



by BRIAN NADIG

The construction of two three-story residential buildings is being proposed for a longtime vacant parcel at 4812-18 W. Montrose Ave.

Alderman John Arena (45th) will hold a community meeting on the proposal at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 9, at Saint John’s Lutheran Church, 4939 W. Montrose Ave. Each of the proposed buildings would have six living units, and there would be an average of 1.5 garage parking spaces per unit, and access to the parking would from an alley.

The proposal calls for the 14,200-square-foot site to be rezoned from B3-1 to B2-2, which allows for ground-floor dwelling units in a business district. Under the existing zoning, residential construction would be limited to no more than five dwelling units on the site.

Project developer Noah Properties has been building homes and condominiums in Chicago since 2002. Noah builds some of the “more daring and contemporary buildings” in the city, according to the company’s Web site.

In 2010, the property was rezoned from RS-2, which is intended primarily for single-family homes, to B3-1 to accommodate the construction of a one-story retail center on the site, but the center was never built. In 1999, plans to build a 14-unit condominium project on the site were dropped after residents presented a petition opposing the proposal to then-alderman Patrick Levar.

The property is between a gas station on the east and an apartment building on the west. Over the years residents have complained about trucks and abandoned cars being parked on the site.



