Zoning change denied for four-story Uptown apartment proposal

Despite changing both design and developers, a plan to replace a handful of low-rise buildings on Clark Street with a new mixed-use building will not be moving forward in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. The proposed redevelopment of 4537 N. Clark Street first broke cover in April as a five-story, 24-unit condo project from The Longford Group and Stoneberg & Gross Architects. A month later, the mixed-material design was cut to four stories and 18 residential units following negative community feedback.

Longford eventually walked away and a different developer, Icon Capital Group, decided to try its hand at redeveloping the site. The revised plan called for a four-story fully brick structure containing 24 rental units, 12 off-street parking spaces, and ground floor retail. Longford tapped Chicago-based Axios Architects to design the building.

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The updated rental proposal was presented to the Dover Street Neighbors Association in October and was again not well-received. According to 46th Ward Chief of Staff Tressa Feher, roughly 80 percent of the community group voted against the plan, prompting Alderman James Cappleman to deny the developer’s request for a zoning change.

In unrelated Uptown news, residents living within 250 feet of the Stewart School apartment conversion at Broadway and Sunnyside recently received a notice of zoning change request calling for a new 9-story, mid-rise apartment building. The transit-oriented development (TOD) would deliver 144 residential units and just seven parking spaces, reports Uptown Update. The proposal will need to navigate the 46th Ward community engagement process before any zoning change will be considered.

• Transit-oriented condo development proposed for Uptown [Curbed Chicago]
• Uptown condo proposal returns with tweaks [Curbed Chicago]
• Nine Story TOD Proposed For South Parcel Of Stewart School Development [Uptown Update]