LG Group’s Matt Wilke & NORR’s George Sorich discuss the process, challenges and triumphs of their collaboration to construct HUGO, the new residential crown jewel of River North.
When LG Group and trusted long-term partner, architecture and engineering firm, NORR, began work on their major new two-building residential project in 2021, the inherent challenges in planning a development located in Chicago’s dynamic River North neighborhood were further complicated by timing that coincided with the post-pandemic era.
“What [residents] need in this new, post-Covid environment made us rethink what it means to live, play and relax,” George Sorich, NORR’s Vice President, Residential, North America, said.
LG Group’s Chief Operations Officer & Partner, Matt Wilke, flagged that costs were also a major consideration during that delicate period, which required thoughtfully innovative and streamlined approaches across the board.
“We built this project through a very inflationary environment,” he shared. “Because [LG Group’s construction and design] teams were working under one roof, we were able to really collaborate, problem-solve and expedite decision-making. [That] limited our cost and subcontractor manpower issues as a team, versus a traditional marketplace team.”
An integrated development that is a driver of both capacity and density in River North – while embodying the epitome of luxury apartment design – the vision was to create a live-work-shop environment in a desirable location with tiered floor plans where residents can put down roots as they grow and their lives evolve.
Despite a planning process rife with hurdles, LG Group and NORR began construction on what were previously asphalt parking lots. Together, the partners ensured that the entire property reflected Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development’s Design Excellence initiatives, contributing to a high-quality built environment that celebrates and enhances the city’s unique architectural and urban design legacy.
The finished result is two nearly adjacent 10-story buildings separated by an existing low-rise masonry building, with a 93-unit structure at 411 W. Chicago Avenue featuring a similar facade that rises to the east of a 134-apartment complex at 751 N. Hudson, which is clad in metal panels.
“It’s two separate buildings that act as one asset. I think it’s unique that it was [intentionally] designed that way,” Wilke recalled.
Collectively, they are known as the luxury residential development, HUGO.
To read the full story behind HUGO in LG Group’s Quarterly Field Report, click here.