested a moat. The Board has pointed to the river; he considers that a separate matter.
Chad Brumley
Selected by lottery to represent qualifying husbands. Chad attends every meeting and reads the papers. He has asked whether the northbound water taxi really needs to announce arrivals.
Ashley Munroe
Attends for the Lincoln Park Trixie Society. Ashley does not vote, but asks questions about the houses, the kitchens, and whether guests can take the same ferry home.