Alderman seeking to downzone area sites

by BRIAN NADIG

Alderman Margaret Laurino (39th) is seeking to have the sites of a former adult Alzheimer’s day care facility in Sauganash and a vacant commercial lot in Mayfair downzoned to allow residents to have a say in the redevelopment of the properties.

Laurino spokesman Manuel Galvan said that Laurino wants to downzone the properties as a "planning tool" and that the alderman is not necessarily against zoning them higher.

"There’s no proposal for either location," Galvan said. "She is downzoning so that developers would have to work with her and the community and make sure they are in the conversation."

The Alzheimer’s Family Care Center, 6141 N. Cicero Ave., was operated by the Rush University Medical Center. It closed last November after operating for nearly 20 years in Sauganash. The 16,000-square-foot site, which is occupied by a one-story building, is for sale.

Laurino is seeking to have the site rezoned from B3-1 to B1-1. Uses such as a coin-operated laundry, an auto supply center and a vehicle repair shop would no longer be permitted on the site.

Laurino also plans to rezone a vacant 15,000-square-foot parcel at 4737-49 N. Elston Ave. from mixed B3-3 and B3-1 zoning to the more restrictive B1-1.