Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Little Workers Cottage on Armitage Demolished

By Paul Biasco | September 18, 2014 6:59am
 The workers cottage at 625 W. Armitage Ave. was torn down this week.
The workers cottage at 625 W. Armitage Ave. was torn down this week.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Paul Biasco

LINCOLN PARK — The little workers cottage along the east end of Armitage Avenue has been demolished.

The blue cottage was one of the last of its kind in the neighborhood, especially along Armitage surrounded by homes that towered over its 1½-story roof.

The cottage, at the corner of Armitage and Howe Street, was built it 1886 and retained its original look up until it was torn down Tuesday.

The home at 625 W. Armitage Ave. covered 801 square feet, including the basement, and sat on a tiny 17-foot-by-80-foot lot versus the standard 25-by-125-foot lot.

The owner of the home, developer John Novak, bought the cottage for $485,000 in 2008, and initially sought to add onto the home, according to city documents.

Novak filed for a zoning change to build a second story onto the home as well as a two-story rear addition in fall 2013. It was unanimously approved in December.

The home was at the end of what some real estate agents called "Mansion Row" down Howe, and it was sandwiched by large condo or apartment buildings on the east, south and west.

According to the Tribune, Novak's son and girlfriend lived in the home for six years before knocking it down this week.

The younger Novak has plans to build a 1,600-square-foot home on the site, according to the Tribune.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: