WEST RIDGE — Permits were issued last week for the new four-story Toyota dealership that will replace the former ''Z'' Frank Chevrolet location on Western Avenue.
Chicago Northside Toyota has been working for over a year on transitioning from Broadway and Hollywood in Edgewater to its new home in West Ridge ahead of a major overhaul of the Red Line in Edgewater scheduled for 2017.
On Dec. 13, a permit was issued for $18.5 million worth of construction at the 6042 N. Western Ave. site, which will include a 49,000-square-foot building with a showroom, service department and a 22,000-square-foot parking lot built for 222 vehicles. Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office said last year it expected the new structure to cost over $25 million.
The first floor will hold the showroom, sales area and offices, and the second will have indoor parking and offices.
A service shop will be located on the third floor, while the fourth floor and roof will provide parking as well — plus an additional on-site lot in back of the building, and another lot at 6101 N. Artesian Ave., according to records.
On Dec. 5, the Toyota dealership spent an estimated $48,000 in site preparations.
The ''Z'' Frank dealership opened in 1936 and closed in 2008, with its famous sign getting scrapped in 2014 when the building was torn down.
In Oct. 2015, Emanuel's office announced a tax incentive that would give the Toyota dealership a $1.5 million break over five years, and said the new facility would add 65 jobs to its current workforce of about 120 employees.
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