Save Old Town – Protecting Historic Old Town

Old Town is worth fighting for

We are standing up in court—and in our community—to protect what works.

About Us

Save Old Town represents a broad coalition of neighborhood advocates united by the shared mission of protecting historic Old Town from overdevelopment.

Our coalition is comprised of residents who have called Old Town home for years, if not decades; many of our members have lived, worked, and raised families in the neighborhood for 20+ years.

Our group encompasses a diverse array of perspectives and voices, bringing together residents from all walks of life who share one common goal: ensuring Old Town continues to thrive through responsible, community-focused growth.

Join Save Old Town to stand up for transparency in government, community balance, and responsible development.

Mission

Save Old Town is committed to promoting responsible, sustainable growth and development initiatives in the neighborhood. We support well-planned, rational development that honors the unique characteristics that make Old Town a prime destination for Chicagoans and visitors alike.

Currently, our efforts are focused on the controversial Old Town Canvas tower project, spearheaded by Delaware-incorporated commercial real estate firm Fern Hill. This mixed-used development was rushed through the city approval processes, and serious concerns about the project raised by Old Town residents were strategically brushed aside by elected leaders.

We have taken legal action, filing a lawsuit against the developer, the City of Chicago and its planning department. If allowed to proceed, Old Town Canvas will irreversibly damage the character of the neighborhood, overburden local infrastructure, and set a dangerous precedent for high-density development in our community.

learn more about the Old Town Canvas project

About Old Town Canvas

Old Town Canvas is mixed-use development to be located at 1610 N. LaSalle Drive in historic Old Town. The 36-story Old Town Canvas tower will include 349 apartments and up to 285 parking spaces. It is the first phase of what will become a mega development and rezoning of more than one million square feet, impacting far more than one parcel, including Piper’s Alley and Moody Church parcels.

Since the announcement of the Old Town Canvas project, engaged community members have been raising concerns about the feasibility of the development. Given that the tower has a single ingress/egress point, already notoriously complicated traffic patterns in the area and overburdened public infrastructure will be severely impacted. With more than 300 new residents driving in and out of the tower, hailing rideshares, and bringing in moving trucks and deliveries, we fail to see how Old Town can sustain this increase in traffic.

Additionally, the developer failed to follow proper notification protocols to inform and engage the community in a sincere way. The public meeting process was controlled by the developer, and our alderman, Brian Hopkins, agreed to a last-minute compromise in the hours leading up to the council vote.

The issue at hand is much larger than the building of just one tower; this project is part of a larger effort to redevelop portions of Old Town bound by North Avenue, LaSalle Drive and Clark Street. It’s not just one building. It’s the beginning of something much larger.

To make the building of Old Town Canvas possible, the developer had to apply for a rezoning of Planned Development 89 (PD 89) in Old Town. PD 89 now includes one million square feet of entitled land across multiple parcels – covering the Moody Church campus, historic Piper’s Alley, and the former BP and Shell gas stations. Thanks to the city’s approval of the rezoning, Fern Hill and its partners have the right to build future towers in the PD 89 area without requiring new public hearings or City Council votes. The rezoning of PD 89 threatens to transform Old Town from a human-scaled, walkable neighborhood into a high-density corridor of glass towers and garage traffic stretching from North Avenue to Clark Street.