Apartment building at Austin-Montrose planned
by BRIAN NADIG
A nine-unit apartment building is being proposed for the site of a parking lot at 4420 N. Austin Ave.
The 4,660-square-foot parcel was once an auxiliary parking lot for the former Byline Bank at the northwest corner of Montrose and Austin avenues.
In 2018 community opposition stopped a plan to build a 7-Eleven convenience store and a gas station at the corner. That project would have included use of the auxiliary lot at 4420 N. Austin Ave.
Alderman Nicholas Sposato (38th) said that it is his understanding that the owner of a Shell gas station at 5959 W. Montrose Ave. ended up buying the properties in an effort to help prevent another gas station from opening at the intersection and that he is now trying to sell the land.
Zitella Development is proposing to build a three-story building on the site and there would be 10 parking spaces that would be accessible from an alley, according to Sposato.
Under the proposal the property would be rezoned from RS-2 to B2-3.
"We’ll see what the community thinks (of the proposal)," Sposato said. "You didn’t want the 7-Eleven. What do we put there?"
The proposed three-story height of the project would not be much different than the height of a 2 1/2-story "modern-looking" home on the block, Sposato said. About 3 years ago several area homeowners signed a petition in support of an addition to the house, he said.
