Zoning sought for 17 apartments in Portage Park, 3-story pizzeria in Old Irving, brewery in Jefferson Park
by BRIAN NADIG
Zoning applications recently were filed for the proposed construction of a mixed-use structure in Portage Park, a three-story pizzeria in Old Irving Park and a brewery in Jefferson Park.
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. in the 30th Ward. 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.
Burt’s Place, which is located in Morton Grove, is seeking to open a second pizzeria at 4202-4 W. Irving Park Road, where a tapas bar closed in 2018, according to 45th Ward Alderman Jim Gardiner’s office.
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.
Also in the 45th Ward, 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 and a brewery on the ground floor. Lake Effect Brewing, 4727 W. Montrose Ave., is planing to operate the brewery.
The project has been in the works for several years, and Ambrosia is seeking to purchase the property from the city.
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., the developer can seek a reduction in the parking requirement, which usually calls for one space per apartment.
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.
