Senior housing planned for vacant site at Six Corners
by BRIAN NADIG
Major changes are in the works to the Clark Street Real Estate redevelopment plan for the vacant parcel at the southeast corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Irving Park Road.
In 2016 Clark Street announced plans for a one-story retail center with 100,000 square feet of commercial space, rooftop parking and no residential component.
The new plan calls for half of the amount of retail space and a 10-story building that would include 265 market-rate senior housing units and 237 parking spaces. A portion of the site would be one-story tall.
Alderman John Arena (45th) will hold a community meeting on the project at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 21, at the Filament Theater, 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave. The senior housing component of the revised plan has been in the works for about a year, as initial plans for a 10-story structure were given to Arena in the summer of 2017.
The Six Corners Master Plan calls for a four- or five-story development on the site, which is across from the soon-to-be vacant Six Corners Sears store at 4730 W. Irving Park Road, where a developer is pursuing a mixed-use redevelopment. A zoning change would be required for the housing proposal.
"The master plan does provide a guideline, but isn’t a fast rule. In this instance, the developer needed the residential component to make the project financially feasible," Arena wrote on Facebook on June 8.
About a year ago a permit to build the one-story retail center there lapsed, and at the time an aldermanic aide said that the developer might have overpaid for the property, leading to feasibility issues. Clark Street reportedly had sought tax increment financing assistance for the site’s redevelopment, but Arena rejected those requests.
"The proposal includes a variety of public spaces, including a public plaza along Milwaukee and a pedestrian connection between Milwaukee and Irving Park. The senior living community will offer an abundance of amenities and programs, along with three residential care levels: independent living, assisted living and memory care," Arena wrote in his June 8 newsletter.
Arena wrote on social media that an Aldi grocery store, which was part of the 2016 proposal, is included in the project’s revised plan.
The Six Corners Chamber of Commerce will be seeking feedback on the proposal at its meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 28, at Las Tablas Steak House, 4920 W. Irving Park Road.
The development site was once home to Bank of America, which had an ornate lobby. Since it was demolished, the property has been a large hole that collects water, and there is graffiti on the site.
Ryan Companies is partnering with Clark Street on the project.
