- Credibility:
LOGAN SQUARE — A Family Dollar store that has called Logan Square home for more than 25 years has closed.
Family Dollar at 2274 N. Milwaukee Ave. closed this summer, ending a lease it’s held since 1996. Though it’s listed as a temporary closure on the company’s website, the store won’t be reopening due to “structural” building issues, company spokeswoman Kate Kirkpatrick said.
City records show the 30,000-square-foot building failed its last four inspections.
The building’s roof is in danger of collapsing, according to a city report. About 7-8 tons of wood and metal were attached to the roof trusses, an “extremely dangerous and hazardous” load, the report said.
The property is owned by 2274 N. Milwaukee, LLC and MNM Partners.
In a lawsuit filed last summer in Cook County Circuit Court, the city ordered the two property owners and S Enterprises, Inc., listed as a “possible interested party,” to correct the building violations or face a fine of $1,000 per day.
The lawsuit is ongoing, with the defendants undergoing “case management” as of August, records show.
In an email after this story published, developer John Supera of Supera Asset Management, listed as the manager of MNM Partners, said they made the appropriate repairs to the building’s roof after it was revealed in city inspections the “joist condition was worsening.”
The developer said he and Family Dollar officials mutually decided the store should close “out of abundance of caution,” even though Family Dollar was in the last year of its lease.
Supera said he is “currently evaluating a sale or redevelopment of the property,” but didn’t get into specifics, adding, “That is all the information I can provide.”
The closure of Family Dollar stings for some neighbors who have long relied on the variety store for discounted groceries and everyday items.
Longtime Logan Square resident Theresa Johnson said the Milwaukee Avenue store was her “go-to” spot for about 20 years.
Johnson, who lives at Kedzie and Fullerton avenues, said she regularly shopped there for everything from dish soap to kids toys and she will miss the friendly employees, who were always kind to her daughter, who has autism.
“The three main ladies [who worked there] have known my daughter since she was little. It was like family,” Johnson said. “For me, it was good she could see them because they were so nice and it was consistent and easy.”
A Dollar Tree is located directly next door, but Johnson said she prefers Family Dollar because she’s on a fixed income and the store tends to carry larger quantities of products that last longer.
Since the closure, Johnson started shopping at the closest Family Dollar, which is about a mile away, at 3429 W. Diversey Ave.
Family Dollar’s departure leaves a large hole on bustling Milwaukee Avenue next to the California Blue Line station.
The area has seen a lot of development activity in recent years, in part because of the city’s transit-oriented development program that encourages developers to build near public transit hubs.
Rumors have swirled that a nearby business is planning to take over the Family Dollar site and use it for parking, but those plans have not been confirmed by property owners or officials.
Nick Zettel, chief of staff for Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st), whose ward includes the site, said Supera reached out to their office but hasn’t requested a zoning change or proposed a new development for the site.
“I did discuss the Milwaukee Avenue Urban Identity Project timeframe with the property owner, which may explain why there is no formal proposal. At this time, I do not know what the owner’s specific intentions are,” Zettel said in an email.
The Milwaukee Avenue Urban Identity Project was developed by the city’s Department of Planning and Development and local alderpeople to preserve the corridor’s character and give the community more of a say in how the stretch is developed. The plan requires City Council approval.
The Family Dollar property last sold in 2018. Supera and his partner bought site, which is made up of several different parcels, from Tef 2274 Milwaukee LLC for $4.125 million, according to Cook County property records.
Supera in 2018 told Block Club he bought the property as a “longterm investment,” and had no immediate plans to redevelop it. But the developer said he wasn’t ruling out future projects.
“Do I think it’s a future development site? It could be,” he previously said.
Whatever comes next, Johnson hopes “it’s valuable to the neighborhood and convenient for people,” she said.
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