WICKER PARK — As Double Door owners continue to fight Monday's eviction by the Cook County Sheriff's office, Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) is vowing to help the famed music venue stay put.
Wednesday morning, Moreno told WBEZ that he would meet with owners of the Double Door building and try convincing them to let the venue stay. He told the station he moved to Wicker Park 20 years ago because of its booming art and music scene.
Moreno did not return DNAinfo's calls for comment.
James McKay, a lawyer for building owner Brian Strauss, confirmed that Moreno was meeting with his client on Wednesday.
McKay said he does not know what the alderman's agenda is for the private meeting. Strauss was not immediately available for comment.
Since 1977, Strauss' family has owned the unique 113-year-old building, which wraps around the Milwaukee and Damen avenue corner and has a door at 1570-72 N. Milwaukee Ave., and at 1551-59 N. Damen Ave.
Strauss initiated eviction proceedings against club owners Sean Mulroney and Joe Shanahan in November 2015.
The saga came to an apparent end earlier this week when a court-ordered "No Trespassing" sign was slapped on the club's door by the county.
Performances scheduled for this past Monday and Tuesday at Door No. 3, the basement-level bar and stage that opened in 2013, were relocated.
While Moreno fights to keep the club in Wicker Park, a co-owner of the Double Door said Monday they would likely move to Logan Square if they don't win their fight with Strauss and the courts.
Mulroney told DNAinfo that plans are moving forward to reopen at 2551 N. Milwaukee Ave. and that he and Shanahan will ask for permission from the city's Zoning Board of Appeals.
The club would have to jump through many hoops if it wants to stay where it's been since 1994.
According to city records, Double Door's tavern liquor and public place of amusement (performance) licenses expired this past November and that same set of licenses for Door No. 3, are set to expire next Wednesday.
When asked about the liquor license status or Moreno's intervention Wednesday, Mulroney said, "We have no comment at this time."
This isn't the first time the alderman has gotten involved in the Double Door conflict. Last April — when eviction hearings were six months in and the Double Door space was listed for rent — Moreno initiated a zoning change that shrinks options for future tenants.
Moreno introduced a "downzone," which restricts the four-story Double Door building to a zoning classification designed for low-traffic streets — somewhat of a paradox for the very busy intersection.
The building currenly has a "B3-2" zoning designation that is intended to spur development in a commercial corridor, according to Second City Zoning, a nonprofit that uses data "to make Chicago's zoning code digestible by humans."
The "downzone" proposal to a B1-1, if approved by the full City Council, would mean that new commercial or retail renters get fewer options, and if they wanted to make a change such as adding a bar, they’d have to go through a lengthy approval process with the city.
According to Second City Zoning, a lower zoning designation also restricts smaller studio apartments or Single Room Occupancy on the building's upper levels. There are currently 11 loft-style apartments above the Double Door.
Moreno's proposal to rezone the building was tabled last June in the city's Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, city records show.
A zoning lawyer who is not connected to the Double Door said the change proposed by Moreno "is generally done to prevent or further restrict something that is not wanted."
A real estate listing that had advertised the club's first floor and basement for rent and was active for over a year during the eviction proceedings had been removed Wednesday.
Shortly after Monday's eviction, Strauss said he did not have any immediate tenants to replace the club.
"We will be working on putting something in that's favorable to the community. At this time we do not have anything locked in," Strauss said.
