LOGAN SQUARE — A proposal to build dual 11- and 15-story towers on a dusty stretch of prime real estate in Logan Square will be the subject of what is expected to be a high-profile public meeting Thursday after a move to rezone the property was deferred Tuesday.
A plan to build what will easily be the largest development in the neighborhood was listed on an agenda for the city's Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards Tuesday, but because the plan is seeking Planned Development status, it was automatically deferred.
The first public meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Candela Restaurant, 2451 N. Milwaukee Ave., for the three sites at 2255-93 N. Milwaukee Ave., 2208-26 N. Washtenaw Ave. and 2715-35 W. Belden Ave.
The zoning change is proposed for vacant lots just southeast of the California and Milwaukee avenue intersection to create a "community shopping district" and a residential business development at the former site of plumbing fixture company Max Gerber.
The sites currently sit vacant but are primed for dense revitalization by their close proximity to the newly renovated California Blue Line station and a slew of new and incoming developments along the main drag of Milwaukee Avenue heading north.
“I understand some residents have raised concerns about our application appearing on the Oct. 28 agenda of the zoning committee,” developer Rob Bouno wrote to Greater Goethe Neighborhood Association president sally Hamann Monday night. “This is simply a formality based on us having filed and noticed the application. It will not be considered by the committee on Oct. 28."
“Moreover, because it is a planned development application it will be automatically deferred until it is considered by the [Chicago] Plan Commission at a future meeting,” he added.
Planned Development designations are designed to "ensure adequate" public review by requiring relevant documents be posted and made available ahead of a mandatory community meeting.
A development team for the project has had initial meetings with members of the Greater Goethe Neighborhood Association. But more details and site renderings will be available at the public meeting scheduled for Thursday.
After the proposal is reviewed by the Plan Commission, it will be sent to the city's zoning committee before it could be considered by the full City Council. The zoning committee would also have to hold a public hearing on the development ahead of a full vote.
The two mixed-use buildings will contain about 6,600 square feet of retail floor space, 253 upper-floor units, 73 parking spaces, one bicycle parking space per unit and one loading berth. The project totals about 1.6 acres, according to a plan of development, which includes more than 42,000 square feet for one tower and nearly 30,000 for the other.
The dual tower proposal is fronted by husband-and-wife owners Elizabeth Cichelli, co-chair of the Human Rights Watch Chicago Committee, and Bouno. Wheeler Kearns Architects is on deck to design the structure.
Buono also developed an 11-story, 99-unit apartment tower at 1611 W. Division St. in Wicker Park that opened last year. That building, which has been both panned and praised by passerby, was designed by Wheeler Kearns Architects.
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