For years, the sprawling stretch of vacant land along the North Branch of the Chicago River near Goose Island has been known for one thing: a megadevelopment that never got built. Lincoln Yards is officially dead, and in its place, a new, scaled-back vision called Foundry Park has cleared its final approvals. Here is what happened to Lincoln Yards, what is actually planned now, and what it means if you are watching real estate in Lincoln Park or Bucktown. Let's dive in.
What Happened to Lincoln Yards
Lincoln Yards was first revealed by developer Sterling Bay in 2018 and approved by the City Council in 2019, backed by a combined $2.4 billion in city subsidies that then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel pushed through alongside a similar package for The 78 downtown. The plan called for roughly 14.5 million square feet of office towers, housing, and retail spread across 55 acres split by the Chicago River. It never got off the ground. The pandemic, rising construction costs, and Sterling Bay's own financial troubles kept the site essentially frozen for years, with only one structure ever completed: a life sciences building at 1229 W. Concord Place. In March 2025, Sterling Bay surrendered the property to lender Bank OZK.
Meet Foundry Park
In July 2025, JDL Development and Kayne Anderson Real Estate stepped in, entering an agreement to acquire the 31-acre northern portion of the former Lincoln Yards site. They rebranded it Foundry Park, a nod to the property's century-plus history as the A. Finkl & Sons steel foundry. The southern portion of the original Lincoln Yards site is not part of this plan. Novak Construction has separately been buying that vacant land along with the completed life sciences building.
What's Actually Planned
Foundry Park cleared the Chicago Plan Commission in January 2026 and received final City Council approval in February 2026. The project covers roughly 28 acres east and north of the Chicago River in Lincoln Park, with a handful of buildings west of the river on Elston Avenue in Bucktown. Current plans call for up to 3,700 residential units, ranging from single-family homes and townhouses near the river to high-rise towers further back from the water, along with a hotel, retail, restaurants, and roughly a quarter of the site set aside as open space, including new riverfront paths. Most buildings are expected to stay under 20 stories, with only a few towers reaching as high as 30. Parking for about 300 cars will sit below grade, with the only vehicle access point on Kingsbury Street, a design choice architect Hartshorne Plunkard and JDL founder Jim Letchinger say is meant to keep traffic contained to a single corridor.
A Very Different Vision Than the Original
The contrast with Sterling Bay's original plan is significant. Lincoln Yards was conceived as a dense, office-driven megaproject with a scale closer to a downtown business district. Foundry Park is deliberately smaller and residential-first, built around walkable, tree-lined streets and four-season public space, including plans for farmers markets, art fairs, and ice skating along the riverfront. That shift reflects both a changed office market since 2019 and a bet that this stretch of the North Side works better as a genuine neighborhood extension of Lincoln Park and Bucktown than as a standalone commercial district.
Why This Matters If You Are Buying in Lincoln Park or Bucktown
A 28-acre site with nearly 3,700 planned homes, a new riverwalk, and retail is a meaningful addition to two neighborhoods that already command some of the highest demand on the North Side. Unlike Lincoln Yards, which sat as a stalled construction site for years, Foundry Park now has its approvals in hand and known developers with a track record of delivering residential projects in Chicago. That makes it worth watching closely, both for the direct impact of thousands of new homes entering the local market over the next several years and for the ripple effect a genuinely finished riverfront development tends to have on surrounding property values.
If you want to talk through how Foundry Park could affect buying or selling near Lincoln Park, Bucktown, or the North Branch corridor, connect with IKGroup for guidance on what is happening in the market right now.
FAQs
Is Lincoln Yards still happening?
- No. The original Lincoln Yards megadevelopment, approved in 2019, never got built and effectively ended when Sterling Bay surrendered the property to its lender in March 2025. The northern portion of the site is now being redeveloped as Foundry Park under new ownership.
Who is developing Foundry Park?
- JDL Development and Kayne Anderson Real Estate are developing Foundry Park, having acquired the 31-acre northern portion of the former Lincoln Yards site in 2025.
How many homes will Foundry Park have?
- Current plans call for up to 3,700 residential units, ranging from single-family homes and townhouses near the river to high-rise towers set back from the water.
Where is Foundry Park located?
- The development sits mostly east and north of the Chicago River in Lincoln Park, with a few buildings west of the river on Elston Avenue in Bucktown, near Goose Island.
What happened to the southern portion of the original Lincoln Yards site?
- It is not part of the Foundry Park plan. Novak Construction has separately been acquiring that vacant land, along with the one structure completed under the original Lincoln Yards project.
Has Foundry Park been approved?
- Yes. The Chicago Plan Commission approved the project in January 2026, and the City Council gave final approval in February 2026.
