18 improvements made in the first quarter of 2025

While the cost of everything else goes up, Chicago Cityscape holds the line and improves the product

Every quarter I write these articles for two reasons: to advise Chicago Cityscape members of new and updated features, and to say that sometimes products can improve without the price going up. Chicago Cityscape has had the same pricing for four years but every quarter we introduce new data and solutions.

Continue reading to learn about 18 changes we made in the last three months.

Exclusively for members

We’ve had many member meetings so far this year and the schedule is still open for those who haven’t signed up! These are hourlong conversations at a coffee shop in the Loop so I can get to know you, your line of work, and discuss how to take better advantage of your membership.

• Check My Account & Profile to find the booking info. There is availability starting the second half of May.

Also for members: we improved our Member Directory for members to network and find brokers, zoning attorneys, architects, and general contractors. Add or update your listing.

The aforementioned items are not available during a free trial period.

Property Finder

• The year’s first quarter of property sales has been integrated. Property Finder, Property Report, and Property Sales Browser are all updated.
• Coming soon: Property transactions in Lake County, Illinois.
• Now you can display Google Street View photos directly in Property Finder. In the filters section, select the “Show Google Street View” checkbox and the data table will update immediately to show these images.

Property Finder filters

• Look for buildings with specific physical characteristics, like wood and masonry exterior construction types and number of stories. (This was added based on a member’s request.)
• ChiBlockBuilder was updated for the latest round, which includes 375 properties. Most properties require applications to be due on May 16, and others are due June 30.
• The filter for buildings with City of Chicago violations was improved to find buildings with a violation at any time, and to export information about those violations. (member request)
• Chicago Public Schools has an RFP for 21 former school buildings. Use our special Place Report and Property Finder for these sites; we recommend turning on the Chicago zoning filter so you can see instantly what the zoned housing capacity is for each location. Learn more about the RFP (including deadlines) on the CPS website.
• Incentives filter now lists four additional options from Incentives Checker: Disproportionately Impacted Area, Underserved Area, Economically Disconnected Area, and Disinvested Area. (member request)

Chicago zoning updates

• Addition of parking counts to the zoning change ordinances. (This is being done to support a third-party research project that’s in the works.)
• The zoning map has been updated to show changes made through April 2, 2025.
• A custom zoning district grouping for the proposed cumulative impacts ordinance was added (the proposal is O2025-0016697); this combines C, M, and PMD zoning districts into the same search.

Incentives

• The regional “Disinvested Area” map was added to Incentives Checker. While not an incentive, it can be used to qualitatively analyze a place and use this information in a grant application. According to CMAP, which created the map, Disinvested Areas “outline primarily nonresidential places with long-term declines in employment and other markers of commercial market weakness”.
• Qualified Census Tracts and Difficult Development Areas were updated; these are essential for housing developers who use LIHTC.
• Speaking of LIHTC…the City of Chicago published its draft 2025 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) and updates to the Architectural & Technical Standards Manual.

Building permits

• Building permits analytics are audited through April 11, 2025, which we use to tabulate the number of homes permitted in any given period. This work was useful for a housing study we published in February.
• Property Finder was updated to add a filter to identify Chicago properties that are in new construction permit activity areas. Look for this option in the “Site selection” column of filters.
• Coming soon: Cook County permits, in all 100+ municipalities, thanks to a major date updated by the Cook County Assessor Office.

Knowledge Base articles

There are several new Knowledge Base articles, and countless updated articles in the help center:

• Converting ground floor commercial & retail spaces to residences using an administrative adjustment process
• Single (smart) stair resources
• Parking reductions & relief (this is to hold you over until Chicago gets true reform of its parking mandates)

Data changes

• The Chicago environmental permits and environmental inspections datasets resumed in April, after being dormant since October due to staffing changes at the Chicago Department of Environment.
• Our API was updated to add taxpayer (ownership) info and property characteristics. Learn how to access our API.

18 improvements made in the first quarter of 2025 was originally published in Chicago Cityscape’s Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.