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Whole Foods Unveils Vegetarian Eatery Plan; Neighbors Panic Over Traffic

By Ariel Cheung | July 8, 2015 8:53am | Updated on July 8, 2015 2:05pm

WEST LAKEVIEW — When plans for a Lakeview Whole Foods fell short of neighbors hopes in May, developers went back to the drawing board.

The results? "We've come a long way," said Chris Sotos, a developer on the project just north of the intersection of Lincoln, Ashland and Belmont avenues.

"We faced crticism in the past, and some of it, frankly, rightfully so. We could have done a better job, and we've taken that to heart," Sotos said Tuesday.

New renderings for a proposed Whole Foods at 3201 N. Ashland Ave. are dated July 1 and were posted by the 44th Ward shortly before a July 7 presentation. [Provided/44th Ward]

The developers met with the Melrose Street Concerned Residents at Mystic Celt, 3443 N. Southport Ave., ahead of a Monday vote on whether to recommend the 3201 N. Ashland Ave. project to Ald. Tom Tunney (44th). The current Lakeview Whole Foods, 3300 N. Ashland Ave., would close to make way for the larger store.

Tunney said his office was working with developers, Novak Construction and the Chicago Department of Transportation to "make Melrose [plans] work for our neighborhood."

Ariel Cheung says neighbors are very vocal about their concerns:

Most of the changes discussed were posted on Tunney's website earlier this month, including more window space facing Ashland Avenue, a garden walk on Melrose Street and smaller brick to better fit the residential neighborhood.

Whole Foods is considering a vegetarian restaurant to fill additional retail space at a proposed Lakeview location. New renderings for a proposed Whole Foods at 3201 N. Ashland Ave. are dated July 1 and were posted by the 44th Ward shortly before a July 7 presentation. [Provided/44th Ward]

A restaurant will likely occupy the 1,700 square feet of increased retail space, developers added, with Whole Foods suggesting a vegetarian menu.

The team hoped the changes would win over neighbors who criticized Whole Foods' previous, stonier facade and reminisced about a 2008 Centrum Properties proposal that included the Melrose Street park.

"We liked the Centrum plan. The density was good for the city, and all the parking was underneath [ground level]," said Tricey Morelli, organizer of the Melrose Street group. "It got approved."

"Centrum also never got built. The real estate market came back, and Centrum didn't," Sotos responded.

Developers were particularly enthused about the park and its "living wall," which would conceal a 298-space parking garage from the Melrose Street homes with a more scenic alternative.

A second park area on Greenview Avenue, valued at more than $1 million, will be donated to the nearby church and made public.

A Melrose Street park was among additions to  new renderings for a proposed Whole Foods at 3201 N. Ashland Ave. The designs are dated July 1 and were posted by the 44th Ward shortly before a July 7 presentation. [Provided/44th Ward]

"We are hoping this is going to be a huge improvement, with the addition of the public space. Visually, it also very much softens that Melrose facade where houses are aligned," said Brian Vitale, an architect on the project.

While the building's design and community enhancements appeased neighbors, traffic concerns became the main objection voiced at the meeting.

Whole Foods has insisted a second entrance/exit on Melrose Street is vital to its plans, but neighbors fear the increase of traffic on the residential street will endanger children and send vehicles shooting down side streets and alleyways.

Current plans seek to restrict Melrose Street to one-way toward Ashland Avenue starting at the parking garage entrance/exit, with a traffic light at the intersection. Developers hired a traffic engineer for a study, which CDOT is currently reviewing.

Street changes to make way for the new Whole Foods Market at Ashland, Lincoln and Belmont have some neighbors concerned about traffic. [Provided/Melrose Street Concerned Residents]

Once CDOT finalizes its report, the traffic study will be publicly available — but neighbors calling for answers before Monday's vote brought the meeting to a gridlock.

Sotos promised those who wanted definite traffic plans before voting that if they approved plans, and CDOT refused some of the street changes, they would meet again with neighbors before moving forward.

From here, the plans go before the Lakeview Chamber of Commerce on Friday. West Lake View Neighbors will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at Mystic Celt and will vote on the Whole Foods plan. If approved, the 70,000-square-foot store is set to open in spring 2017.

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