- Credibility:
PORTAGE PARK — Redevelopment plans for the former Peoples Gas site near Six Corners have been finalized after nearly two years and are ready for community input again.
GW Properties, the company that proposed the Shops at Six Corners project at 3955 N. Kilpatrick Ave. in 2020, will host a second community meeting 6 p.m. Sept. 20 at the Copernicus Center, 5216 W. Lawrence Ave., company officials said in a letter to constituents and Block Club.
Mitch Goltz, principal and co-founder of GW Properties, said updated renderings and plans will be unveiled at the meeting, which is also being hosted by Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th).
Developers had hoped to host a meeting early this year, but the redesign took longer than expected, Goltz said.
Fliers sent to residents last week alerting them of the meeting had the wrong date. Updated fliers were sent out Wednesday, said Sara Barnes, the project’s zoning attorney.
The company, which has developed other Six Corners buildings, wants to bring a large retail and residential development to the old Peoples Gas site. The redesign, at least the project’s third iteration, includes a “meaningful residential component and a new retail plan along Irving Park Road,” Goltz previously said.
The updated proposal includes four single-story retail buildings that will take up half of the north part of the lot along Irving Park Road and Kilpatrick Avenue, developers said. The buildings could be for one or multiple tenants.
The residential component also has been updated and calls for a four-and-a-half-story building with up to 348 units and full amenities. The building would have studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, as well as some three-bedroom duplexes, developers said.
A portion of the units will be deemed affordable for people making at or less than 60 percent of the area median income under the city’s Affordable Housing Ordinance, which dictates that large-scale developments requiring a zoning change need to have at least 20 percent affordable units on-site.
“We believe that this should be well received and result in a project that will bring in the desired residential and retail elements for this site,” Goltz said of the new plans.
Credit: Ariel Parrella-Aureli/Block Club ChicagoThere will be residential and commercial parking on-site, along with more spots on the east side of the lot for guests.
New plans also call for more green space, mini gardens, outdoor recreational areas and outdoor dining options throughout the development.
Previous plans from 2021 showed the project would have 110 apartments, an Amazon Fresh grocery store, a Burlington clothing store and a Panera Bread restaurant with a drive-thru, as well as 10-14 local and national businesses with five retail buildings that could also house offices and restaurants.
Goltz previously indicated a grocery store is no longer part of the revised plans.
Developers have worked for nearly two years to revise the designs in line with neighbor feedback after many criticized the $80 million project in October 2021. Neighbors pushed back on plans to have more than 300 parking spaces and said there wasn’t enough public space or apartments.
Neighbors and community groups have said they want more density, integrated parking, less retail and more green space, similar to what developers are bringing to Sears and The Clarendale projects at Six Corners. Other neighbors previously told Block Club they welcome the project as it will bring in more retail and revitalize the shopping corridor.
The developer needs a zoning change to move forward with its latest plans should the community and alderperson approve them. The lot is currently used as parking by construction crews working on the nearby Northwestern Medicine facility.
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