







by BRIAN NADIG

Construction recently began on the “Enclave Portage Park” single-family home development on the site of a former bank parking lot at 4901 W. Dakin St.

Nine two-story homes are planned for the approximately 28,125-square-foot parcel, which was the smaller of two parking lots that once served the former Bank of America, 4901 W. Irving Park Road. The building is being converted into a Binny’s Beverage Depot and a fitness center, and plans call for only the one parking lot, which is located directly behind the former bank, to remain for the retail development.

A zoning change was not required for the single-family home project because the parking lot has been zoned for residential use for decades. About 55 years ago, the city refused to rezone the site for a bank parking lot, but bank officials successfully sought a court order to allow for the parking without having to rezone the property for commercial uses.

Guardian Properties, the site’s developer, was attracted to the property in part because of the resurgence atmosphere of the adjacent shopping district, said company representative Jennifer Arons. “They’re so many things going on at Six Corners,” she said.

Guardian is offering buyers a choice of either a 2,925-square-foot or a 3,570-square-foot house, each of which includes a full basement, 3.5 bathrooms, a rear two-car garage and either three or four bedrooms. The basement can include an additional bedroom in either design, and there is an option for a rear deck.

Asking prices start at $589,900 for the smaller units and $649,900 for the larger units.

The design of the development will blend in with the surrounding community, Arons said. “They fit in. They’re not supper-modern, and they look real classic,” she said. “And the peak roofs I think are reflective of the area.”

It is somewhat unusual to find a vacant property in a residential neighborhood which is large enough for nine homes, Arons said. Guardian also is building an eight-unit project in the Ukrainian Village, she said.

Plans call for a model home at the “enclave” development to be open by November, and for the development to be completed in 14 months, Arons said. The development is located at the southwest corner of Dakin Street and Lamon Avenue.



