Meeting set on plan for two apartment buildings
by BRIAN NADIG
Construction of two three-story residential buildings is being proposed for a longtime vacant parcel at 4812-18 W. Montrose Ave.
Alderman John Arena (45th) will hold a community meeting on the proposal at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 9, at Saint John Lutheran Church, 4939 W. Montrose Ave. Each of the proposed buildings would have six living units and nine garage parking spaces. Access to the parking would be from the alley.
The proposal calls for the 14,200-square-foot site to be rezoned from B3-1 to B2-2, which allows ground-floor dwelling units in a business district. Under the existing zoning, residential construction would be limited to no more than five units on the site.
The developer for the project is Noah Properties, which has been building homes and condominiums in Chicago since 2002. Noah builds some of the "more daring and contemporary buildings" in the city, according to the company’s Web site.
In 2010 the property was rezoned from RS-2, which is for single-family homes, to B3-1 to allow construction of a one-story retail center on the site, but the center was never built. A plan to build a 14-unit condominium project on the site was dropped in 1999 after residents presented a petition opposing the proposal to Alderman Patrick Levar.
The property is between a gas station and a three-story apartment building. Over the years residents have complained about trucks and abandoned cars being parked on the site.
