18 condos, with larger units costing around $600,000, proposed for Edison Park

by BRIAN NADIG

A proposed condominium building with ground-floor storefronts at 6681-85 N. Northwest Hwy. would include 18 units, with 14 market-rate units ranging from about $450,000 to $600,000 and four affordable housing units from about $300,00 to $350,000.

Those details were released at the April 8 meeting of the 41st Ward Zoning Advisory Committee. About 45 people attended the meeting, which was held at the Olympia Park fieldhouse, 6566 N. Avondale Ave.

One audience member thanked project developer Jim Ronan for proposing a condominium building instead of rental units. “We’ve had enough apartments down Northwest Highway,” the resident said.

The proposed development site currently is used as a parking lot for the Emerald Isle Bar and Grill, 6686 N. Northwest Hwy. Ronan said that he has a contingency contract to purchase the property, based on whether he is able to get the required zoning for the project.

Original plans called for two four-story buildings, each with nine condominium units, constructed next to each other, but the proposal recently was revised to one four-story structure with 18 units.

The city requires four of the units to meet affordable housing requirements, which means they would be sold to households making about 60 percent of the area median income.

The pricing for those units would be set by the city but would be expected to range between about $300,000 to $350,000, Ronan said. The affordable units would be of the same quality of the market-rate units and include a mix of two-and three-bedroom units, project officials said.

The city offers the option of a partial buyout of the affordable requirements, which would reduce the number from four to two or three affordable units, according to Alderman Anthony Napolitano’s chief of staff Chris Vittorio. Each affordable unit buyout would result in a payout of about $180,000 to the city, he said.

Eighteen garage parking spaces are proposed, although the city could limit that to only nine spaces. Project officials said that they would seek an administrative adjustment to allow for the 18 spaces.

City and state laws discourage parking near transit centers, and the site’s proximity to the Edison Park Metra Station would make the project qualify as a transit oriented development, meaning that the number of required parking spaces is reduced from the standard of one parking space per unit. In some instances no parking may be required for TOD projects.

The units would include a balcony and two bathrooms and either two or three bedrooms. The smallest unit would be around 1,050 square feet.

The masonry building would include a brick and stone exterior.

Concerns were raised at the meeting about the building’s height, with one committee member noting that two stories is the standard for the block and another suggesting to project officials that they may want to look at the possibility of scaling back, but overall only a few objections to the project were raised by audience members.

Two existing curb cuts in front of the property on Northwest Highway would be eliminated, creating space for four or five more cars to park on the street, Ronan said.

Access to the garage parking would be from a rear alley.

Some residents expressed concern that guest parking from the building would spill over onto their side street.

The committee’s votes serve as a recommendation to Napolitano, who usually follows its suggestions.

Under the proposal the 14,400-square-foot property would be rezoned from B3-1 to the less restrictive B2-3.

The committee plans to have a second meeting on the proposal in May.

Also in the area, new permits are being submitted for the planned construction of two 41-unit buildings at 6750-54 N. Northwest Hwy., the former site of the Suerth Funeral Home, according to Napolitano’s chief of staff Chris Vittorio. Permits also were submitted in 2024, but those applications have expired, he said.

In addition, a grand opening celebration for the new EP Fresh Market, 6783 N.

Northwest Hwy., is scheduled for Saturday, April 18.

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