NOBLE SQUARE — A plan to build a 12-story, 32-unit condo tower overlooking the Polish Triangle from the same developer as Logan Square's controversial "Twin Towers" will be discussed at a neighborhood group's meeting next month.
Hosted by the Pulaski Park Neighborhood Association, the meeting is scheduled for 7 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 10 at Near North Montessori School, 1434 W. Division St.
Developer Rob Buono, of Henry Street Partners, is finalizing a plan to buy the Fifth Third Bank at 1209 N. Milwaukee Ave., as well as a parking lot behind the bank that has a shuttered drive-through window, according to Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd).
The proposed Noble Square condos would be located behind the bank in the 1200 block of North Bosworth Avenue, just north of the underground CTA Division Blue Line L stop.
The bank's parking lot and site of the proposed condo tower. [DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser]
Buono did not respond to several requests for comment, nor did Sean Parker, a spokesman for Cincinnati, Ohio-based Fifth Third Bank, which owns the 70-year old bank building and the lot behind the bank, county records show.
Workers at the bank on Tuesday indicated that they are aware of the project.
Nearby, Buono also built the city's first Transit-Oriented development, an 11-story, 99-unit apartment building at 1611 W. Division St. on the south side of the Polish Triangle.
Buono is also wrapping up completion of Logan Square's controversial "Twin Towers" on Milwaukee Avenue.
Located at 1209 N. Milwaukee Ave., the Fifth Third bank branch, which opened in 2007, would stay at the site if Buono's plan works out, Hopkins said.
On Tuesday, Hopkins said he has not yet seen Buono's proposal or renderings of the project but he knows "Buono's hope is to acquire the bank building and the lot behind it," and that the bank wants to stay on that site.
Hopkins said he will not be involved in the Aug. 10 meeting.
"It's perfectly fine if Mr. Buono and his team are meeting with neighbors to get the pulse of the community. But my office is not presently involved in those meetings," Hopkins said. "If a new development plan is eventually crafted as a result of those talks — either pre-sale or post-sale, that's up to the buyer — then my office will step forward to play a role. I will have a larger community meeting when we have something specific and detailed to consider."
Kapra Fleming, president of the Pulaski Park Neighborhood Association, said that she has met wth Buono on two occasions to discuss the project. Fleming said that the condos would be "high end" and between 2,000 and 5,000 square-feet each, with 1.5 parking spots allotted per unit.
Hopkins said he has no specifics to comment on, but he can say that he tends to view Transit-Oriented projects in a more favorable light than projects with a 1-to-1 parking ratio.
Fleming is urging residents who live near the site to attend the Aug 10 meeting.
"We are at the stage where [Buono] really needs to be talking to people, especially on Bosworth," Fleming said.
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