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The building that housed Wing Hoe Restaurant would become a 50-unit apartment building. Credit: 2rz/Block Club Chicago

EDGEWATER — A 108-year-old building that for nearly 50 years housed Wing Hoe Restaurant will be replaced by a 50-unit apartment complex after the City Council signed off on the project Tuesday.

Developer Tempus Realty’s plans to replace the Wing Hoe building, 5356 N. Sheridan Road, with apartments was first unveiled in 2018 but the project stalled the following year. After reviving the project, it will now move forward as the City Council on Tuesday signed off on the development.

Tempus will build on the site a five-story apartment building with 25 parking spaces. There will be 34 one-bedroom units and 16 two-bedroom units in the 45,000-square-foot-building, city documents show.

Six ground-floor units will have lofted bedrooms, according to the documents. There will also be a rooftop deck.

A rendering of the building slated to replace Wing Hoe Restaurant on Sheridan Road. Credit: Provided

Tempus was involved in an earlier effort to redevelop the Wing Hoe property, but that project stalled in 2019.

That year, Tempus and MCZ Development sought the city’s approval to turn the building into a 50-unit complex. The project was approved by the city’s Zoning Committee, but the Zoning Board of Appeals denied the developers’ request for a variance on the required rear property line setback, said Dan Luna, chief of staff to Ald. Harry Osterman (48th).

Tempus has since bought MCZ out of the development and sought approval of new plans for the site at Sheridan Road and Balmoral Avenue, Luna said.

The project’s unit count will stay the same. Tempus has upped the parking count to 25 from the originally proposed 21. The earlier building was four stories, while the newly proposed one is five stories, renderings show.

Two community meetings were held on the development before Osterman signaled his support.

The Wing Hoe building was constructed in 1913 as a lakefront adjacent mansion.

Wing Hoe opened in 1971 in the building. The restaurant’s lease on the property was up at the end of 2020, ending a 49-year-run. The owners decided to retire, they told Block Club.

The Wing Hoe Mansion, which has stood since 1913, will be demolished to make way for a new apartment building. Credit: Jonathan Ballew/Block Club Chicago

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