Proposal would bring new storefronts to Sauganash
by BRIAN NADIG
A proposed 8,208-square-foot ground floor addition to an existing office building at 4801 W. Peterson Ave. is intended to create new storefronts for the Sauganash commercial district.
Alderman Margaret Laurino (39th) said at a recent meeting of the Sauganash Community Association that the project would beautify the intersection. She said that a concrete wall along the perimeter of the property would be demolished to make room for new retail space along Cicero Avenue and Peterson Avenue.
Currently the ground floor of the six-story Edens Office Plaza consists primarily of an elevator lobby and a covered parking. Under the proposal, a portion of the covered parking would be removed to allow for the construction of the storefronts. The storefronts would extend to the sidewalk and feature large windows.
Klairmont Enterprises is seeking to rezone the 71,088-square-foot parcel from B3-1 to B3-3 Community Shopping District. After the construction is completed plans call for the property to be rezoned back to the more restrictive B3-1, which is the prevalent zoning designation for the Cicero-Peterson district, according to Laurino’s office.
The City Council Zoning Committee is expected to hold a hearing on the proposal this summer. The project also would require approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals to allow for modifications in the landscape ordinance requirements and a reduction in parking spaces from 179 to 151.
In a similar project in 2009, storefront space was built on the first floor of an office building at the southeast corner of the intersection, and Tarpey’s Pharmacy, 5933 N. Cicero Ave., is now located there.
