NEAR NORTH SIDE — A developer's proposal to build residential towers in the retail-heavy 900 block of West Weed Street might be nothing but a pipe dream, according to Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th).
A couple of weeks ago, Chuck Malk of suburban Deerfield-based CRM Properties Group filed a zoning application to build two residential towers with up to 407 residential units at 901 W. Weed St., according to city records. Malk has been trying to build the residential towers for a long time, Burnett said.
But residential development is prohibited under the area's current zoning. The goal is to create employment opportunities and support businesses in the area, explained Mike Holzer, director of North Branch Works, a nonprofit that has worked to keep industrial and manufacturing jobs in the area along the Chicago river.
Malk's project would incorporate an existing 29-story tower he developed and the street's existing retailers like Ann Taylor Loft and DSW, according to the zoning application. It is unclear if the units would be apartments or condos.
According to photos, a bridge would connect the two towers. The other tower would be 24 stories tall.
Malk declined to comment on the project.
Burnett said unless the city changes the zoning of the area, Malk "won't be able to do residential over there."
"If that's the policy of [the] planning [department] and the mayor's office, I'm standing with that until they say something different," Burnett said.
Hozer said he doesn't think the planning department would consider changing the zoning.
"The district is attracting significant investment and has created and retained jobs. I think the department would continue to support" the current zoning designation, he said.
When asked why Malk might've filed the zoning application now, Hozer said: "Developers are anything if not optimistic."
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