Virtual public hearing set for 10-story Six Corners senior project

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by BRIAN NADIG

The Chicago Plan Commission at its May 21 meeting is scheduled to hold a virtual hearing on the proposed 10-story senior housing development in the Six Corners commercial district.

Despite the recent downturn in the economy due to the pandemic, project officials plan to move  forward with the $130 million development. “They told me they’re 100 percent in,”Alderman James Gardiner (45th) said.

The commission will accept written statements from the public regarding any item on the agenda until 24 hour prior to its start at 10 a.m. Thursday. Statements can be e-mailed to cpc@cityofchicago.org, and they will be posted online for public review prior to the meeting.

Those wishing to testify during the meeting must submit a “speaking request form” to the commission at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. The forms are available on the commission’s section on the city’s website, which can be accessed at www.cityofchicago.org.

Verbal statements for all agenda items will take place at the start of the meeting, versus after each presentation, and no more than 15 members of the public will be allowed to comment on each agenda item. The speakers will be selected on a first-come, first-serve basis, and each will be limited to three minutes of testimony.

Plans for the senior project have been in the works for more than 3 ½ years. In 2016 the bank on the site was demolished to make way for a planned one-story retail center, but the developer later said that the project was no longer feasible and instead proposed senior housing for the parcel, which is located at 4747 W. Irving Park Road.

Former alderman John Arena waited until his final weeks in office to have the project approved, but the City Council Zoning Committee adjourned its April 23, 2019, meeting before the hearing due to a lack of a quorum. The adjournment left the decision on the proposal to Gardiner, who sought changes.

The proposal calls for a 10-story building with commercial uses on the ground floor and 258 apartments for seniors on the upper floors, consisting of 114 independent living and 144 assisted/memory care units.

The development team has described the living complex as offering high-end amenities, with monthly rents ranging from $4,100 to $7,700.

Initial plans had called for no on-site affordable units, but 11 on-site affordable apartments were later added to the proposal at Gardiner’s request. Rents for those units would be around $1,200.

Gardiner had expressed opposition to the proposal when he took office in May of 2019, but at a community meeting last February he announced his support. “I made the most of what was handed to me when I took office,” he said. “We were able to bring forth what we believe is in the best interests (of the community).”

The development also would include 216 parking spaces and a one-story building, which would house an Aldi grocery store.

In other news, plans for an eight-story, mixed-use development on the former Sears Department Store site at 4730 W. Irving Park Road continue to move forward, Gardiner said. The city Department of Planning and Development is vetting the project, which calls for 434 apartments, and recommending some minor changes, he said.

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