18 ‘high-end’ condos proposed for former Elston Avenue United Methodist Church site; Alderman Gardiner sets July 12 meeting
by BRIAN NADIG
Alderman James Gardiner (45th) will hold a virtual community meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, July 12, on a proposed 18-unit condominium project on the former site of the Elston Avenue Avenue United Methodist Church, 5850 N. Elston Ave.
“We want to get more community feedback, and from there, we can best determine if this would be a development that would be most conducive to the community,” Gardiner said. He described the units as “high-end.”
Gardiner recently presented plans to the board of the Gladstone Park Neighborhood Association. Gardiner’s zoning review policy calls for initial feedback from neighborhood groups before holding a community-wide meeting.
“The alderman met with the GPNA, which was generally supportive of a new owner-occupied condominium development,” association president Joe DiCiaula said. The association has asked that an owner-occupied requirement be included in the bylaws for the condominium owners association.
Plans call for the construction of three three-story buildings, each with six units, on the 24,000-square-foot parcel, which is located at the southwest corner of Elston and Marmora avenues, according to Gardiner. The first-floor units would include a basemen.
The height of the building would be about 37 feet, which is similar to existing three-flats in the immediate area, Gardiner said.
An earlier proposal for the site called for three four-story eight-flats, which Gardiner last spring called “a little aggressive” for the neighborhood.
The site is next to the Catholic Kolping Society, 5826 N. Elston Ave., which reportedly uses the church parking lot. The fraternal organization’s property is not part of the proposal.
A zoning change would be required for the project, as the site’s existing RS-3 classification is intended primarily for single-family homes and two-flats. In addition, at least one parking space per condominium would be required under the zoning code.
The Zoom meeting ID is 827 0488 1053, and the passcode is 400118.
The Elston Avenue church has merged with the Central United Methodist Church in Skokie.
