ROGERS PARK — Billionaire Jennifer Pritzker continues to invest heavily in the neighborhood as her 250-car parking garage nears completion on Sheridan Road and a development is slated for Morse Avenue.
Sean McGowan, chief operating officer of Tawani Enterprises, Pritzker's real estate holding company, said the four-story garage should open June 1.
"We think the building really should start to come to life really this month," he said in an interview last week. "It’s concrete right now, and concrete is concrete — the finish work really sets it off."
McGowan said a channel glass facade would be installed soon at 7331 N. Sheridan Road.
"I think it’s going to be a real asset to the neighborhood," he said. "The parking is going to be at a rate that will be fantastic."
The garage, built a block from the lake at 7331 N. Sheridan Road, replaced the former Shambhala Meditation Center, which was demolished. The plans drew protests from residents, but were eventually supported by Ald. Joe Moore (49th) and approved by the city's Zoning Board of Appeals and Chicago Plan Commission.
McGowan said a waiting list for residents seeking a spot in the garage has been growing.
Sixty of the parking spaces will be reserved for residents of Farcroft by the Lake, a 12-story building being rehabbed by Tawani two blocks north, and 84 spaces would be set aside exclusively for residents.
The remaining 106 spaces would first be reserved for visitors of the Emil Bach House, another Pritzker-owned building nearby that was restored, but would open to the public when there are no Bach House events.
The spaces for residents — and any reserved spaces that are not being used — would be available to the public for hourly and monthly parking, priced at $125.
Hourly parking would be available to the public for $2 an hour and $8 a day.
Meanwhile, McGowan said, Tawani intends to soon reveal plans for a development in place of a strip mall at 1313 W. Morse Ave. Former building owner James Yoo sold the single-story mall to a Tawani company in February for $3.08 million, according to property records.
McGowan said the development could be "mixed-use," but plans have not been finalized.
"That’s partially because we are currently working on some plans that we think will be great for the neighborhood and good for us," he said.
Pritzker also owns the Mayne Stage, Act One Pub and attached apartment building across the street.
The strip mall was sold in February. (DNAinfo/Benjamin Woodard)
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