777 N. Franklin is a 9-story speculative office building located in Chicago’s River North Neighborhood. Located at the corner of Chicago Avenue and Franklin, on the site of a former one-story grocery store that has long been vacant, it is a true TOD with the entrance to the Chicago Avenue Brown Line Station at its corner. Bounded by the elevated tracks on Franklin and partially on Chicago Avenue, the first floor, containing retail, office lobby and parking, was designed with a higher-than-normal floor-to-floor dimension to allow the office floors to be above the tracks. Minimal parking along the alley was provided given its proximity to the “L”. Square in plan and section, the design allows for flexibility in planning and office configurations. Setbacks along the street frontages and top floor, along with variations in the treatment and design of the glass façade, give the building a sense of verticality and variation. The top floor has building amenities as well as roof decks that provide views of the city skyline. The project was put on hold due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and its impact on speculative office development.
