Six-story Six Corners Sears project presented to the community
by BRIAN NADIG
A new proposal for the former Sears at Six Corners site calls for the conversion of the store’s original 1938 section into a retail-residential complex with about 210 apartments, 275 parking spaces and 50,000 square feet of commercial space.
Renderings of the project, whose developer is Novak Construction, were released at a virtual community meeting hosted this evening, May 27, by Alderman James Gardiner (45th).
“This site has the potential to transform our area,” Gardiner said at the start of the meeting. He added that he encouraged the developer to preserve portions of the building, which includes Art Deco elements.
Initial plans called for the demolition of all structures on the site and the construction of single-story retail space, but at the urging of Gardiner, the proposal was revised, according to a Novak official. Current plans call for the reuse of the site’s original 1938 building but the demolition of its 1972 addition.
“I believe this development will be the most impactful and beneficial for the existing and future businesses at Six Corners of all the (upcoming) projects,” Gardiner said earlier this month.
The May 27 meeting was ongoing at the time of this article’s posting. Watch for future updates at www.nadignewspapers.com and on our Facebook page.
The following information is from a May 19 published article:
Under the proposal new construction would be added to both the rear and top of the existing four-story former Sears store at 4730 W. Irving Park Road, which closed in 2018, Gardiner said. In recent months the interior of the building, which is 85 feet tall at its highest point, has been gutted.
Gardiner said that the height of the proposed six-story complex would be more in line with the recommendations in the Six Corners Master Plan compared to the 10-story Clarendale senior living complex under construction at 4747 W. Irving Park Road, Gardiner said. He added that the 125-foot-tall height of the senior building is “aggressive” for the area.
The ceiling height for the ground-floor retail space in the Novak project would be about 16 feet, while the ceiling height for the apartments would range from 15 to 18 feet.
Some of the parking would be underground, and about 180 of the 275 spaces would be reserved for the residential tenants, Gardiner said. Normally one parking space is required for each residential unit, but a transit-oriented development reduction can be sought because of the site’s proximity to the Mayfair and Grayland Metra stations, he said.
In all, the residential portion of the complex, which would include a rooftop pool and dog run, would measure about 150,000 square feet. The six floor would include tenant amenities, such as a workout room, that would be located in a glass-enclosed structure.
There would be a second phase of the site’s development which would include the former Sears auto repair shop on Cicero, but details were not available. The second phase would be smaller in size than the first phase, Gardiner said.
A previous proposal called for more than 400 residential units on the site, but that project never materialized, and the property was sold to Novak. Gardiner described Novak’s plans as “smaller in scope” than the previous proposal from Tucker Development.
Earlier in the month Gardiner presented Novak’s proposal to the boards of the Six Corners and Portage Park chambers of commerce, Six Corners Special Service Area Commission, Six Corners Association and Old Irving Park Association. Some members of those groups later described the plans as “upscale”and said that the project would be a positive step forward in the area’s revitalization efforts.
On zoning matters Gardiner usually solicits feedback from local community and business organizations before holding a community-wide meeting.
