Edgewater Development

5430 N. Sheridan (at Balmoral) 8 Floors-under construction. 1 Block from Berywn el station.
http://www.chicagoregroup.com/sheridan/SheridanFront_sm.jpg

Catalpa Gardens. Catalpa and Broadway. 11 Stories. U/C. 1 block from Bryn Mawr el Station.
http://www.catalpagardens.com/catalpagardens/rendering_logo.jpg

Location of C.G. (from 3rd Coast)

http://www.catalpagardens.com/catalpagardens/eastview.JPG

Broadway Granville Condos U/C. Across from Bryn Mawr el station.
http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/554/6324granville_broadway_condos.jpg

5230 N. Kenmore. Provenance Condominums. Kenmore and Foster. 1 Block from Berwyn el station.

http://www.provenancecondos.com/images/prov_home_buildingphoto.jpg

5105 N. Clark (Foster). Andersonville.
http://photos.gmacreco.com/Developments/174.Large.jpg

http://www.homepagesusa.com/images/hpmain/372/105372.jpg



39 condos planned on Sheridan Road

BY BILL CUNNIFF Real Estate Reporter
Advertisement


Construction has begun at Atelier, a condominium building in the Edgewater neighborhood.

The six-story building, at the southwest corner of Bryn Mawr and Sheridan, will have 39 units. Base prices range from $328,000 to $785,000. Units have 2 to 4 bedrooms and 2 or 3 baths. Indoor parking spaces may be purchased separately.

The brick-and-stone building will have two levels of indoor parking and a roof garden. Unit amenities include central air conditioning, gas fireplaces and laundry hook-ups. Foyers, living rooms, dining rooms and kitchens have hardwood flooring.

Kitchens are equipped with cherry or maple cabinets, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

The building's second, third, fourth and fifth floors each will have nine units. The top floor will have three penthouses.

The 1,793-square-foot Unit Four floor plan has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. The living/dining room (22 by 16 feet) is brightened by a curved wall of windows.

The master bedroom, stretching out at 18 by 11 feet, is accompanied by a walk-in closet and a private bath. One of the secondary bedrooms has a walk-in closet, too. The balcony measures 71/2 by 6 feet.

The developer is the Pickus Companies with VOA Architects. Pickus is currently completing the Metro Condominiums at 1200 W. Monroe. A few years back, Pickus was honored with Loyola University's Family Business of the Year.

"The Atelier design reflects the venerable buildings of the Bryn Mawr Historic District. But it also brings a fresh, contemporary vision to its classic architecture," said Marion Kennedy Volini, owner of the Lakefront Group Realty Associates, the marketing agent. "This is a premier addition to a historic street."

Volini served as the 48th Ward alderman from 1978 to 1987.

The Bryn Mawr Historic District was named to the National Register in 1995.

Atelier, at the southwest corner of Sheridan Road and Bryn Mawr, Chicago. Lakefront Group Realty Associates, (773) 275-0808.

Picture of Atelier Under Construction, thanks to Kryzcho.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/krzycho/chicago%20bloki/P1110083.jpg

For being so close to the 'L station, why in the world would the make the bottom three floors of the Catalpa Gardens garage space. I'm happy that it's that close to the station in the first place..but come on!

Here's a story on a major infusion of money into the Andersonville neighborhood.

Calo Theatre to get $1 million rehab

By Chris Jones
Tribune arts critic
Published January 12, 2005


The historic Calo Theatre in Andersonville will be renovated and expanded into a three-theater arts center available for use by a wide variety of local theater groups.

According to Brian Posen, a local improv director and teacher and the founder of the Chicago Sketchfest, the theater at 5404 N. Clark St. will undergo a roughly $1 million rehab. It will reopen in spring 2006 and be run by Lukaba Productions, a non-profit controlled by Posen.

The theater complex will operate primarily as a rental house, modeled on the Theatre Building, a longtime venue in Lakeview.

"I see us having prime-time shows, late nights and children's theater," Posen said.

John Morris, a local theater architect, has been retained to work on the project.

The owners of the building say they have agreed to put up $200,000 toward the renovation costs. Posen's group is contributing $200,000. The remainder is expected to come from local and public sources

Catalpa Gardens' color scheme is something I'd see in a Third World Country, to be truthful.

THE CITY
City targets underused lots on North Side

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published May 15, 2005

City officials are gaining authority to acquire eight underused parcels near the intersection of Broadway, Devon Avenue and Sheridan Road on the North Side.

The acquisition is aimed at spurring conversion of the parcels from what neighborhood leaders describe as "an eyesore at best" into a suitable gateway to the Rogers Park and Edgewater neighborhoods.

"The corner serves as a gateway to the Devon Commercial Corridor and acts as a link between the Edgewater and Rogers Park communities," the Planning Department staff told the Community Development Commission last week. The commission approved the department's petition to add the eight parcels to an acquisition list associated with the Devon/Sheridan TIF Redevelopment Project Area.

Though city officials are pressing for redevelopment of underused occupied properties and vacant ones, planners have no immediate development plans in place, Planning Department staff told commissioners.

The parcels to be added to the acquisition list are at 6350, 6340 and 6330-34 N. Broadway; 1230 and 1236 W. Devon Ave.; 6601 N. Sheridan Road; and 1233-43 W. Pratt Blvd.

"[These properties] have underserved the community for some time," Ald. Patrick O'Connor (40th) told commissioners. "On the corner of Broadway, Sheridan Road and Devon Avenue, it could be a gateway to Edgewater and Rogers Park, but it is an absolute blight . . . If you look at the properties, the way they sit in our community, the way that they sit at the intersection, it makes one feel that you are driving into an area that is not cared for, which is clearly not the case."

Six of the eight parcels are within the Devon commercial corridor in O'Connor's ward.

Owners of several of the properties contested the addition of their properties to the acquisition list, which empowers the city to use eminent domain to establish a fair market appraised value and to take the owners to court if necessary to acquire the properties.

"It is not a case of bad people. It is a matter of neglect that scares other businesses away," O'Connor told commissioners.

Two of the properties, an auto repair shop at 6601 N. Sheridan and the vacant Temple Beth Sholom at 1233-43 W. Pratt Blvd., fall into Ald. Joe Moore's 49th ward.

"The temple has been of great concern to the community," Moore said. "The building has been vacant for six years and has . . . deteriorated to a point where a fire was caused . . . about a year and a half ago by a homeless individual who had broken into the building and was trying to keep warm. . . .

"Several interested developers have looked at the site and all agree that the building is in very . . . serious condition," Moore said.

He added that the congregation has contacted several developers in recent weeks and noted that he would happily work with those developers. "It is at best an eyesore and at worst a hazard to the community and by adding it to the acquisition list we will encourage development," Moore said.

Moore said that though there are no immediate plans to redevelop the property occupied by an auto repair shop at 6601 N. Sheridan, the shop does not represent the highest and best use of the land, and that he wants eventually to see the property redeveloped.

Tidbits from the Aldermans site in Edgewater.

New Developments

5800 N. Glenwood, a 6-unit condominium building will be built on a wedge-shaped property at Ridge and Glenwood.


5206 N. Broadway, Garrett Realty Group is proposing to build a 110-unit mixed-use condominium building with parking on the site formerly occupied by the Piser Funeral Home. The façade of the building at the corner of Foster and Broadway will be incorporated into the new development.


1055 W. Bryn Mawr, leasing is in progress of this newly renovated building in the Bryn Mawr National Historic District.


5800 N. Broadway, a new mixed-use building with eight condos and ground floor commercial space, replaces a one-story welding shop.

5722 N. Winthrop, this new eight-unit condo building developed by Edgewater resident Jim Byrne won a 2004 Chicago Association of Realtors Good Neighbor Award.

5230–36 N. Kenmore, a 20-unit condominium building is under construction at this address.

5023–29 N. Broadway, a new three-story commercial office building is under construction on the site. Around the corner, at 1136–44 W. Argyle, the facade of the existing building has been improved.


5427–37 N. Broadway, work is under way to transform a former laundry into a mixed-use building with 12 condominiums, commercial space on the first floor, and stores or restaurants in the two adjacent buildings to the north.

Catalpa Gardens' color scheme is something I'd see in a Third World Country, to be truthful.

^Yeah, but a little splash of color in a city full of brick and concrete isn't so bad--in fact, I think it adds some much-needed flavor

Atelier construction photo from realtor.com

http://homepics.realtor.com/image3/http/chicago/listings/large/043/05276898.jpg

Here's a story on a major infusion of money into the Andersonville neighborhood.

Calo Theatre to get $1 million rehab

By Chris Jones
Tribune arts critic
Published January 12, 2005


The historic Calo Theatre in Andersonville will be renovated and expanded into a three-theater arts center available for use by a wide variety of local theater groups.

According to Brian Posen, a local improv director and teacher and the founder of the Chicago Sketchfest, the theater at 5404 N. Clark St. will undergo a roughly $1 million rehab. It will reopen in spring 2006 and be run by Lukaba Productions, a non-profit controlled by Posen.

The theater complex will operate primarily as a rental house, modeled on the Theatre Building, a longtime venue in Lakeview.

"I see us having prime-time shows, late nights and children's theater," Posen said.

John Morris, a local theater architect, has been retained to work on the project.

The owners of the building say they have agreed to put up $200,000 toward the renovation costs. Posen's group is contributing $200,000. The remainder is expected to come from local and public sources

I was very excited about this development, as it is around the corner from me. However, I saw a blurb in the newspaper within the last month or two reporting that the Calo redevelopment plan has fallen through due to a shortfall in raising capital. The blurb didn't say for sure what would happen to the space, but speculated that it would be retail.

There is construction work going on at the site, so I'm assuming it's being prepped for retail use. There doesn't appear to be any threat of a teardown for condos.

Atelier construction photo from realtor.com

http://homepics.realtor.com/image3/http/chicago/listings/large/043/05276898.jpg


^Ahhh, those rounded corner turrets. It's nice to see them make a comeback in Chicago

Here's a story on a major infusion of money into the Andersonville neighborhood.

Calo Theatre to get $1 million rehab

By Chris Jones
Tribune arts critic
Published January 12, 2005


The historic Calo Theatre in Andersonville will be renovated and expanded into a three-theater arts center available for use by a wide variety of local theater groups.

According to Brian Posen, a local improv director and teacher and the founder of the Chicago Sketchfest, the theater at 5404 N. Clark St. will undergo a roughly $1 million rehab. It will reopen in spring 2006 and be run by Lukaba Productions, a non-profit controlled by Posen.

The theater complex will operate primarily as a rental house, modeled on the Theatre Building, a longtime venue in Lakeview.

"I see us having prime-time shows, late nights and children's theater," Posen said.

John Morris, a local theater architect, has been retained to work on the project.

The owners of the building say they have agreed to put up $200,000 toward the renovation costs. Posen's group is contributing $200,000. The remainder is expected to come from local and public sources


If this can be done in uptown why cant it be done with the adelphi theatre in rogers park? where it is more sorely needed, to salvage some character of this neigborhood. Rogers park is like an ugly step sister compared to the other lakeshore neigborhoods.

I was very excited about this development, as it is around the corner from me. However, I saw a blurb in the newspaper within the last month or two reporting that the Calo redevelopment plan has fallen through due to a shortfall in raising capital. The blurb didn't say for sure what would happen to the space, but speculated that it would be retail.

There is construction work going on at the site, so I'm assuming it's being prepped for retail use. There doesn't appear to be any threat of a teardown for condos.


oops didnt see this, well too bad it fell through, I see they are rehabbing the uptown theatre though, THANK GOD! :)

^Yeah, but a little splash of color in a city full of brick and concrete isn't so bad--in fact, I think it adds some much-needed flavor

I agree with you on this one urbie, I like all the projects except the granville one, its okay, but pretty bland and WTF is that bland solid brown thing just above the first floor? Pretty lame design, sure to be an eyesore and a future tenement in the years to come.

I would love to see broadway fixed up around devon, but I dont want a rush to develop just for the sake of development if these arent going to be quality projects.

I am glad that the city is taking these properties away from the landlords in some ways, In some ways I can understand the draw of holding onto a parking lot, you get income, you pay low taxes and while everyone else is improving the area around you, your value of the land goes up, but after awhile its like Fucking a, build something nice there will ya? the emphasis is on NICE, not dull, and not TOO cookie cutter. Something that will make this a MORE HAPPENING neigborhood, with good space for retail on the bottom.
I just believe that retail spaces have been shortchanged a bit TOO much.

oops didnt see this, well too bad it fell through, I see they are rehabbing the uptown theatre though, THANK GOD! :)

Actually, all that is being done to the Uptown is stabilization to keep it from deteriorating further. That is certainly better than nothing, but it's not quite the full rehab we've all been hoping for.

A rare combo
Edgewater's hot, but it's also diverse, affordable


By Ann Therese Palmer
Special to the Tribune


When Amena Yousuf, 32, was growing up in the Lakewood-Balmoral section of Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, she never thought she'd settle there as an adult.

"At first, I didn't think it could improve," says Yousuf, raised in a two-flat on North Wayne Avenue. "Regularly, vandals broke our windows. The Kenmore-Winthrop corridor had frequent arsons. Then, when the neighborhood improved, I was afraid it would become too expensive for us."

But, her fears were unfounded.

In April, Yousuf, a young mother and human resources manager for a consulting firm and her husband, Rauf, a periodontist, bought a three-bedroom condo for $335,000 one block from her family home.

She's discovered what other Edgewater residents, such as Allen Wark, 45, a New Jersey transplant who paid $760,000 this spring for a three-bedroom townhouse on West Bryn Mawr Avenue, have learned. Or Holli Hitchins, 31, a performing artist, who pays $483 a month for a studio apartment on Wark's street, two blocks east.

Even though their housing budgets vary markedly, they're attracted to Edgewater -- a 1.5-square-mile North Side neighborhood bordered by Lake Michigan and Devon, Ravenswood and Foster Avenues -- for its affordability, they say.

"I looked at 30 places in Wrigleyville and Lake View starting at $350,000," says Wark, who commutes 45 minutes one-way to his job in North Chicago. "I worried about my housing investment if the economy tanks or stays flat. But, the Bryn Mawr Avenue Commerical District, listed on the [National Register of Historic Places]; restaurants; and Andersonville shops make this neighborhood a good investment."

Of Edgewater's 30,000 housing units, a "substantial portion," like Hitchins' rental apartment, "are affordable," estimates John G. Markowski, Chicago's housing commissioner, with more planned.

Affordability no accident

It's no accident that Edgewater has an abundance of affordable housing of varying types or that its population of 62,500 is stable and diverse, say local real estate agents, community activitists and residents.

For almost 30 years, these ideas have been the focus of Edgewater's strategic plan.

"At that time, our identity had been almost obliterated," says Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th). "We'd become a commuter doormat. Reversible lanes during peak traffic periods on Ridge Avenue bisected our neighborhood. We had more half-way houses and sub-standard housing than anywhere else statewide. We decided to stay, fight and reclaim our community.

"From Day 1, we decided we wouldn't be a ghetto of the rich or poor. The key was affordable housing. The first major community-led project was Pines of Edgewater [an 18-building rehabilitation of 500 federally subsidized rental units]. Instead of tearing down troubled buildings, we worked to preserve them."

A coalition of community leaders including Smith; former aldermen Marion K. Volini and the late Kathy Osterman; Marge Britton, Smith's development coordinator; Ed Marciniak, director of Loyola University Chicago's Institute of Urban Life; and Markowski, then executive director of the Edgewater Community Council, developed a plan to save Edgewater.

They enlisted Community Investment Corp., the non-profit housing lender, to invest heavily in rehabilitating dilapidated housing in the Kenmore-Winthrop corridor, a densely populated strip of once elegant six-flats, three-flats and affordable housing sandwiched between Broadway and Sheridan that had seen a surge in crime and a drop in standard of living.

Another program established Operation Whistlestop, a prototype for Chicago's Alternative Policing Strategy. Community monitors were incorporated into developers' affordable-housing plans.

"Edgewater wanted safe, affordable housing plus populations that didn't normally apply for subsidized housing there, which broadened its ethnicity substantially," says Sherri Kranz, who moved there 25 years ago as Pines of Edgewater's outreach coordinator. Today she manages two local affordable rental sites.

To protect the neighborhood's character, Andersonville (the southwest section of Edgewater) down-zoned blocks, says Ellen Shepard, Andersonville Chamber of Commerce executive director and local apartment renter.

"By the time developers had an interest in doing teardowns here, they couldn't use the land to build the big developments they would have liked," she explains. "This preserved our housing stock."

Neighborhood's `just right'

In recognition of these efforts, the charitable foundation of Fannie Mae Corp., the federally chartered residential mortgage company, named Edgewater two years ago as one of five American urban communities "just right" in its housing stock affordability and diversity.

That affordability, livability, easy access to the lake and public transportation are attracting new buyers and renters to Edgewater, and that's boosting prices, says Clare Tobin, Edgewater Community Council executive director.

Like Yousuf, half of them are current Edgewater residents, she says. The rest are either out-of-towners, like Wark, or bargain-hunters priced out of neighborhoods to the south.

Spacious homes in Lakewood-Balmoral, west of Broadway, regularly sell for $600,000 plus, reports Volini, now president of Lakefront Realty Group, with one recently topping $1 million.

Many of Kenmore-Winthrop's elegant buildings have been rehabbed and converted to condos, but prices along those streets trun the gamut. Since June 2001, closed sales have ranged from $75,000 for a studio in a four-plus-one condo conversion to $365,000, according to Pamela Ball, an associate at Baird & Warner. Current active listings range from $114,900 for a one-bedroom to $429,000 for one 3,200-square-foot unit in a four-unit building, she said.

Yousuf's childhood home, which cost $43,000 in 1971, is now worth more than $500,000, says her mother, Khatija Hashmy, a Chicago Park District architect. North of Ridge, Edgewater Glen homes start at $400,000. West of Ashland, houses average $370,000, Volini says.

On average, two-bedroom condos, most of them situated on Sheridan Road, sell for $196,929. Median monthly rent for prime apartments is $1,033, Volini says. (Median means half cost more and half less.)

"Edgewater's become hot," agrees Philip W. Nyden, director of Loyola University Chicago's Center for Urban Research and Learning, citing census statistics. Since 1990, owner-occupied housing rose from 24 percent to 30 percent. Vacant housing fell to 5.6 percent from 10 percent.

Edgewater's population, up 2.46 percent in 10 years, has been "unusually steady and very diverse since 1970," says Nyden. Its racial makeup is 48 percent white, 17 percent black, 20 percent Latino and 11.5 percent Asian, with the remaining 3.5 percent representing a variety of groups, according to 2000 census figures.

About one-third of whites are Bosnian immigrants, attracted by affordable housing, estimates the community council's Bosnian relief coordinator, Tom Robb. Other recent immigrants include Africans from Sudan and Nigeria; and Tibetans.

More children

"The biggest change is children and families," says Sheli Lulkin, Edgewater Chamber of Commerce executive director and long-time condominium owner. New census figures show Edgewater's senior population down 18 percent.

"This change in generation is demanding a different type of shopping district," says Lulkin. Twenty-five new restaurants and 21 antiques dealers, more than any other city neighborhood, have opened in Edgewater in five years, she adds.

Andersonville's Clark Street commercial district is also distinctive. "If you walk down the street, it's likely the person behind the counter owns the business, is there daily and that location is the person's sole means of support," says Shepherd. "We don't have chains."

"We have substantial gay businesses, as well, but unlike Halsted and its Boys Town atmosphere, there isn't a separateness," adds Gary Gerdes, who owns @mosphere, a Clark Street gay bar. "People coexist here. There's a seamlessness."

That attracted Chandra Clark, 31, a beauty salon appointments coordinator, who moved from Lincoln Park four years ago. She pays $670 monthly for a one-bedroom apartment. "I feel safe and supported," she says. "I don't feel unusual enough here to be stared at if I'm with another woman."

Unlike other neighborhoods, community groups, particularly the community council, and Smith have a hands-on, creative approach to everything, especially housing, developers and brokers say.

Two years ago, in order to slow traffic, Smith placed landscaped traffic circles, now used in other areas of the city, in the middle of busy residential intersections to force motorists to reduce speed.

A $500,000 city-sponsored pilot project is helping owners of so-called four-plus-one buildings -- four floors of inexpensively built rental apartments over a below-grade garage -- renovate exteriors.

"Any building variances need approval from local block clubs, the [community council] housing committee, and Ald. Smith's 70-member Planning and Development Committee," says Rae Ann Cecrle, co-owner of a construction firm. "That keeps development from going wild here."

Adds local developer Peter Holsten, who has built in seven other city neighborhoods, "It's the most comprehensive, effective process I've seen."

Edgewater's future includes more mixed-use residential/commercial projects on Broadway and Catalpa Avenue and on Bryn Mawr (behind the Bryn Mawr Theatre); more casual, affordable restaurants; and expensive townhouses at Bryn Mawr and Sheridan, says Tina Travlos Nihlean, president of the non-profit, city-funded Edgewater Development Corp.

Another mixed-use building will replace the current Dominick's supermarket at Foster and Sheridan with a new grocery below several floors of parking and senior housing, according to Ald. Smith.

New-construction barrier

But, don't expect lots of new construction in Edgewater's future, warns James Byrne, president of the Edgewater-Uptown Builders Association. "Fixed-uppers are $300,000," he says. "To do a teardown costs another $350,000 for the replacement. You're at $650,000. The selling price isn't there yet."

The biggest impact on Edgewater will result from plans, announced by Mayor Richard M. Daley last month, to extend Lincoln Park with landfill 2.3 miles north from Hollywood Avenue to the Evanston border.

What the future doesn't hold yet, say Smith and community leaders, are a "desperately needed" new library and clothing retailers.

Some residents also worry about new development making Edgewater, already Chicago's most densely populated neighborhood, according to Ald. Smith, more crowded; or whether the influx of younger people and escalating housing prices will change Edgewater's character.

"I feel uncomfortable our neighborhood is getting so high-class," says Nan Sullivan, who has lived in Edgewater for 20 years and is president of the Lakewood/Balmoral Residents Council. "Some people who would be good for our neighborhood can't afford to move in."

That's not worrying Hitchins. "I have peace of mind," she says. "Even if my rent is raised, I don't feel pressured to leave Edgewater. There are lots of affordable rentals and condos."

Good article.

Broadway Village Lofts
5427 N. Broadway

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/9848/broadwayrend4hz.jpg

A rare combo
Edgewater's hot, but it's also diverse, affordable


By Ann Therese Palmer
Special to the Tribune


When Amena Yousuf, 32, was growing up in the Lakewood-Balmoral section of Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, she never thought she'd settle there as an adult.

"At first, I didn't think it could improve," says Yousuf, raised in a two-flat on North Wayne Avenue. "Regularly, vandals broke our windows. The Kenmore-Winthrop corridor had frequent arsons. Then, when the neighborhood improved, I was afraid it would become too expensive for us."

But, her fears were unfounded.

In April, Yousuf, a young mother and human resources manager for a consulting firm and her husband, Rauf, a periodontist, bought a three-bedroom condo for $335,000 one block from her family home.

She's discovered what other Edgewater residents, such as Allen Wark, 45, a New Jersey transplant who paid $760,000 this spring for a three-bedroom townhouse on West Bryn Mawr Avenue, have learned. Or Holli Hitchins, 31, a performing artist, who pays $483 a month for a studio apartment on Wark's street, two blocks east.

Even though their housing budgets vary markedly, they're attracted to Edgewater -- a 1.5-square-mile North Side neighborhood bordered by Lake Michigan and Devon, Ravenswood and Foster Avenues -- for its affordability, they say.

"I looked at 30 places in Wrigleyville and Lake View starting at $350,000," says Wark, who commutes 45 minutes one-way to his job in North Chicago. "I worried about my housing investment if the economy tanks or stays flat. But, the Bryn Mawr Avenue Commerical District, listed on the [National Register of Historic Places]; restaurants; and Andersonville shops make this neighborhood a good investment."

Of Edgewater's 30,000 housing units, a "substantial portion," like Hitchins' rental apartment, "are affordable," estimates John G. Markowski, Chicago's housing commissioner, with more planned.

Affordability no accident

It's no accident that Edgewater has an abundance of affordable housing of varying types or that its population of 62,500 is stable and diverse, say local real estate agents, community activitists and residents.

For almost 30 years, these ideas have been the focus of Edgewater's strategic plan.

"At that time, our identity had been almost obliterated," says Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th). "We'd become a commuter doormat. Reversible lanes during peak traffic periods on Ridge Avenue bisected our neighborhood. We had more half-way houses and sub-standard housing than anywhere else statewide. We decided to stay, fight and reclaim our community.

"From Day 1, we decided we wouldn't be a ghetto of the rich or poor. The key was affordable housing. The first major community-led project was Pines of Edgewater [an 18-building rehabilitation of 500 federally subsidized rental units]. Instead of tearing down troubled buildings, we worked to preserve them."

A coalition of community leaders including Smith; former aldermen Marion K. Volini and the late Kathy Osterman; Marge Britton, Smith's development coordinator; Ed Marciniak, director of Loyola University Chicago's Institute of Urban Life; and Markowski, then executive director of the Edgewater Community Council, developed a plan to save Edgewater.

They enlisted Community Investment Corp., the non-profit housing lender, to invest heavily in rehabilitating dilapidated housing in the Kenmore-Winthrop corridor, a densely populated strip of once elegant six-flats, three-flats and affordable housing sandwiched between Broadway and Sheridan that had seen a surge in crime and a drop in standard of living.

Another program established Operation Whistlestop, a prototype for Chicago's Alternative Policing Strategy. Community monitors were incorporated into developers' affordable-housing plans.

"Edgewater wanted safe, affordable housing plus populations that didn't normally apply for subsidized housing there, which broadened its ethnicity substantially," says Sherri Kranz, who moved there 25 years ago as Pines of Edgewater's outreach coordinator. Today she manages two local affordable rental sites.

To protect the neighborhood's character, Andersonville (the southwest section of Edgewater) down-zoned blocks, says Ellen Shepard, Andersonville Chamber of Commerce executive director and local apartment renter.

"By the time developers had an interest in doing teardowns here, they couldn't use the land to build the big developments they would have liked," she explains. "This preserved our housing stock."

Neighborhood's `just right'

In recognition of these efforts, the charitable foundation of Fannie Mae Corp., the federally chartered residential mortgage company, named Edgewater two years ago as one of five American urban communities "just right" in its housing stock affordability and diversity.

That affordability, livability, easy access to the lake and public transportation are attracting new buyers and renters to Edgewater, and that's boosting prices, says Clare Tobin, Edgewater Community Council executive director.

Like Yousuf, half of them are current Edgewater residents, she says. The rest are either out-of-towners, like Wark, or bargain-hunters priced out of neighborhoods to the south.

Spacious homes in Lakewood-Balmoral, west of Broadway, regularly sell for $600,000 plus, reports Volini, now president of Lakefront Realty Group, with one recently topping $1 million.

Many of Kenmore-Winthrop's elegant buildings have been rehabbed and converted to condos, but prices along those streets trun the gamut. Since June 2001, closed sales have ranged from $75,000 for a studio in a four-plus-one condo conversion to $365,000, according to Pamela Ball, an associate at Baird & Warner. Current active listings range from $114,900 for a one-bedroom to $429,000 for one 3,200-square-foot unit in a four-unit building, she said.

Yousuf's childhood home, which cost $43,000 in 1971, is now worth more than $500,000, says her mother, Khatija Hashmy, a Chicago Park District architect. North of Ridge, Edgewater Glen homes start at $400,000. West of Ashland, houses average $370,000, Volini says.

On average, two-bedroom condos, most of them situated on Sheridan Road, sell for $196,929. Median monthly rent for prime apartments is $1,033, Volini says. (Median means half cost more and half less.)

"Edgewater's become hot," agrees Philip W. Nyden, director of Loyola University Chicago's Center for Urban Research and Learning, citing census statistics. Since 1990, owner-occupied housing rose from 24 percent to 30 percent. Vacant housing fell to 5.6 percent from 10 percent.

Edgewater's population, up 2.46 percent in 10 years, has been "unusually steady and very diverse since 1970," says Nyden. Its racial makeup is 48 percent white, 17 percent black, 20 percent Latino and 11.5 percent Asian, with the remaining 3.5 percent representing a variety of groups, according to 2000 census figures.

About one-third of whites are Bosnian immigrants, attracted by affordable housing, estimates the community council's Bosnian relief coordinator, Tom Robb. Other recent immigrants include Africans from Sudan and Nigeria; and Tibetans.

More children

"The biggest change is children and families," says Sheli Lulkin, Edgewater Chamber of Commerce executive director and long-time condominium owner. New census figures show Edgewater's senior population down 18 percent.

"This change in generation is demanding a different type of shopping district," says Lulkin. Twenty-five new restaurants and 21 antiques dealers, more than any other city neighborhood, have opened in Edgewater in five years, she adds.

Andersonville's Clark Street commercial district is also distinctive. "If you walk down the street, it's likely the person behind the counter owns the business, is there daily and that location is the person's sole means of support," says Shepherd. "We don't have chains."

"We have substantial gay businesses, as well, but unlike Halsted and its Boys Town atmosphere, there isn't a separateness," adds Gary Gerdes, who owns @mosphere, a Clark Street gay bar. "People coexist here. There's a seamlessness."

That attracted Chandra Clark, 31, a beauty salon appointments coordinator, who moved from Lincoln Park four years ago. She pays $670 monthly for a one-bedroom apartment. "I feel safe and supported," she says. "I don't feel unusual enough here to be stared at if I'm with another woman."

Unlike other neighborhoods, community groups, particularly the community council, and Smith have a hands-on, creative approach to everything, especially housing, developers and brokers say.

Two years ago, in order to slow traffic, Smith placed landscaped traffic circles, now used in other areas of the city, in the middle of busy residential intersections to force motorists to reduce speed.

A $500,000 city-sponsored pilot project is helping owners of so-called four-plus-one buildings -- four floors of inexpensively built rental apartments over a below-grade garage -- renovate exteriors.

"Any building variances need approval from local block clubs, the [community council] housing committee, and Ald. Smith's 70-member Planning and Development Committee," says Rae Ann Cecrle, co-owner of a construction firm. "That keeps development from going wild here."

Adds local developer Peter Holsten, who has built in seven other city neighborhoods, "It's the most comprehensive, effective process I've seen."

Edgewater's future includes more mixed-use residential/commercial projects on Broadway and Catalpa Avenue and on Bryn Mawr (behind the Bryn Mawr Theatre); more casual, affordable restaurants; and expensive townhouses at Bryn Mawr and Sheridan, says Tina Travlos Nihlean, president of the non-profit, city-funded Edgewater Development Corp.

Another mixed-use building will replace the current Dominick's supermarket at Foster and Sheridan with a new grocery below several floors of parking and senior housing, according to Ald. Smith.

New-construction barrier

But, don't expect lots of new construction in Edgewater's future, warns James Byrne, president of the Edgewater-Uptown Builders Association. "Fixed-uppers are $300,000," he says. "To do a teardown costs another $350,000 for the replacement. You're at $650,000. The selling price isn't there yet."

The biggest impact on Edgewater will result from plans, announced by Mayor Richard M. Daley last month, to extend Lincoln Park with landfill 2.3 miles north from Hollywood Avenue to the Evanston border.

What the future doesn't hold yet, say Smith and community leaders, are a "desperately needed" new library and clothing retailers.

Some residents also worry about new development making Edgewater, already Chicago's most densely populated neighborhood, according to Ald. Smith, more crowded; or whether the influx of younger people and escalating housing prices will change Edgewater's character.

"I feel uncomfortable our neighborhood is getting so high-class," says Nan Sullivan, who has lived in Edgewater for 20 years and is president of the Lakewood/Balmoral Residents Council. "Some people who would be good for our neighborhood can't afford to move in."

That's not worrying Hitchins. "I have peace of mind," she says. "Even if my rent is raised, I don't feel pressured to leave Edgewater. There are lots of affordable rentals and condos."


um J Byrne is my cousin,,,and I can say that w/ out a doubt......unless you are a HR CONSULTANT......whatever the hell that means.....and a periodontist........that if you want to BUY in EW it simply IS NOT affordabale.....

I am from RP...many of my friends were from EW....their P's were Cops, fireman, electricians, carpentars.....guys making 40-50Kmaybe 60-70 w/ ot.........

you can't even breathe in EW for that right now........its is disgusting!

From 48th Ward Alderman Mary Ann Smith's website:

www.masmith48.org/broadwaycompromiseproposal.html

Presentation of Broadway Zoning Compromise
to the 48th Ward Zoning and Planning Committee
First, I want to thank everyone who has participated during the last two years in the thorough and comprehensive analysis and discussion of appropriate rezoning for Broadway, between Foster and Devon in the 48th Ward. I cannot remember an issue where the community has invested as much thought, research and debate in formulating their positions. Since our decision will help guide neighborhood development over the coming years, this lengthy dialogue has been very important.

The community has been concerned about the future of Broadway for decades. The block clubs, Chamber of Commerce, Edgewater Development Corporation, Edgewater Community Council, ONE and special working groups have produced many recommendations and reports which have guided us through the years. As our neighborhood has "become hot" this vision, and the tools to enforce it, have become increasingly important.

A decade ago, we changed the use designations from the intensive "C" classifications to the more neighborhood retail oriented "B" designations and have seen the gradual improvements resulting from those decisions. We have promulgated community-directed design guidelines which have informed developers proposing new projects.

Now, with the passage of the new Citywide Zoning Code, we are looking at the height, density and use classifications as a total package.

Through dozens of community meetings, charettes, studies, referenda and proposed plans we have analyzed the complex issues involved here: height, density, size and prices of residential and retail units, land prices, development costs, traffic and parking, bulk and design. Again, I thank you for your diligence and patience in delving into this issue in depth and in detail.

Key Goals and Shared Values
As a result of these many discussions, I believe that the following general goals and values are shared throughout the community:

Encouraging retail businesses on Broadway that are pedestrian oriented and serve the neighboring community
Encouraging local businesses and businesses that fill gaps in current retail offerings
Encouraging a diverse mixture of businesses that reflects the diverse nature of the community
Continuing to make Broadway a safer street for pedestrians and reducing the intensity and behavior of commuter car traffic
Encouraging high-quality design and materials in all new projects proposed
Preserving and encouraging adaptive reuse of our historic and architecturally important structures
Creating a mix of size and styles of housing units that preserves the diverse nature of the community.
Creating housing choices that are affordable across the economic spectrum of buyers and renters
Locating larger developments on larger sites and away from the residential areas to minimize deleterious impacts
Making Broadway a vital, active and thriving street that serves the surrounding neighborhood, creates jobs for local residents and supports successful business.

What I am asking you to do
I have attempted to draw the best elements from the many proposals that have been put forward, honor the specific wishes of each block club that is most directly affected and reflect the wishes of community organizations to locate height and density where most appropriate.

Please study this compromise proposal carefully. If you have questions, please call me or Greg Harris of my staff. At the April 26, 2006 meeting of the Zoning and Planning Committee, I will call for a decisive vote on this compromise.

If you agree, it is critical that you come to the April Zoning and Planning Committee meeting prepared to VOTE YES on this compromise.

Compromise Proposal
There have been a number of plans and proposals put forward to address these goals. After listening to the debates on the pros and cons of the different proposals that have been discussed, I would like to put forward the following compromise proposal drawing from the BEST of all the many zoning proposals that have been discussed:

Use Designation B1
Reduce the use classification on Broadway from Foster to Devon (in the 48th Ward ) from the more intense "B3" Community Shopping District classification to "B1" Neighborhood Shopping District

B1-2 on the West Side
Reduce the bulk and density classification on the West Side of Broadway (to the next west alley) from Foster to Devon (in the 48th Ward) to the dash-2 (B1-2) classification. The only exception would be the triangle property between Ridge and Bryn-Mawr which would remain B1-3

B1-3 on the East Side
Maintain the traditional bulk and density classification on the East Side of Broadway (to the EL tracks) from Foster to Devon (in the 48th Ward) as dash-3 (B1-3). The only exception would be those properties from Hollywood to Thorndale, which would be classified B1-2.

Future Discussions
While this proposed compromise addresses the key zoning decisions we initially agreed to discuss, other issues have been brought forward. These issues should be topic of future discussions and decision by the community, as it sees fit.

What about projects that require greater zoning than this proposal would allow?
If a project is proposed that requires a change in either the use or the height/density designation, it would go through review and approval by our normal community process of blocks clubs, community organizations and the zoning and planning committee.

Thus, projects in excess of the zoning proposed here could be built but only after community review and approval.

What about design guidelines?
Some community proposals suggested design guidelines for new development on Broadway. Currently, the Zoning Code does not provide mechanisms for enforcing community design guidelines.

The community can draft design and signage guidelines which my office will encourage developers to follow. Clearly, the community can require stronger adherence to design guidelines for projects which need zoning changes or other approvals.

What about designating Broadway as a Pedestrian "P" Street?
Some community proposals suggested designating Broadway as a "P" or Pedestrian Street, which would eliminate parking lots in front of new developments as well as enforcing certain design guidelines above and beyond the regular Zoning Code. Under the current law Broadway cannot be designated as a "P" street, as it does not meet the criteria set down in the Municipal Code, so we cannot consider a "P" street designation, at this time.

However, the Zoning Administrator and Alderman Banks, Chairman of the Committee on Zoning, have indicated that they are willing to work with the community to either expand the definitions of "P" streets to include Broadway or create a new classification under which Broadway would fit, if we so choose.

What about overlay/step districts requiring dash-2 heights, but allowing floor area ratios (FAR) of dash-3 buildings?
Some community proposals suggested this alternative to maintain the maximum height of 4 stories while allowing residential units more in keeping with sizes being sold in the current marketplace. Again, there is no provision in the Zoning Code for this at this time, but the Zoning Administrator and the Chairman of the Committee on Zoning have indicated a willingness to work with the community on this issue in the future, if we so choose.

What about creation and preservation of affordable housing?
One of the more important facts that came from the URS-TPAP Zoning and Market Study done in conjunction with our research was that 66% of current Edgewater residents could not afford to purchase homes here today. This has implications for the ongoing economic diversity of our community, for young people with new families wishing to stay in the neighborhood and for seniors wishing to remain in the community.

While zoning is one element that can affect affordability, there are many other elements including property taxes, condo assessments, federal, state and local assistance to developers, etc. that also play critical roles. There are also the other elements of the "affordable living equation": cost of transportation, education, etc. I have convened a working group of experienced developers, affordable housing advocates and other experts to study this issue and make recommendations to the community.

In Conclusion
Thank you again for the many, many hours of work you have put into this process. Your participation, along with hundreds of your neighbors, shows the commitment we all have to community directed development, consensus building, and why the 48th Ward continues to be the best place in the City to live and work.

While there is some definite good stuff in there regarding walkability and street retail, why do they always have to downzone??? :bash:

I wish CUAG was further along so that we could try and influence this. :soapbox:

5440 North Sheridan (http://www.5440sheridan.com/)
Edgewater

15 floors + townhomes
Designed by Booth Hansen
The Bluewater Companies

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/3016/5440sheridan7lo.jpg

"Construction begins winter 2006-2007"

Strange rendering.. frankly, it looks ugly.

Really? The rendering itself is a bit weird, but I think the building is beautiful and shows that the "Boom" is heading in the right direction design-wise.

Bigger images of 5440 Sheridan
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/5011/wooddayweb1ed.jpg
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/9152/woodnightweb2iu.jpg

Strange rendering.. frankly, it looks ugly.

Strange?...Ugly?...Are you kidding this is absolutely beautiful. I respect architects and design firms that will sacrifice the overrated height element of a building with details...the exterior dark walnut wood is just gorgous...I think architectual details are more consistently being neglected and the intial focus is soley on the structure and the height...however I believe the structure, materials, and height should all be able to coexist harmoniously together...Mies would be proud of this gem. :)

^ I like it too.

Edgewater Glen Condos. Ground floor retail. 6 stories. 1 block from Thorndale Red line .

http://www.lettvindevelopment.com/upload/wysiwyg/current_projects/Edgewater/Edgewater%20render%202.jpg

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/newsstar/news/100217,SN-TheAdmiral-101806-s1.article

Admiral redevelops Edgewater campus

October 18, 2006
By LORRAINE SWANSON Staff Writer

When staff and the board of directors at The Admiral on the Lake, the city's oldest, non-profit enterprise serving elderly Chicagoans, decided to redevelop its existing campus at 909 W. Foster Avenue, they came to only one conclusion.

They wanted the Admiral to stay in Edgewater, where it had been ensconced for 46 years. They also didn't want to give up their many years of friendship with the Admiral's senior residents, or abandon its loyal employees, many of whom had been with the organization for more than 30 years.

"The organization has been considering this issue for some time. The size of the campus is inefficient in size and not large enough to cover all costs. More important, we want to serve more people and the only way to do that is to change the campus," said Glenn Brichacek, president and CEO of the Admiral.

Last month, The Admiral's ambitious modernization and expansion plans were approved without opposition by the 48th ward's zoning and planning committee. Pending city approval of a zoning change for increased density, Brichacek anticipates the project to be fully underway in 2008 after demolition of the existing buildings is completed.

"The board wanted to continue serving older adults living on the city's Far North Side," Brichacek said.

"Since the beginning of the year, we've been doing research and invited older adults to indicate their interest in the project. We have 250 who've indicated an interest, two-thirds who are from Uptown, and the other third coming from the Gold Coast," Brichacek noted.

The redeveloped campus features a slender, 31-story tower in the center of the development with a series of three, successively lower buildings sloping to the east toward Lake Shore Drive, and includes 200 apartments for independent living with lakefront and city views.

To the immediate west and directly connected to the independent living section, will be a 12-story tower accommodating 39 suites for assisted living, 36 private rooms for skilled nursing care, and 17 private rooms for memory care, or residents experiencing dementia.

Once completed, the new development will also offer amenities to the community, including expanded retail services along a set-back promenade on Foster Avenue, including a cafe and alfresco dining open to the public, and 300 parking spaces, with 25 to 50 spaces available to immediate neighbors.

Memberships to The Admiral's pool, spa, salon, massage therapy, wellness center and some exercise programs available on a membership basis to older adults in the neighborhood. Brichacek also said that redevelopment project, once completed, will generate 125 new jobs in the senior living community, not including outside retailers in a set-back promenade on Foster Avenue.

After working collaboratively with Ald. Mary Ann Smith, 48th, community organizations and current residents, The Admiral made changes to the building design and operations based on community input, specifically the Carmen-Winona Block Club.

"Alderman Smith has a unique, community-based process for gathering input and it is a process that works. We spent a year working with community groups to move forward with a plan that is in the best interest of residents and the community," Brichacek said.

The Admiral worked with the Carmen-Winona Block Club on a series of lower buildings to increase ambient light available to nearby residences.

The Admiral will offer all current residents freedom to choose an alternative, nearby senior living "host" community that offers comparable care and services consistent with the Admiral's standards. Current residents will keep their contacts with the Admiral during the roughly 30-month transition, and remain Admiral residents. Moving expenses will also be paid for by The Admiral.

"The well-being of our residents has always been, and always will be, our first and foremost priority," said Brichacek.

The Admiral is also working with host communities to take on its existing staff during the renovation, to offset their increase in occupancy. Employees who cannot be outplaced will be offered severance packages.

http://img358.imageshack.us/img358/4999/snadmiral101806p1ppfeedub1.jpg
www.thenewadmiral.com

^Hell yeah! Even though the design is pretty bland, I am greatly looking forward to new construction in this area to freshen up the dated atmosphere. Increased density is always a plus and right by express CTA routes too, a perfect place for additional people. I hope this results in some spill over redevelopment of the Dominicks with the huge parking lot or that nasty 4+1 at Sheridan and Foster.

Then agian it seems they will be demolishing a pretty nice old building for this, so I am a little upset over that. It doesn't appear they tried to save it, pretty sad. At least the replacement gives a nice boost in height and density.

- edit

Does anyone know what's going on with Catalpa Gardens? My roommates and I lived on Bryn Mawr while it was in the early stages of construction--I'd love to see some pictures of it now that it's almost finished--or has the lawsuit thrown the completion schedule out of whack?

Does anyone know what's going on with Catalpa Gardens? My roommates and I lived on Bryn Mawr while it was in the early stages of construction--I'd love to see some pictures of it now that it's almost finished--or has the lawsuit thrown the completion schedule out of whack?

Lawsuit? What happened?

see the post right above mine.

see the post right above mine.

Oh shit. Oops.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-070706newconstruct,0,4343901.story?coll=chi-business-hed

Chicago: North Sheridan Road Condominium Tower, 5440 N. Sheridan Road, 178-unit residential building, November 2007, $20 million

http://www.suntimes.com/business/546253,CST-FIN-highrise07.article

Beitler, church talk high-rise at LSD end

September 7, 2007
BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN droeder@suntimes.com/fspielman@suntimes.com

J. Paul Beitler, known for building downtown office towers during the boom years of the 1980s, has teamed with a North Side church to propose a 45-story residential building for the north end of Lake Shore Drive.It would be built next to St. Andrew's Greek Orthodox Church at 5649 N. Sheridan. The site is a parking lot that the church owns.

A zoning application Beitler filed with the city said the building would contain 288 units and parking for 613 cars. The large parking set-aside indicates that some of the spaces would be available to the church..........

The location is in Edgewater, part of the 48th Ward represented by Ald. Mary Ann Smith. Doug Fraser, an aide to Smith, said Beitler and the church are showing the plans to community groups..........

.

^Sounds better than the 30 story proposal by AvalonBay.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/546253,CST-FIN-highrise07.article

There was just a couple on my tour who mentioned this tower. They said that it was a beautiful design.

I was told that it's in the shape of a sail and pretty slender. I don't know who the architect is yet, but I will be going to city hall to see if the PD has been filed.

That would be nice to get something unique, modern, and innovative to juxtapose the high-rises in the far north side.

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/2959/hollywoodlsdfp3.jpg
I believe the caption mentioned it was designed by P/H.

^ Whoa! Cool

That building is awesome. Would be a perfect modern end to mark the end of LSD.

Photos by BartShore

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/8615/1422499915641b2e3b66bix9.jpg
Catalpa Gardens and its crazy color scheme
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/318/1423408786f93161b40abuk6.jpg
Anyone know what became of 5440 N Sheridan? The website no longer exists.
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/8607/1422516285b0f4702693bur6.jpg
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/3463/1422512625d35706a599btz7.jpg
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/3645/14225269019f343dcc79bpk8.jpg
Atelier and the site for the proposed Beitler tower

At the intersection of Sheridan and Thorndale, there is a beautiful white mansion with a historic designation marker on the northwest corner. It is occupied and appears to be well maintained.

However, just north of this mansion (still on the west side of Sheridan) there is a boarded up red brick mansion along with several empty lots (contiguous to the north) before it hits a 60's-70's midrise building.

Does anyone know the history of the boarded up mansion and the empty lots? Is there any reason the mansion hasn't been renovated and the adjacent land developed?

was driving on bryn mawr after getting off LSD
and saw a sign
with the following website
its content didnt surprise me

stoptheandrew.org

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/newsstar/news/720636,SN-SacredHeartMansion-010308-s1.article

1907 Driehaus mansion gets $3.9 million restoration
January 8, 2008

Edgewater residents who've seen scaffolding go up around the Conway Dreihaus mansion at 6200 N. Sheridan Road and called Sacred Heart Schools asking if the building is slated for demolition needn't worry.

The grand old home that has been a landmark for 100 years is about to undergo a major makeover.

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/2547/slmansion010208p1ppfeedzh7.jpg

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-edgewater-lakefront-21mar21,0,2435516.story

Residents oppose Edgewater lakefront park plan
Privacy and safety top concerns for condo owners
By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah | Tribune Reporter
10:52 PM CDT, March 20, 2008

When Friends of the Parks revived an idea for expanding Chicago's string of lakefront parks further north, they thought they had a way around the objections—enlist residents to design their own vision of beaches, an extension of the bike path and off-shore islands.

But it's turning out to be not so easy. Residents living in high rises abutting the shoreline north of Hollywood Avenue are putting up a fight.

.............The group's proposal last spring to create an archipelago of islands along the South Shore from 71st to 75th streets and extend the bike path south met with opposition from property owners near the lake. Last month, the residents successfully passed a non-binding referendum against the plan.

.....In the meantime, Friends of the Parks officials are starting efforts to engage more resistant residents in Rogers Park. They foresee a citywide referendum at some point............

^ Crazy stupid. Guess some people just don't like change, even good change.

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/2723/266467727133ecfcf33abvd4.jpg
Granville-Broadway/ flickr

That thing has come along pretty nicely! Thanks for the picture.

Man is that an ugly hunk of concrete. I'm only tolerating it since it's along the Red Line.

Man is that an ugly hunk of concrete. I'm only tolerating it since it's along the Red Line.

It will look a lot better when they finish it, I hope... Plus you think that is ugly you should see the high rise that is up like one block north of it. That thing needs to be taken down.

It will look a lot better when they finish it, I hope... Plus you think that is ugly you should see the high rise that is up like one block north of it. That thing needs to be taken down.

Catalpa Gardens? I like colorful buildings.

It will look a lot better when they finish it, I hope... Plus you think that is ugly you should see the high rise that is up like one block north of it. That thing needs to be taken down.

he is probably referring to the old peoples home at devon and sheridan/broadway
which is ho hum i spose.

he is probably referring to the old peoples home at devon and sheridan/broadway
which is ho hum i spose.

Yea I was, IHMO it is an eye-sore.

http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/7916/2733977434a821488f96bcv3.jpg
Paul Featherstone/ flickr

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/7125/2735660945157ae4e9edbzb5.jpg
Pete Fuller/ flickr
Catalpa Gardens, The Andrew site sitting empty
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/5681/2736498740f307ed85e8bhy5.jpg
Pete Fuller/ flickr
The Granville, also Loyola's new Information Commons on the right

All the info provided by BVictor on SSP.....Thanks BVic :cheers:



http://www.chitowndailynews.org/Chic...akeshore,18366

Voters could strike blow against development along lakeshore

BY IAN FULLERTON
October 28, 2008 | 3:00 PM
Chicago’s northern lakefront has become the battleground for an ongoing dispute over its future developments in the 48th Ward.

Voters next week will decide whether to endorse a referendum opposing the planned expansion of the lakefront bike path from Hollywood Avenue, where it currently ends, to Evanston. Existing designs would require the creation of an off-shore island.

The project, headed by the advocacy organization Friends of the Parks (FOTP), has been met by criticism from StopTheLandfill.org, an informal group of Edgewater residents who fashioned the referendum after a similar one introduced in Rogers Park last fall.

Though not legally binding, the referendum is “meant to put the community’s view of the project on record,” says John Redell, Edgewater resident and administrator of StopTheLandfill.org.

The group asserts that the project, entitled “The Last 4 Miles,” will involve the construction of a landfill in the lake, and may eventually lead to the extension of Lake Shore Drive.

Jim Marlowe, an Edgewater resident, had not known about the project until a few weeks ago when a pamphlet endorsing the prohibition was slipped under his door. “If this project is initiated,” he asks, “will it be limited to a bike path?”

Marlowe shares a suspicion with others in the neighborhood that the project will lead to unwanted construction, in an area he feels is already underused and not in need of development. “The organization should be called the Enemies of the Parks,” he says, half-jokingly.

“Rather than trying to figure out what the community wants, they’ve given us a sales pitch,” says Redell, in regard to public forums held by the FOTP in the past.

According to StopTheLandfill.org, the FOTP ignored overwhelming votes in opposition of their project from South Shore residents in February. The website goes on to state that none of the FOTP’s board members live within the 60660 zip code.

John O’Connell, Vice President of Administration and Development of the Friends of the Parks, says the organization has been paying careful attention to public opinion, adding that the referendum does not address the real issues.

"At every public forum we have ever conducted, we have not advocated the extension of Lake Shore Drive, commercial development on the lakefront, or a landfill,” says O'Connell.

The word ‘landfill,’” he says, “implies a garbage dump.”

Mike Chrzastowski, Senior Coastal Geologist at the Illinois State Geologist Survey, says the correct term is "lakefill," indicating the project would involve clean sand and clay.

“No one is proposing a landfill," he says. "State law would not allow garbage in a lakefill.”

Aside from possible environmental repercussions, Redell claims that the major issue lies in the project’s financial consequences. “With a $420 million shortfall in the cities budget, where is this money going to come from?” He asks.

Friends of the Parks will spend the next few months studying potential ecological effects of the extension, researching funding sources, and working to publish their findings based on three years of public forums.

--------------------
Also from BVic via stoptheinfill.org
Edgewater
http://stopthelandfill.org/images/Edgewater.jpg

Rogers Park
http://stopthelandfill.org/images/Rogers%20Park.jpg

As an Edgewater resident, I'm hugely in favor of the "Last 4 Miles" project, especially if it includes an extension of LSD.

Most of the folks that are against it live in the lakeshore Sheridan towers and have a vested interest in maintaining their private beaches.

I can see that with LSD extended, then Sheridan Rd could evolve into a neighborhood friendly artery along the lines of Clark St in Andersonville, or Southport in West Lakeview or Montrose in Ravenswood. I know that Sheridan already has bars and resteraunts, But it is overrun with bus and through traffic. A protected bike lane and more sidewalk dining and room for street parking would enhance the local merchant revenues.

Until someone answers the "who pays" and "how much" questions, this is all just fanciful pie-in-the-sky dreaming, no?

Clarovista (formerly The Granville) on the far left, Catalpa Gardens on the right side

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/1018/3263797596f2f1e2907dbcq0.jpg
PartsnPieces/ flickr

Cool picture. Is Catalpa that goofy multi-colored thing on Broadway?

I love that building!

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=32956

Dominick’s buys motel next to store
By Andrew Schroedter, Feb. 10, 2009

Dominick's Finer Foods LLC paid $4 million for a motel property in Edgewater next to one of its stores, setting the stage for a possible redevelopment of a nearly three-acre site near the lakefront.

It's amazing how Edgewater alone, several miles north of the loop, can still ccompete with the skylines of other medium to large cities in the US.

I love that building!

Me too! It's brash and fun, unlike the "Clarovista" which is painful.

It will be a larger lifestyle store with a bank (US Bank?) and Starbucks. Most of the parking is on top of the building. I believe the parcel to the north (and also possibly to the east) will probably be sold, so hopefully we get some density there.
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/1853/dominicksfs1mn7.jpg
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/9154/dominicksfs2nm1.jpg
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/6238/dominicksfs3lt0.jpg

I don't quite understand why they need or want the motel property. The current site is 95,000 sf, which seems like plenty if you're doing rooftop parking. Maybe it has to do with the loading docks needing to be off Foster rather than Sheridan.

Also, it looks like Aldi is going to open a store in the Clarovista. Kinda disappointing since I'm not a fan, but it is better than a large empty space.

Why not a fan of Aldi? They often have some amazing hard goods bargains.

Partly because I was expecting either Staples or Trader Joe's, both of which were mentioned by the developers several times. Also because the new Wilson Yard Aldi didn't turn out exactly as planned - no street entrance or windows on Broadway, just a blank brick wall with weird movie poster frame-like art/ads.

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/1358/kksdnlpr.jpg
Matt Stewart/ flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stewie81/4243912587/)

woah - what are those buildings? way to stand apart from the mold.

Where does uptown end and edgewater start? Bryn Mawr of Foster?

Also hows the beaches and lake front up there? I live by Irving Park and i like to run along the lake, but i have always ran south to North Avenue or downtown. Never north, guess ill have to wait for spring.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/2495410,CST-NWS-roeder14.article

Abandoned Edgewater Hospital is a sick site
DAVID ROEDER July 14, 2010

Edgewater Hospital at 5700 N. Ashland, empty and decrepit, is a grand-scale monument to fraud. Unfortunately, it's a monument that's become a blight for its surroundings.

...The property covers most of a block. Residents said there has been talk of putting 300 housing units on the property, with some buildings in the nine- to 13-story range. Some neighbors, organized as the West Edgewater Area Residents, are holding out for all or most of the site to become a park, expensive as that would be.

Where does uptown end and edgewater start? Bryn Mawr of Foster?

Also hows the beaches and lake front up there? I live by Irving Park and i like to run along the lake, but i have always ran south to North Avenue or downtown. Never north, guess ill have to wait for spring.

Bryn Mawr is definitely too far north to represent the southern boundary of Edgewater. I'm not sure what the official dividing line between the two neighborhoods is, but I've always considered Foster to be the dividing line.

Regarding the lakefront further north, I've only ever run along the path from Lawrence southward (though usually no further north than Montrose). I'm not sure whether the running/biking path further north has the side gravel paths that are much less harsh on the knees & ankles than harder surfaces like concrete/asphalt (I'd like to see them added between Addison & Irving Park similar to the way they were added between Addison & Belmont a couple years ago). As far as beaches, Hollywood Beach, at the northern end of Lincoln Park (where Lake Shore Drive ends), is a popular gay beach. Montrose Beach looked pretty popular for beach volleyball the few times I've been there on a warm summer day (though certainly no where near the level of North Avenue Beach) and overall it seems very popular with Hispanic families, though it's reasonably mixed (plenty of families spend the day there having picnics, fishing, or hanging out on the beach). I don't have much experience with the Foster beachfront.

Bryn Mawr is definitely too far north to represent the southern boundary of Edgewater. I'm not sure what the official dividing line between the two neighborhoods is, but I've always considered Foster to be the dividing line.



The southern dividing line between uptown and edgewater
is indeed foster.

And the northern dividing line between rogers park and edgewater
is ofcourse devon.

http://mayor.cityofchicago.org/mayor/en/press_room/press_releases/2010/october_2010/1004_cha_arra_pomeroy.html

Mayor Daley, CHA Officials Announce Rehabilitation Of Pomeroy Senior Apartments In Edgewater Neighborhood

Mayor Richard M. Daley today joined Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) and federal housing officials and community members to announce the rehabilitation of the Pomeroy Senior Apartments, 5650 N. Kenmore Av., in the City’s Edgewater neighborhood.

The project, which will provide 104 new units of affordable housing for seniors when it is completed next year, is supported by $18.3 million in funding from the federal economic stimulus program.
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/4816/image1rf.jpg

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=clark+and+glenlake+chicago,+il&rlz=1W1GGLL_en&wrapid=tlif12894889649061&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=N+Clark+St+%26+W+Glenlake+Ave,+Chicago,+IL+60660&gl=us&ei=RgrcTPnYLYyXnwfHqeUW&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQ8gEwAA

The two story yellow brick building at clark and glenlake
had the roof cut off and has steel girders protruding skyward.
Looks like a couple more stories are being added on.

Not a very common project. Will be interesting to see how it turns out.
That stretch of clark is looking better of late.
The kitty moon building is looking sharp and another couple commercial buildings have been fixed up around there.

Loyola buys site of scrapped condo project
December 13, 2010

(Crain’s) — Loyola University Chicago recently snapped up the site of a proposed condominium building near its Rogers Park campus for $940,000, less than the debt on the vacant parcel.

The university paid about $52 per square foot for a long-vacant 18,000-square-foot site at the northwest corner of Broadway Avenue and Rosemont Avenue, about a block from the university’s campus, according to real estate firm Titan Commercial LLC, which represented Loyola in the transaction.

A Loyola spokeswoman says there are currently no plans for the site, 6300 N. Broadway Ave., where residential developers once planned a five-story condo building. The site is not included in the university’s master plan for development but is within the Devon/Sheridan tax-increment financing district, which was established in 2004 and includes parts of Broadway, Devon Avenue and Sheridan Road.

“My guess is it (the site) would be more for office space or dorms than for retail," says Peter Graham, a vice-president with CB Richard Ellis Inc. who specializes in retail real estate and wasn’t involved in the sale.

A Loyola building of any kind would be a boon to the neighborhood, he adds.

"It definitely extends the campus south … down Broadway, which would bring in more businesses and get more foot traffic down there," he says.

For Loyola to buy the site without a specific plan isn’t surprising, says Robert D. Bronstein, president of Chicago-based student housing firm Scion Group LLC.

“If anyone were to buy a piece of land and hang on to it for a couple of years, it would be a large university,” he says.

The sellers were developers Altaf and Nasir Hemani, who paid $800,000 for the land in 1994, property records show. Their lawyer, Richard Witry of Chicago-based McCarthy Duffy LLP, didn't return a call seeking comment.

The sale closed Nov. 22.

Loyola paid less than the balance due on a loan on the site that the Hemanis obtained from Wilmette-based Premier Bank in September 2009, people familiar with the transaction say. The balance due on the loan could not be determined.

The site has remained vacant since the Hemanis’ plans fell through for a 36-unit condo building with ground-floor retail space.

The first phase of the university's campus redevelopment plan, the Morgan at Loyola Station, opened last year at 1209-10 W. Arthur Ave., two blocks north of the Broadway site.

The Morgan, which includes 152 rental apartments and 33,000 square feet of retail, is now 98% leased, according to developer Dan McCaffery, president of Chicago-based McCaffery Interests Inc.

CVS/Pharmacy, T-Mobile and Five Guys Burgers & Fries are among the tenants.

In the land purchase, Dan Steinberg, a vice-president with Chicago-based Titan, represented Loyola.



Read more: http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/article/20101213/CRED03/101219972/loyola-buys-site-of-scrapped-condo-project#ixzz183n1sr8h
Stay up-to-date on Chicago real estate with our free, daily e-newsletter

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/article/20110120/CRED03/110129988/loyola-buys-building-from-nuns#axzz1Bakt8Tff

Development at Victoria and Broadway

(Right now its looks like it was a used car lot so
I think this is better)

http://edgewatercb.blogspot.com/

From the BARGE block club:
There is a new building going into the empty lot at Victoria & Broadway. It will be a three story medical building with parking on the first level. Tom Scruggs and I have attended most of the meetings at the Alderman's office with the architect where aesthetic and practical details are being agreed upon before final approval is given by Mary Ann Smith.

Points of interest:
-The entrance to the lot will be on Broadway.
-To prevent a curb cut and loss of street parking on Victoria, the parking lot
will exit into the alley.
-The trees on Victoria will be maintained and additional landscaping will be
added.
-There is a possibility of I-Go car rental or bike rental in the lot.
-The business owners are hoping to be open in June/July 2011.

Fine arts magnet program coming to Senn

From Chicago Now's "District 299" Chicago schools blog:
"After years of hard work by the Senn Strategic Planning Committee, the Senn Local School Council, Alderman Smith and other elected officials, the Chicago Board of Education is set to approve a fine arts magnet program at Senn High School at its meeting on January 26. > > CPS will announce details of the program, which will begin in September, 2011, at a public forum on Thursday, January 20 at 6:30 p.m. in the Senn auditorium, 5900 N. Glenwood. This forum is required before the Board can act on the proposal. Everyone is invited to attend the forum to learn more about this exciting educational option for our youth."

http://edgewatercb.blogspot.com/

http://theresidencesatedgewaterpark.com/the-vision

http://theresidencesatedgewaterpark.com/the-vision

Looks to be a great reuse project... not a fan of the parking arrangements, but certain sacrifices need to be made to ensure reinvestment occurs.

http://edgewatercb.blogspot.com/2011/02/new-neighborhood-dining-options-abound.html

Monday, February 28, 2011New neighborhood dining options abound in Edgewater
Edgewater/Andersonville already has a plethora of great dining establishments, but it looks like our number of options are about to increase.

Nookies has been rumored to be coming to the corner of Winthrop & Bryn Mawr for years, and it turns out it may have been worth the wait! According to this article on Eater Chicago, Nookies' Edgewater location will open this spring and offer much more than their other three locations. The restaurant will feature a full bar, a coffee bar, a fresh juice bar, a 60 seat outdoor patio and an expanded dinner menu including BBQ items.

Burke's Public House has been in the works since 2009 at the northeast corner of Broadway/Balmoral, and recently has made much progress with a bar being installed inside and recently the exterior has been spruced up with new windows and the awning in the picture. Also (if you click the photo) you'll notice the "now hiring" sign on the front door. No specific date yet that we know of, but if they're hiring staff as Nookie's just started doing, we have to assume they're coming soon!


Lady Gregory has also teased us with "coming soon" paper covering its windows since 2009, but according to the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce Facebook page Lady G's is now targeting an April 15th opening. Lady Gregory is owned by the same people of Wilde and Beckett's and will be located on the corner of Berwyn & Clark.

Kingfisher Seafood Restaurant & Bar (5721 N Clark) is now open, according to their website: http://www.kingfisheronclark.com/. The new restaurant in the former Arkadash Cafe space features fresh seafood which is brought in daily, and will be open for lunch and brunch in addition to dinner. Currently Kingfisher is BYOB until a liquor license is obtained.



And last, but not least, a new burger joint is coming to Andersonville: The Burger Philosophy will open soon at 1545 W Bryn Mawr. According to their website (http://www.theburgerphilosophy.com/) The Burger Philosphy will feature burgers with fresh daily-ground meat, hand cut french fries and malts & milkshakes. An odd name choice in our opinion, but if their burgers are as good and their fries are better than Five Guys', we'll quickly forgive them.
Posted by Edgewater Community Buzz

http://edgewatercb.blogspot.com/2011/02/community-forum-broadway-armory_28.html

From Harry Osterman's office:

You may know that the Broadway Armory is under construction to (among many changes) add a running track. Rep. Osterman has been working with the city along with other local representatives, and wants you all to have the information.

Representatives from the City Planning Department will be on hand to present the planned changes and answer any questions neighbors may have about the "new" Armory on:
Thursday March 10, 2011
Broadway Armory Park
5917 N. Broadway Ave.
7:00 pm

http://edgewatercb.blogspot.com/2011/03/new-library-coming-to-edgewater.html

From the ASCO newsletter:
A new Edgewater Branch Library has been approved by the Public Buildings Commission and the firm of noted architect Dirk Lohan has been contracted . The current library will be demolished as well as the adjoining building. The new building will be in the same location but the address and entrance will be on Broadway. More parking will be available. The plot will be bounded by Elmdale on the South, Norwood on the North, Broadway on the East and the public alley on the West.

The new building will be 18,665 square feet and two stories high. It will include a reading room on each floor with stacks, a meeting room and an elevator. Library staff offices and a dividable community room are included. About $900,000 has been authorized for design and planning.

The site must be ready for construction by Nov. 16, 2011. A year is being allocated for construction with additional time periods for approvals and inspections. Improvements will be made to the public way.

Our State Representative, Harry Osterman was approached by Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey and asked to obtain funds for a new Edgewater library. Now, as the incoming Alderman, he will have to negotiate a temporary site for our books and services.
Posted by

Where does uptown end and edgewater start? Bryn Mawr of Foster?

Also hows the beaches and lake front up there? I live by Irving Park and i like to run along the lake, but i have always ran south to North Avenue or downtown. Never north, guess ill have to wait for spring.

Edgewater starts at Foster going north. as far as the beaches, osterman at Hollywood is probably the best on the north side. It lacks parking and that keeps it uncrowded and fairly clean. We also just got new restrooms with a restaurant/snackbar that also sells beer and wine.:cheers:

http://edgewatercb.blogspot.com/2011/03/new-library-coming-to-edgewater.html

From the ASCO newsletter:
A new Edgewater Branch Library has been approved by the Public Buildings Commission and the firm of noted architect Dirk Lohan has been contracted . The current library will be demolished as well as the adjoining building. The new building will be in the same location but the address and entrance will be on Broadway. More parking will be available. The plot will be bounded by Elmdale on the South, Norwood on the North, Broadway on the East and the public alley on the West.

The new building will be 18,665 square feet and two stories high. It will include a reading room on each floor with stacks, a meeting room and an elevator. Library staff offices and a dividable community room are included. About $900,000 has been authorized for design and planning.

The site must be ready for construction by Nov. 16, 2011. A year is being allocated for construction with additional time periods for approvals and inspections. Improvements will be made to the public way.

Our State Representative, Harry Osterman was approached by Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey and asked to obtain funds for a new Edgewater library. Now, as the incoming Alderman, he will have to negotiate a temporary site for our books and services.
Posted by

As a resident, I miss the old library. My kids miss it, too. We hope it will not take forever to replace it! Also, if the city/state/country are broke, where is the money for this coming from? More "printed" (i.e., stimulus) money?

:banana:

Since Labor Day has come and gone, most Edgewater residents realize that September through December is when we have some fairly sizable waves. The Park District has revised its rules and you are now allowed to surf at Osterman between Labor day and Memorial day: AT YOUR OWN RISK. Previous to now you could be ticketed for doing so.

In a few weeks you'll need a wetsuit. I'll be out at the main break with my longboard.
Shaka!

http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/news.detail/object_id/0a3f9703-3f9e-4c53-bbfd-655395e102d4.cfm