Former North Side emissions testing facility tapped for commercial redevelopment

A trapezoidal lot near the Kennedy Expressway along the western edge of Lincoln Park is being eyed as the future site of a four-story office development. Located at 1842-58 W. Webster Avenue, the nearly 52,000-square-foot site is currently occupied by a single-story structure and parking lot previously used to administer vehicle emissions tests. The facility was closed by the State of Illinois in November of last year and has sat vacant since.

According to paperwork filed with the City of Chicago, developer Warren Baker is applying to change the current zoning from M3-3 Heavy Industrial to C2-5 Commercial District. Architecture firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) has been selected to design the 100,000 plus square foot building which will include medical offices and parking for 185 motor vehicles and 50 bicycles. Baker previously teamed up with the Chicago-based architect on the 191-unit Elevate Lincoln Park apartment development currently under construction at 2518-2549 N. Lincoln Avenue.

“Our research tells us that medical use [in this area] is underserved,” Baker told Crain’s earlier this week. With the Chicago City Council passing legislation to open up the nearby North Branch Industrial Corridor to new mixed-use development—including thousands of new residences—demand for medical-related services is only expected to grow moving forward.

• Medical office building planned for Lincoln Park [Crain’s]
• Previous Lincoln Park coverage [Curbed Chicago]