WEST RIDGE — City officials Monday approved a request to rezone property in West Ridge for a new public library/housing building.
The Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards agreed to change the classification of a 0.92 acre site at Western, Pratt and Farwell from residential to business for developer Evergreen Real Estate Group Development LLC.
The project is a collaboration between Chicago Public Libraries and the Chicago Housing Authority and calls for a 16,000-square-foot library with three stories (44 units) of apartments for seniors above it to be built at 6800 N. Western Ave., the corner of Western and Pratt.
Next, the development heads to City Council.
CHA CEO Eugene Jones told West Ridge residents last fall the project was on a tight timeline and vowed it would be complete by December 2018.
The building will replace the Northtown Branch Library on California Avenue, which some residents want to see re-purposed as a cultural and community center.
