Bubble Tea Is Coming to Uptown — and a 303-Unit Tower Just Hit a Major Milestone on the Lakefront
By Socialhood News · Uptown ·
Uptown wrapped up August with two developments that signal just how broadly the neighborhood's transformation is reaching — from a long-empty storefront on a busy commercial strip finally landing its new tenant, to one of the most ambitious residential buildings in the neighborhood's recent history reaching its full height on North Marine Drive.
First, the news that bubble tea fans have been waiting for: Presotea is coming to Uptown. According to Uptown Update, a storefront at 5000 N. Broadway that was remodeled years back and has sat empty ever since will finally see a tenant — and that tenant is Presotea, a well-known bubble tea franchise that got its start in Taiwan and has since expanded across the United States. A sign posted in the window confirms the news and announces that the location is now actively hiring for managers and baristas, a reliable indicator that an opening is approaching. The Uptown shop is one of two Chicago locations in the works for Presotea simultaneously, with a second location also planned for Wicker Park.
For a stretch of Broadway that has been adding new businesses steadily over the past few years, Presotea's arrival is exactly the kind of fill-in that neighborhood residents and commercial corridor advocates have been hoping for. A long-vacant remodeled storefront represents lost foot traffic, a gap in the streetscape, and a reminder of what the corridor hasn't quite become yet — so a bubble tea concept with both name recognition and genuine neighborhood appeal turning that empty space into a hiring scene is legitimately good news. Presotea's Taiwanese roots also fit naturally into Uptown's broader identity as one of Chicago's most culturally layered neighborhoods, home to the Argyle corridor's celebrated Vietnamese and Southeast Asian business community and a growing range of international food and beverage concepts across its commercial strips.
Meanwhile, on the lakefront edge of the neighborhood, a major construction milestone quietly arrived at 4600 N. Marine Drive. According to Building Up Chicago, the 12-story, 303-unit apartment tower now under construction there has officially topped out — meaning the building has reached its full structural height. The development team behind that milestone includes developer Lincoln Property Company, design architect Valerio Dewalt Train Associates, general contractor Gilbane Building Company, and concrete contractor Adjustable Concrete Construction. Topping out a 12-story building is a significant moment in any construction project: it marks the transition from vertical structural work to the long process of interior build-out, facade completion, and systems installation that precedes a building opening its doors to residents.
At 303 units, 4600 N. Marine will be one of the larger residential additions Uptown has seen in a single project in recent memory — bringing hundreds of new households to one of the neighborhood's most scenic addresses, steps from the lakefront path and within easy reach of the Wilson CTA Red Line station. Lincoln Property Company is a national developer with a substantial Chicago presence, and the Valerio Dewalt Train design team brings an architecture pedigree well suited to a prominent lakefront site. The building's topping-out means residents could realistically be moving in within the next year or so, depending on construction pace.
Taken together — a Taiwanese bubble tea brand moving into a long-stubborn vacant storefront on Broadway, and a 303-unit tower reaching its full height on Marine Drive — this week's Uptown news reflects the full range of scales at which the neighborhood is evolving simultaneously. Not every story is a megaproject or a landmark permit: sometimes it's a hiring sign in a window that tells you something important is about to happen. And sometimes it's a tower crane finishing its job twelve stories up over the lake. Both matter.
Keep an eye on that Presotea window at 5000 N. Broadway for an opening announcement, and watch the 4600 N. Marine construction site for the next chapter in its progress toward welcoming its first residents. What do you think — are you excited for Presotea in Uptown, or is the Marine Drive tower the bigger story for the neighborhood's future? Drop your take in the comments and stay connected at exploreuptown.org!
Sources:
1. https://www.uptownupdate.com/
2. https://buildingupchicago.com/category/uptown/