1203 North California

A 9-story residential building occupies a formerly vacant corner lot on California Ave & Division St in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. The site marks the transition point between a park, residential district, and a vibrant commercial corridor known as Paseo Boricua. The building optimizes the characteristics of a corner site, with the use of a rounded building corner that encourage pedestrian engagement. The development completes the street wall formed along each street and serve to link traffic from the park to the commercial district.


Division St. is an active commercial corridor and is fronted with a facade of traditional masonry materials. The building's design takes its cues from neighboring precedents and is organized around a traditional base, middle, and top format that resonates with the vintage character and scale of the street. The facade incorporates masonry trim and face brick materials at the ground level and a vertical glazed shaft that bookends the commercial paseo's western terminus.


The development includes ground-level management spaces, a 19 car indoor garage, a 2nd-floor outdoor terrace, and 64 affordable apartments marketed to existing Humboldt Park area families and residents.