North Center's Riverfront Future Gets Bigger: Plan Commission Approves 14 New RiverWard Townhomes Along the Chicago River
By Socialhood News · North Center ·
North Center's ongoing transformation of its Chicago River frontage took another significant leap forward this week. On Thursday, August 21, Chicago's Plan Commission approved a 14-unit expansion of the RiverWard townhome development at 2259 West Oakdale Avenue — adding roughly $10 million in new construction to a riverfront project that has already begun turning a long-vacant industrial stretch of the North Branch into one of the city's most sought-after residential addresses.
The expansion, proposed by developer ZSD Riverward LLC, will fill in the remainder of the site's vacant riverfront lot at 2259 West Oakdale Avenue and extend the development west to North Oakley Avenue. The Plan Commission's green light came during its official hearing at Chicago City Hall, according to the City of Chicago Department of Planning & Development. The proposal now moves to the Chicago City Council Committee on Zoning and then to the full City Council, where the site must first be rezoned — from its current Planned Development 1127 and M1-2 Limited Manufacturing/Business Park District designation into a unified RM-5 Residential Multi-Unit District — before final approval.
The new 14 units would join the original 35 townhomes already underway at RiverWard, bringing the total project to 49 homes in all and pushing the combined development value past $43 million. Foundation permits for that first phase of 35 townhomes were issued in August 2025, with per-unit permit valuations for the building clusters ranging between $57,866 and $66,675. For buyers, the price point is decidedly upscale: those for-sale townhomes have been listed between $1.2 million and $2 million, with some extra-wide floorplans stretching to 4,700 square feet of combined indoor and outdoor space.
For North Center residents, the significance of this approval goes well beyond the price tags. The site sat idle as industrial land for years — a common story along the Chicago River's North Branch, which is undergoing a neighborhood-by-neighborhood reinvention. Under Section 17-8-0912 of the Chicago Zoning Ordinance, developments along the North Branch within a Waterway Planned Development district are required to provide a continuous landscaped riverwalk, meaning RiverWard's expansion will add more publicly accessible riverfront greenway to the neighborhood. That's the kind of permanent, community-serving infrastructure that benefits every North Center resident who walks, bikes, or simply wants a quiet spot along the water — not just future townhome owners.
The North Branch corridor has been one of the most closely watched development zones on Chicago's North Side over the past decade. Once lined with manufacturing facilities and auto shops, the stretch running through North Center has seen a wave of residential and mixed-use proposals as the City has worked to attract new investment to former industrial land. RiverWard is among the most prominent of these efforts, and its expansion signals continued developer confidence in the neighborhood's trajectory even as broader Chicago real estate markets remain uncertain.
The project still needs full City Council approval before construction on the 14 new units can begin, so North Center neighbors who want to weigh in have a window to engage. Residents can follow the proposal's progress through the City Council Committee on Zoning and reach out to their alderman's office to share feedback before a floor vote is scheduled. The Department of Planning & Development also posts public hearing notices and meeting agendas at chicago.gov/dcd, where community members can track the rezoning timeline.
Sources:
1. https://hoodline.com/2026/08/north-center-riverfront-gets-14-more-townhomes-as-43m-riverward-grows/