UKRAINIAN VILLAGE — A two-flat built in the early 1900s across from the Mariano's on Chicago Avenue was demolished Wednesday to make way for a four-story luxury apartment building that will be ready by the end of the year if everything goes as planned.
Built in 1908, the building at 2054 W. Chicago Ave. was sold for $440,000 in October 2014 to Stephen Dykun, a River West-based developer.
Dykun said that there was no opposition to the demolition.
The building was the home of Simple Cash, a pawn shop that closed a few years ago.
"It was a dilapidated building that had not been occupied for three or four years. It could not have even been gutted or remodeled," Dykun said.
Dykun grew up in the suburbs but spent his weekends either at a Ukrainian school or church in the neighborhood.
"I'm not building and leaving. I have a lot of family and friends in the area. It's about bringing up a building that was vacant and unused, not in a good state. This [development] will bring a higher clientele with Mariano's across the street," Dykun said.
No renderings are available yet for the new building, which will be contemporary in design, he said.
There will be a 900-square-foot retail storefront on the first floor and three, three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments on the upper three floors, each about 1,400 square feet.
The all-brick building will use a style of brick called "Sioux City vintage" that is a blackish-gray color, similar to other modern buildings on Madison Street in the West Loop, Dykun said.
Dykun said the apartments will be "condo style," with more high-end finishes, plus wood flooring and Italian style cabinets. All of the dwellings will feature balconies facing Chicago Avenue and rooftop deck access via the two upper floors.
The neighboring property to the west is a striking limestone building with an intricate facade that was once a post office and is protected from demolition, Dykun said.
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