The Wicker Park Connection Plan Is Officially Getting Underway

On either side of a winding pedestrian pathway between Division Street and Milwaukee Avenue, a major development that includes 275 apartments with additional restaurants and retail is underway. This 77,000 s.f. project, set on over two acres of vacant land, is called the Wicker Park Connection.

First, Centrum is going to build a six-story, 60-unit apartment building. A 103-year-old storefront (that once housed a dive bar called Wisla Cut-Rate Liquors) will perish to make room for this development.

Then, Phase II, which includes the pathway, will begin. At the point, three new buildings will come in to supply 275 apartments. Singletons, rejoice: the majority will be one-bedrooms, with an average dwelling size of about 708 s.f. Five storefronts will move in, subdividing about 50,000 s.f. of retail. And to account for cars, there will be 156 parking spots--145 of which will be underground, to make room for more pedestrian space.

A total of 27 apartments, or 10 percent, will be deemed affordable in accordance with the Affordable Requirements Ordinance (although technically, ten percent of 275 is 27.5, which rounds up to 28...).

Some options of use for all that public space? Public hammocks, swings, games like a giant chess board. Forum Studio is in charge of that piece.

·'Ambitious' 275-Unit Wicker Park Project to Connect Division and Milwaukee [DNAinfo]