The long-vacant Edgewater Medical Center on Ashland between Hollywood and Edgewater may finally be coming back to life, as suggested by the new renderings for the site released by current owner MCZ Development. After sitting empty for nearly 15 years—and being the subject of various development proposals and legal troubles—MCZ's vision for the site involves a 141-unit apartment complex that will revitalize and add to the site's existing structures, while also being conversant with the adjacent, MCZ-owned former medical center parking garage, soon to be the site of Edgewater's first luxury homes.
The revitalized medical center complex will include 9 studios, 100 one-bedroom units, and 32 two-bedroom units, and 29 of the total 141 units will be set aside as required for affordable housing, as announced by Alderman O'Connor. This is a reduction of the originally proposed 213 units, in the interest of reducing neighborhood disruptions and preserving the building's historic character, which site architect Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture (HPA) has made central to MCZ's plans. But before anything can move forward, MCZ awaits the approval of $10.7 million in tax increment financing (TIF) for the project—currently still fully in proposal phase—culled from the Edgewater/Ashland TIF district. Once approved, MCZ will fully acquire the site in September 2015, and it will then begin demolition through March 2016, followed by an April 2016 construction start and a goal of March 2018 occupancy.
·Previous Edgewater Medical Center coverage [Curbed Chicago]
·Proposed Edgewater Medical Center Apartment Complex Renderings Released [DNAinfo]
·The saga of the Edgewater Medical Center [Gaper's Block]
·40th Ward Edgewater Medical Center proposal [Alderman Patrick O'Connor]
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