UPTOWN — Developments are set to transform a Clark Street block in Uptown this year as four projects totaling more than 100 units will begin construction.
The 4500 block of Clark Street — between Sunnyside and Wilson avenues — is in line for two ground-up developments and two redevelopment projects. Two of the buildings will be condos while the other two will be rentals.
As Uptown has experienced a development boom in recent years, builders have increasingly looked to Clark Street on the western border of the neighborhood. The projects will transform what is currently a sleepy stretch of single-story retail buildings. Some of the plans have been met with opposition by neighbors.
The first project to come to Clark Street is the 56-unit apartment project at 4511 N. Clark St.
MCZ Development’s project will replace an existing single-story retail strip with a five-story apartment building. A rezoning of the project was approved by Ald. James Cappleman (46th) and the City Council despite opposition from a neighbor group that was previously successful in blocking Clark Street projects.
Since the MCZ project was approved, three other projects on the same block have been announced. That does not include the 25-apartment development coming to a former gym building at 4410 N. Clark St., one block south.
Some neighbors feared a tidal wave of development could follow and wondered if the projects would change the makeup of a retail strip dominated by immigrant-owned businesses. Others said the added density will help a Clark Street corridor that has struggled in recent years.
The city has since announced it will do a study of this stretch of Clark Street to see how it can be reconfigured to be more pedestrian-, resident- and business-friendly.
The four developments coming to the 4500 block of North Clark Street:
4537 N. Clark St.
Longford Design + Construction is bringing a mixed-use building with 14 condos to the property at 4537 N. Clark St. that has long been eyed for redevelopment.
The firm demolished a retail strip on the site last summer in preparation for its four-story building, which will have ground-floor commercial space and 14 three-bedroom condos, 15 parking spots and a rooftop deck.
The building is being constructed under the existing zoning for the property after three previous efforts to rezone and build more dense projects on the site failed.
In 2017, Longford proposed a 24-unit condo building for the 4547 N. Clark St. site. Due to neighbor concerns, the project was reduced to 18 units, according to Curbed Chicago.
That also did not pass muster from the Dover Street Neighbors Association, and a new developer came in and proposed a 24-unit rental project with 12 parking spaces. That, too, was rejected by the Dover Street group, Curbed reported.
Since this happened, a new Clark Street neighbors group was formed, reducing Dover Street neighbors’ sway on Clark Street projects under Cappleman’s local zoning process.
Longford returned to the site and is building a project that does not require a zoning change or input from neighbors.
A building permit has been applied for but not yet issued, records show.
4533 N. Clark St.
Neighboring the Longford condo project at 4537 N. Clark St. is a 115-year-old warehouse that is being converted into 24 apartments.
Honore Properties is working to turn the warehouse at 4533 N. Clark St. into a mixed-use building that will have 3,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor. A third story is being added to the existing building to accommodate the 24 apartments. No parking spaces are included in the project.
A rezoning to allow for the project was approved last year.
A building permit was issued in December. Work is ongoing and is expected to be completed this year, Cappleman said in an email to constituents.
4504 N. Clark St.
A developer has bought the building on the northwest corner of Clark Street and Sunnyside Avenue and is working to add a four-story addition with 12 units.
The property at 4504 N. Clark St. will be converted to a residential building, with the existing first floor housing 23 parking spaces, according to building permit records. Floors two through four will house residences with balconies, including second-story and rooftop decks. The units will be for-sale condos, according to Uptown Update.
The building permit for the addition has not yet been issued. Permits for demolition and renovation of the existing structure were approved late last year, city records show.
Raftery Construction bought the existing building in 2021 for $1.5 million, property records show. It has been vacant for years, after jewelry company Fox Village moved from the building to 4625 N. Clark St., Uptown Update reported.
This building neighbors the site of the MCZ Development that kicked off the wave of building activity on the block.
4511 N. Clark St.
After being approved in 2020, MCZ’s 56-unit building at 4511 N. Clark St. is likely to break ground in the first half of the year.
Plans call for a five-story building with ground-floor retail space, 28 parking spots and a rooftop deck. There will be 12 studio apartments, 24 one-bedroom apartments and 20 two-bedroom apartments, according to plans presented to the public during the approval process.
Ten percent of units will be earmarked as affordable for households earning 60 percent of the area median income, or $39,180.
The building will replace an existing retail strip on Clark Street. A demolition permit has been applied for but not yet issued, records show. Construction is likely to start in June, Cappleman has told constituents.
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