HYDE PARK — Crews will start dismantling the 53rd Street Mobil gas station on Aug. 13 to prepare the site for construction of 13-story apartment and retail complex called Vue53.
The gas station and car wash at 1330 E. 53rd St. will close on Aug. 12, and at 8 a.m. on Aug. 13 construction crews will begin the three-day process of digging up the gasoline tanks under the gas station.
“We are securing all required permits from the city and expect safe and efficient removal of the tanks, with minimal impact to surrounding neighbors,” said James Hanson of Mesa Development.
The developer was hired by the University of Chicago to convert the site into 267 apartments and retail spaces.
City inspectors will be on site to monitor the removal of the tanks, Hanson said.
Construction of the new structure will not begin until early 2014.
The project has rankled some Hyde Parkers, who were wary that the 135-foot tall building would be out of character beside the two- and three-story buildings around it and that the project would snarl traffic.
Mesa Development compiled a list of alternate gas stations in the neighborhood, which it has made available on the South East Chicago Commission website at secc-chicago.org.
