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62-Year-Old Auto Shop Out, 70 Condos Planned for Site Next to Harpo Studios

By Stephanie Lulay | September 25, 2015 6:30am | Updated on September 25, 2015 8:46am
 A&A Automobile Service, at 1045 W. Washington Blvd., has been located in the West Loop for 62 years. The shop will close after the site's owner has sold the land to a developer.
A&A Automobile Service, at 1045 W. Washington Blvd., has been located in the West Loop for 62 years. The shop will close after the site's owner has sold the land to a developer.
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DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay

WEST LOOP — A prominent developer has plans to develop 70 condominiums across from Harpo Studios in the West Loop.

West Loop-based developer Belgravia Group plans to build a a six-story, 77-foot-tall building on a large lot at Washington Boulevard and Aberdeen Street, the company's CEO Alan Lev confirmed Thursday. If approved, the new development will displace A&A Automobile Service, a longtime auto repair shop at the site.

All 70 of the condos would be three-bedroom, three-bathroom units perfect for expanding families hoping to stay in the West Loop, Lev said. The condos will be between 2,100-2,200-square feet and list in the high $700,000s or low $800,000s.

The condos will have 10-foot ceilings, European cabinetry, wood floors and luxe finishes, Lev said.

The site is located in the 25th Ward, and the project would need a zoning change.

Belgravia Group plans to build 70 condo units at Washington and Aberdeen in the West Loop. The site currently houses A&A Automobile Service, a longtime West Loop auto shop. [Belgravia Group]

The West Central Association and West Loop Community Organization both support the project, the group's respective leaders Armando Chacon and Carla Agostinelli confirmed. Larry Gage, president of Neighbors of West Loop, could not be reached Thursday.

"Belgravia has always delivered solid projects," Agostinelli said.

If all goes well, Belgravia hopes to break ground on the project in May 2017 and deliver the first units in summer 2018.

The proposed development is similar in size to the CA Condos on Adams, a completed Belgravia Group project at Adams and Aberdeen streets that sold out before the developer broke ground, Lev said.

A&A Automotive rented the site. Belgravia Group has the land under contract, but the sale is contingent on the zoning change.

Renderings leaked in June show the largest studio building on the 3½-acre Harpo Studios campus would be demolished.

Auto shop moving

A & A Automotive, at 1045 W. Washington Blvd., has operated in the West Loop at the site for 62 years, said Ken Ziolo, the shop's owner. In 1955, Ziolo's father opened the shop, and in 1967 it moved into another building on the site.

The shop plans to close in May.

Despite the impending move, Ziolo plans to keep his family's business on the Near West Side. He's currently considering a site near Hubbard and May streets.

"It's a godsend that we've been able to rent this long," Ziolo said. "We want to stay in the neighborhood but it's kind of tough because all of the buildings are being used up right now."

A&A Automobile Service, at 1045 W. Washington Blvd., has been located in the West Loop for 62 years. The shop will close after the site's owner has sold the land to a developer. [DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]

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