Chicago developers worried last year that construction projects would face bureaucratic snarls after city planners added a layer to the approval process. Builders already had to run a gantlet of officials on several commissions and committees, as well as City Council. Some now had to face the Committee on Design, a panel of experts who would critique designs and press developers to make improvements.
“The idea of having another step like that was concerning for us,” said Jeff Head, vice president of development for The Habitat Co., a Chicago-based developer that in March presented, along with its partner P3 Markets, plans to the committee for a 10-story residential and commercial building at 43rd Street and the Green Line on the South Side.
But Head’s fears did not come true, he added. The new committee, an all-volunteer group of architects, urban planners, designers and developers, praised Habitat’s development, calling it a refreshing addition to a neighborhood with little new investment.
