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UPTOWN — A large apartment complex coming to the corner of Broadway and Wilson Avenue will seek to blend into the historic district.
Plans to redevelop the retail strip on the northeast corner of the prominent Uptown intersection are moving forward after the project received approval from the city’s Landmark Commission last week, said Ald. James Cappleman (46th).
Developers The John Buck Company and Free Market Ventures have been approved to bring a nine-story apartment building to 4601 N. Broadway.
Demolition of the site is expected to begin in February, bringing significant change to an Uptown corner that has been eyed for redevelopment since at least 2016.
Credit: Joe Ward/Block Club ChicagoThe building will have 200 apartments and more than 12,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, according to Free Market Venture’s website. It also will have amenity space, including an outdoor rooftop deck.
The design by Pappageorge Haymes Partners is in the classical style of neighboring buildings in the historic Uptown Square District.
The project required endorsement from city landmarks commissioners because of the development’s location in the historically protected area.
The apartment complex will replace a single-story retail complex that housed City Sports and other businesses. It has stood at the Uptown corner since the 1970s.
In 2016, Praedium Development proposed replacing the one-story building with an 11-story structure containing ground-floor retail space and 197 apartments.
Credit: Facebook/MX3 ArchitectsThe plan received approval after it was pared down to nine stories, and the city approved a rezoning of 4601 N. Broadway in 2017.
But Paradium and its partners abandoned the project and did not buy the property after outcry from some housing advocates.
In February, John Buck Company and Free Market Ventures bought 4601 N. Broadway, taking out a $4 million mortgage to finance the deal, Cook County property records show.
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The developers only sought minor changes to the previously approved development plan, according to Cappleman’s office. City Sports and the building’s other retail tenants left the building earlier this year.
With demolition starting in mid-February, construction of the new building is expected to begin in June. The goal is to have the apartments move-in ready by August 2022, Cappleman said.
“This development will serve as an anchor for the Broadway/Wilson corridor,” Cappleman said in a statement.
Several recent development projects and proposals center around the Wilson and Broadway corner.
Neighboring the Broadway and Wilson project is the Wilson Theater, which developer Cedar Street is turning into the new home of the Double Door, complete with an adjacent 110-unit apartment complex.
Just to the west of the John Buck/Free Market development is the overhauled Wilson Red Line station, which includes a renovated Gerber Building slated to house a grocery co-op.
Even the historic McJunkin Building at 4570 N. Broadway has received a colorful overhaul, thanks to new tenant Lucy’s.
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