LOGAN SQUARE — A large development near the California Blue Line stop that faced scrutiny from neighbors when it was first pitched two years ago is now heading to a key city panel for a vote, one story shorter and five units larger.
The six-story project at 2835-45 W. Belden Ave. calls for 100 units — 15 of them reserved as affordable housing — and 30 parking spaces. The current proposal offers five more units, 14 fewer parking spaces and is a floor shorter than the 2015 proposal.
It falls under the transit-oriented development ordinance because of its proximity to the train, allowing developers to offer far fewer parking spaces than regular residential projects.
Despite a less-than stellar reception from neighbors at a July 2015 meeting, the project is now up for approval at the Chicago Plan Commission's next meeting on June 15, according to the panel's agenda.
Approval is likely, as the development has the support of Ald. Joe Moreno (1st), according to his chief of staff, Raymond Valadez.
"The Alderman does support the project, which was reduced by a floor to address community concerns about the height, and which will provide 15 new affordable units in the Logan Square community," Valadez wrote in an email.
A current rendering of the project looking southwest. [Ald. Joe Moreno's 1st Ward office]
The few neighbors who attended a separate community meeting held at the alderman's office last September did not object to the plan, according to Valadez.
However, at the hastily called July 2015 community meeting, neighbors took issue with the height and density of the project and many expressed worry over the development boom near the California Blue Line stop, among other things, according to Our Urban Times and Curbed.
It's unclear if the project will include apartments or condos. The original proposal called for a mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments offering a range of 600 - 1,000 square feet of space, but the developers behind the project, Barry Sidel and Mark Ordower of Ogden Partners, couldn't be immediately reached for comment
The developers bought the string of properties near the train tracks for $779,000 in December of 2015, according to Cook County property records.
Over the past few years, several large developments have popped up near the California Blue Line stop, including the neighborhood's largest, the controversial Twin Towers.
Check out more renderings below:
2835 W. Belden Ave. Project Updated Renderings by Mina Bloom on Scribd
