by BRIAN NADIG

Plans to redevelop the 113-year-old firehouse building at 4835 N. Lipps Ave. in Jefferson Park have been revised, reducing the proposed height from four to three stories.

Lake Effect Brewing, 4727 W. Montrose Ave., is planning to operate a taproom on the first floor of the firehouse and posted revised plans for the project on its Facebook page. Developer Tim Pomaville reportedly discussed revisions to the project at the March. 21 meeting of the Jefferson Park Forward.

Plans had called for a third and fourth floor with residential units to be added to the existing two-story firehouse, which in more recent years had been used as the 45th Ward’s sanitation yard facility. The Northwest Chicago Historical Society and Preservation Chicago had expressed concern that the upper floors would not be set back from the front, arguing that the planned addition would distract from the historic two-story look of the building.

The new proposal reportedly calls for only a single floor to be added to the building and for the third floor to be set back from the front, making that floor less visible to passers-by. The number of residential units planned for the project remains at nine, which was the number of apartments proposed last year.









The project’s developer, Ambrosia Homes, recently said that it was looking into making revisions to address preservation-related concerns. Ambrosia would be purchasing the building from the city and seeking a zoning change for the project.

“The brewery will be housed on the first floor with glass overhead doors to bring in natural light. Still a ways to go, but the wheels are turning,” Lake Effect posed on Facebook.

“A lot of work has been done to refine the plan with the prime intent to make sure the original firehouse is very much front and center,” the brewery also posted.

The developer plans to re-create a triangular, ornamental feature which was once located along the roofline of the façade. Side balconies, which would face Ainslie Street, would be installed for the second-floor apartments, while there would be terrace space for the third-floor units.

The firehouse is located across from the site of a planned 16-story building at 4849 N. Lipps Ave., which is located next to the Jefferson Park CTA Terminal. The 16-story building would be about 70 feet taller the nearby 10-story Veterans Square at 4849 N. Milwaukee Ave.