WICKER PARK — Neighbors of what's been a big empty lot following the collapse of a church six months ago are turning thumbs down to a developer's condo replacement plan that they say conflicts with the look of historical homes on the sought-after Wicker Park block.
"It does not look like anything else that fits with the neighborhood. I find the whole thing offensive," Susan Fontana, a Wicker Park resident who lives near the empty lot, told the project's architect John Schiess at a neighborhood meeting on Wednesday in the park's field house.
Fontana and other neighbors voted 10-1 against Northbrook-based Interforum Holding's proposed eight-unit development at 1907-1911 W. Schiller St., while dues paying members of the Wicker Park Committee, a neighborhood group that hosted the gathering, were also opposed, 15-3.
The corner where the homes would be located is across from Wicker Park's dog park on the Schiller Street side and faces historic two- and three-flat buildings on the Evergreen side.
Lisa and Glenn Kahn, who live across from the site on Evergreen Avenue, questioned why the condo garages would face a block dotted with homes that have garages in the alley. They also cited curb cuts that they say would interrupt the sidewalk.
Schiess said that the lot is an unusual shape and the most feasible way to accommodate the garages was by putting them on Evergreen.
Schiess presented designs featuring 4 condos and 4 duplex units, offering three-bedrooms each plus one-car garages.
Igor Blumin, the site's owner and an Interforum Holdings partner, bought the church in 2015 and had planned to preserve the church building and redevelop it into two single-family homes and two townhomes.
But on Oct. 24, 2016, the church collapsed.
Blumin was not at Wednesday's meeting. Schiess said that it's believed that the church caved in when a beam collapsed, leading to a city-ordered demolition of the entire building.
In April, city Law Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey said the city and the owner "have agreed on settlement terms regarding the violations at this property."
Blumin and business partner Alex Zdanov's entity, 1903 Schiller LLC, agreed that they were liable for not having a building permit or submitting plans "prepared, signed, and sealed by a licensed architect or registered structural engineer for approval" and were ordered to pay $25,000 to the city, according to an April 20 court order.
Reached early Friday by phone, Blumin declined comment.
Hunter Hackett, a renter who lived next to the former church in a Schiller Street apartment at the time of the collapse, said that he is "still extremely upset about the negligence that contributed to the church collapse" but added that he understands the desire to move on and redevelop the property.
Now living in an apartment just across the way on Evergreen, Hackett added, "That being said, there’s no way you can objectively look at the condo building design and say that it fits with the design and historical aesthetic of the neighborhood."
"To me, it’s clear that the architect and developers are aware that this particular portion of the property is not landmark protected, so they presented a cheap, generic design to get more bang for their buck. Regardless of what caused the collapse, a corner park-side lot holds so much design potential," Hackett said.
Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) was not at Wednesday's meeting and did not respond to a request for comment.
[Site plan, courtesy of Our Urban Times]
