There hasn’t been a lot of new anything for decades in the neighborhood immediately west of the old South Works site in South Chicago. But that’s changed with the recent completion of a well-scaled mixed-use mid-rise called Thrive Exchange. 

The design is the product of locally based Koo Architecture led by architect Jackie Koo. It was developed by DL3 Realty as part of the Invest South/West initiative that was launched by then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot and then-Department of Planning and Development Commissioner Maurice Cox. 

Koo first made her name in hospitality design with the striking Wit Hotel in the Loop in 2009. More recent projects include the Sable Hotel at Navy Pier and the Altgeld Family Resource Center in the Riverdale neighborhood. This background informed her work at Thrive Exchange: “We definitely try to bring some hospitality vibes to make it a nice place for the residents,” Koo said. 

The 55,000-square-foot, six-story-tall brick-clad building sits at the corner of East 79th Street and South Exchange Avenue just south of the Cheltenham Metra Electric station. This is an almost perfect site for what’s known as transit-oriented development, or TOD, that encourages larger buildings with limited, or even no, on-site parking when located near public transportation. 

And it’s just a few blocks west of the 440-acre Quantum Shore Chicago development that’s rising on the old South Works site. Construction of Advocate Health Care’s new Trinity Hospital replacement facility is already underway. 

Thrive Exchange is a building that eschews sharp edges; it features curved corners that are reminiscent of art deco’s effect on buildings and trains — which........

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