Zoning applications filed for Jefferson Park brewery, Burt’s pizza in Old Irving
by BRIAN NADIG
Zoning applications for a new brewery in Jefferson Park, a three-story pizzeria in Old Irving Park and a new mixed-used structure in Portage Park recently were filed.
Ambrosia Homes is seeking to rezone the site of the former Jefferson Park firehouse at 4837-41 N. Lipps Ave. from B3-2 to C1-3 to accommodate the construction of nine apartments on the upper floors. The ground-floor brewery would be operated by Lake Effect Brewing, 4727 W. Montrose Ave.
The project has been in the works for several years, and Ambrosia is seeking to purchase the property from the city.
A final sale price for the property has not been determined, said developer Tim Pomaville of Ambrosia. He added that the project requires a significant amount of environmental cleanup due to led paint and asbestos.
Under the proposal the two-story firehouse would be retrofitted to accommodate the brewery and apartments. A third floor would be added but would be setback to help preserve the historic look of the 114-year-old structure, which in more recent years housed the ward’s sanitation yard facility but is now unoccupied.
The project would include six parking spaces. Due to the site’s proximity to the Jefferson Park CTA Terminal, 4917 N. Milwaukee Ave., Ambrosia can seek a reduction in the parking requirement, which usually calls for one space per apartment.
Pomaville said that he hopes construction on the brewery can begin this fall but that work on the upper floors may get a later start as it involves a more complicated permitting process.
Most of the nine apartments would have one bedroom and one bathroom with an approximate monthly rent of about $1,400, Pomaville said. The remaining units would have two bedrooms and two bathrooms with a a rent of about $2,100, he said.
The units would cater to those looking to “rent their first place, getting out of their parents’ house,’” Pomaville said. A elevator is not planned.
Meanwhile, Burt’s Place pizzeria is being proposed for the former site of a tapas bar at 4202-4 W. Irving Park Road, according to 45th Ward Alderman Jim Gardiner’s office. The company has an existing location in Morton Grove.
Plans call for the construction of the three-story building to include an elevator and a third-floor outdoor patio, according to Gardiner’s office. The project requires the property to be rezoned from B3-1 to the less restrictive B3-2.
The 3,496-square-foot property is located next to the two-story Whistle Stop Inn, 4200 W. Irving Park Road, a designated city landmark whose first floor is occupied by Finom Coffee.
“The future is bright in 45,” Gardiner said of the pizzeria and brewery projects.
In the 30 th Ward, a four-story building with 17 residential units on the upper floors and 2,475 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor is being proposed for the former site of a cleaning systems and supply business at 3704-10 N. Cicero Ave. The project would include 21 parking spaces in the rear of the 12,415-square-foot parcel.
The applicant, G7 Investments LLC, is seeking to have the property rezoned from B3-1 to B2-3. Under the existing zoning no more than four residential units would be permitted.
One of the apartments would be designated as an affordable housing unit, which would be offered at a below-market rent to a household earning no more than 60 percent of the area’s median income. The building would be 59 feet tall.
In the 36th Ward, a proposal to legalize an existing warehouse at 6618-20 W. Belmont Ave. calls for the property to be rezoned from RT-4, which is primarily intended for residential uses, to C1-1.
