PORTAGE PARK — The Six Corners transformation is moving along as hundreds of luxury apartments hit the market.
The apartments inside the former Sears building at 4712-4738 W. Irving Park Road, dubbed the 6 Corners Lofts, are available to rent with leases starting Feb. 1, project officials said. One apartment already has been rented as of this week, and leasing agents are scheduling tours of the building, developers said.
Novak Construction, the developer behind the overhaul, is transforming the corner building into luxury apartments, a project expected to cost $90 million. The project has been under construction since 2021, after it was approved by City Council and received a demolition permit from city officials.
The development has 206 apartments — six of them affordable — that are a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments with rents of $1,424-$3,710 per month.
The affordable apartments range from $1,106-$1,397 and represent each of the building’s floor plans, according to project leaders and the listings. There is a waitlist for the affordable apartments, project officials said.
There are 172 parking spaces and 89 for retail use, both indoor and outdoor, officials said. Vertical bike storage racks are in the parking garage.
The development is a rehab and historic adaptive reuse project, with elements of the art deco from the old Sears building found in most apartments and on the exterior. Original blueprints from the Sears store line a wall of the main lobby and other touches of preservation are scattered throughout, said Jake Paschen, executive vice president of development at Novak.
“It’s very loft-like; there’s a lot that we left unfinished but we tried to preserve as much of the building as we could,” Paschen said.
The apartments have high ceilings, lofts with ladders and full-length windows, as well as in-unit washer and dryers, modern appliances and custom-built closets. There are 83 loft-style apartments, Paschen said.
There are 179 apartments with balconies of varying sizes, depending on the location and the structure of the original building. The interior-facing apartments overlook an outdoor green area, which developers cut out to add a pleasing view, Paschen said.
The redevelopment includes a fifth-floor addition to the former department store, a portion of which was built in 1938. The department store closed in 2018.
The top of the building has a pool, a small dog run and a terrace, with portions of a sixth floor added for an indoor fitness center, a game room and a party room. Other amenities include a coworking space, bike storage, a speakeasy lounge and pool shower rooms.
The development could attract a mix of residents, from people in the neighborhood who want to downsize to folks who may want to live closer to family and younger professionals, Paschen said.
“We’ll get people who will move from maybe Lincoln Park or Bucktown, areas that might be more expensive and people want a different type of living environment, something that’s a little more low key,” Paschen said.
A leasing center was recently opened in one of two building lobbies, 4714 W. Irving Park Road. Officials have hosted several tours this week in response to the interest, Paschen said.
Those who want to tour the apartments can make appointments online or by calling 773-572-7349. Tours are Sundays for those who inquire beforehand, he said.
About 50,000 square feet of retail will take up the ground floor, with Target as the anchor tenant. The mini-format store was expected to open in fall, company officials previously said, but that has been delayed. An opening date has not yet been announced, but a Target spokesperson said the store will be 44,000 square feet.
It joins other national retailers, like Aldi, coming to the area, which is slated to open early this year.
The other retail spot along Cicero Avenue, roughly 6,000 square feet, is still under construction and a tenant has not been identified yet, Paschen said.
Novak is behind other big projects, including Portillo’s buildouts, Downtown developments and the Gold Coast’s Whole Foods.
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