Riverside Heights: Reconnecting Chicago with Its Riverfront
A mixed-use neighbourhood of homes, offices and public space on a former industrial site.
- Client: Riverside Partners (2019)
- Project Value: $210 Million
- Time to Completion: 30 months
- Location: Chicago, 2019
- Project Type: Mixed-use
- Project Size: 4 buildings, 1.5 million square feet
Project Overview
Riverside Heights transformed a disused industrial site into a lively mixed-use neighbourhood on the Chicago River. The development includes two residential towers, an office building, a boutique hotel and a ground floor of shops and restaurants, all arranged around a new public riverwalk and park. Wide promenades, kayak launches and outdoor seating invite people back to the water's edge, while green roofs, permeable paving and planted swales manage rainwater naturally. The neighbourhood was designed to be walkable, with easy connections to transit and the city's cycle network.
Challenges
The Riverside Heights site carried a long industrial history, with contaminated soil, old foundations and a crumbling river wall. Work beside the river required strict environmental controls and permits, and four large buildings had to rise at the same time on a shared, constrained site. The city also required the public riverwalk to open before the residential towers were complete.
Solutions
Structo brought Riverside Heights to life through careful site remediation, close cooperation with city agencies and a programme that put public space first. Each building was planned as part of a single neighbourhood, so that construction of one never held back the others or the community spaces around them.
Results
Riverside Heights has become one of Chicago's most popular new neighbourhoods, with the homes fully occupied and the offices let to growing local businesses. The riverwalk attracts thousands of visitors every weekend, and the green infrastructure has eliminated flooding on the surrounding streets. The project won several awards for urban regeneration and has inspired similar riverfront plans elsewhere in the city.
