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COBBLER SQUARE

Owner

Equity Residential

Size

425,000 SF

Completion Date

1989

Key Staff

Kenneth Schroeder

Cobbler Square is the innovative conversion of the historic Dr. Scholl’s shoe factory and headquarters into a residential and commercial development. The project, which contains 297 loft apartments and approximately 22,000 square feet of retail space, is credited with sparking the revival of Chicago’s Old Town Neighborhood. It remains a highly profitable and desirable property with a rental wait list.

The design integrates a series of existing buildings with contemporary industrial style additions.

Among the added elements are a new entry/gate house and a three story parking garage. A four story lobby and glass elevator unites the complex spatially and visually. Original fragments of the factory, such as the smokestack and paving stones, were retained and integrated into the design to link the past with the present.

Cobbler Square has been recognized with numerous awards, inclusion in several texts on renovation and adaptive use, and frequent publication in the international architectural press.

Awards
  • Apartment Council Of Greater Chicago Award

    COBBLER SQUARE
    1989
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