North Mayfair group seeks community input on large development site on Foster; meeting set for Feb. 1
by BRIAN NADIG
The North Mayfair Improvement Association is seeking input on redevelopment ideas for a 9.2-acre industrial site at 4635-67 W. Foster Ave. that was once home to a toothbrush manufacturer.
The association is asking residents to bring their recommendations to a community meeting which will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, at Palmer School, 5051 N. Kenneth Ave. The association has invited Alderman Margaret Laurino (39th) and the site’s developer to the meeting.
The property was sold after Sunstar Americas announced in 2013 that it was relocating its plant to Schaumburg.
In 1986 the Sunstar Group, a Japanese company, acquired the John O. Butler company, a maker of dental hygiene products, and Butler’s plant on Foster became headquarters for Sunstar’s American division. The plant was recently demolished.
At the association’s Nov. 2 meeting, members listed a bakery, an ice cream shop, a deli and a movie theater as some of the uses which they would like to see on the site. The community meeting is being held so that input could be solicited from a wider audience, said association president Jim O’Reilly.
The association plans to submit a report summarizing residents’ concerns and recommendations to Laurino and the reported developer, the Chicago-based Jaffe Companies. The company has built shopping centers and mixed-use projects in several states.
The property is bordered by a mix of uses. LaBagh Woods and entrance and exit ramps for the Edens Expressway are across the street from the parcel, a block of homes adjoins the site to the west, and the Seafood City Supermarket at 5033 N. Elston Ave. is located to the south.
The planned Weber Spur bike trail is east of the former Sunstar site, and a light industrial area is east of the planned trail. The bike trail, which is being built along a former railroad right of way, will start near Cicero and Sunnyside avenues and extend northeast into Lincolnwood.
