WEST RIDGE — Construction on Chicago Northside Toyota's massive new facility at 6060 N. Western Ave. is underway this week at the site of the former "Z" Frank Chevy, an iconic brand for generations of Chicagoans.
A towering crane is now on site to help build the colossal 225,000-square-foot showroom and office building.
The dealership is now at 5625 N. Broadway in Edgewater.
Some 180,000 square feet of the Western Avenue facility will be spilt between four floors, with a window-filled showroom, sales area and offices on the first floor and indoor parking with additional offices on the second.
A service shop with 34 car bays will be on the third floor, while the fourth floor will provide parking and the roof will boast a 45,000-square-foot green space.
Among the store's other features is an in-house café, a lounge area with an aquarium, and a large children's play area, according to the builders.
A vehicle-sized freight elevator will be used to transport inventory between floors.
More parking will be found in a lot in back of the building and another lot at 6101 N. Artesian Ave.
The Missner Group was selected to lead construction on the project, which replaces the former "Z" Frank Chevrolet store.
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 despite a request from the new dealership's owner to keep and incorporate it.
In 2015 Mayor Rahm 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.
The dealership has been working for nearly two years on transitioning from its current home to the new one ahead of a major overhaul of the Red Line in Edgewater scheduled for 2017.
Gigantic cranes tower over Western Avenue traffic. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
A portion of two floors of the four-story building are beginning to pop up. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
The former "Z" Frank neon sign. [DNAinfo]
