LOGAN SQUARE — Plans to build a 132-unit apartment building at the southwest corner of Milwaukee and Armitage avenues are moving forward despite opposition from neighbors.
Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) has given his OK to a slightly smaller version of the project, 1980 N. Milwaukee Ave. It will be up for approval at the city's next Plan Commission hearing, which is scheduled for Dec. 15.
Clayco, the developer behind the project, agreed to lower the height to seven stories, down from eight stories, but that was the only major change made since the last community meeting on Nov. 11.
The project calls for 132 apartments, 16 parking spaces — one less than was proposed in November — and approximately 7,000 square feet of retail space.
Moreno said his support for the project never wavered throughout the public approval process.
"I actually would support it at eight stories. However, the community organization I work with to review zoning changes wanted six stories. I think 7 stories is a good compromise," Moreno said.
The alderman is referring to the West Bucktown Neighborhood Association, which does not support anything taller than six stories.
"It's a big building. People brought up MiCa ... that's a stand-alone tower. It's got a lot of open space around it. This is part of the streetscape," Rodney Gansho, chairman of the association's zoning, planning and development committee, said at the November community meeting. "We fully support the building at six stories, but we couldn't support eight stories."
Other neighbors said the height isn't the only problem.
"My resistance to this proposed building is not just the height, but the total volume of the building and its street presence," resident Cheryl Noel said in an email. "It is very long and very tall right up to the public sidewalk, it will feel like a huge wall."
If approved by the Plan Commission, the development will be built on a lot that has sat vacant for at least 15 years.
The lot is owned by a California woman who bought it as an investment opportunity and had been waiting for the right buyer for a long time, said Raymond Valadez, Moreno's chief of staff.
More than half of the 132 apartments would be studios and convertible units, and the rest would be one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms.
Rents would start at $1,400 for 485-square-foot studios, around $2,000 for 700-square-foot one-bedrooms; and around $3,000 for 1,000-square-foot two-bedrooms.
Clayco intends to reserve 13 apartments in the project for affordable housing and build an additional six affordable units off-site.
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