The Chicago Department of Planning & Development has opened a new round of properties in the ChiBlockBuilder program, the replacement and expansion of the former Large Lots program. There are 106 parcels in 35 groups. New this round are marketing brochures common to commercial real estate listings — available for some of the parcel groups. Applications close Nov. 30, 2023, or Jan. 12, 2024. Chicago Cityscape has been updated to show these 106 parcels

Two longstanding federal infrastructure loan funds were revised last month to extend below-market interest rates to private development near rail stations. …

Head into 2023 Q4 equipped with even more information at your fingertips — Take a moment to skim the ten new or updated features we created in the previous quarter. There is improved data for property finders (i.e. developers and brokers), architects, community-based organizations, residential and commercial brokers, and zoning and land use attorneys and analysts. 92,000 properties in Cook County now have…

The Cook County Assessor’s Office continues to make more data about 1.8 million properties available, to Chicago Cityscape members’ benefit. Earlier this year the CCAO published a database of the names of tax-exempt property owners, increasing the level of transparency of the convoluted property tax system in Cook County. Chicago…

When the Chicago City Council passed the Connected Communities ordinance last year they re-legalized six-flat and larger buildings on standard size lots — in certain zoning districts — by cutting the typical parking mandate of one parking space per dwelling unit. This enables two historical designs we’re calling the “Standard…

Despite a break from making improvements to the platform in May, we still managed to make an impressive set of updates and new features to Chicago Cityscape in the second quarter of 2023. Let us show you: join our next Lunch Break Update, scheduled on Wednesday, July 26, at 12…

The Connected Communities ordinance — adopted last year — required that the Chicago Department of Transportation establish Transportation Demand Management rules for new construction developments in the overlap of B, C, and D zoning districts, and 1/2 mile around CTA and Metra rail stations. TDM is the name of policies…

And ADU news you can use in May 2023 — Citywide expansion — Last year’s ADU citywide expansion bill was among the majority of unadopted ordinances killed in City Council on May 24, but new 44th Ward Alderperson Lawson introduced a replacement bill. Fellow new alderperson Bill Conway told Chicago Cityscape, “I am all for expanding the ADU pilot citywide…

Last month 100 people got together to talk about accessory dwelling unit policy, design, construction, and financing, in Chicagoland. …