



by BRIAN NADIG

Proposals to build a 29-unit residential complex and a commercial center with a Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant near Irving Park Road and Narragansett Avenue appear to be moving forward following a June 10 community meeting held by Alderman Nicholas Sposato (38th).

Sposato said that there has been little opposition to the projects and that he plans to support zoning changes for both proposals. He said that the city Department of Transportation will review the issues about traffic raised at the meeting, including concerns about left-turn access to and from the developments.

About a dozen residents attended the meeting, Sposato said.

One of the proposals calls for construction of five townhouses and three eight-unit condominium buildings on an approximately 30,000-square-foot parcel at 4111-17 N. Narragansett Ave. The site is occupied by a 104-year-old two-flat and a 118-year-old two-flat, each of which is located on a lot that measures more than 10,000 square feet.

The project would have a positive effect on area property values, as the townhouses would be priced "in the high 400s," Sposato said. "We’d be getting rid of an eyesore, and we’d be getting some pretty costly houses," he said.

Automobiles would access the development from Narragansett, and the number of parking spaces would exceed the 29 required under the zoning code, allowing for visitor parking, Sposato said. Plans call for the site to be rezoned from RS-2, which is intended for single-family homes, to the less restrictive RT-4.

A zoning change also is being sought for the site of the former Chicagoland Canoe Base, 4015-25 N. Narragansett Ave., to allow a commercial center with a drive-through facility for the Dunkin’ Donuts to open on the site. The doughnut shop would move from its current location at the Dunning Square shopping center at the northwest corner of Narragansett and Irving Park.

Former alderman Timothy Cullerton had the site downzoned to RS-2 after the owner of the canoe shop died and his heirs said they planned to sell the property. The proposal calls for the property to be rezoned to B3-1, which allows a variety of retail uses.

The retail center would be built along the sidewalk, with parking in the rear, and plans are being made to incorporate a neighboring lot at 6358 W. Irving Park Road, where the A’s Restaurant is located, into the development, Sposato said. The restaurant site is zoned B3-1.

It also was reported that a company which purchases and resells cars is seeking to rezone a lot at 5555 W. Irving Park Road from RT-4 to C2-1. The property currently is being used by a different company for vehicle storage, a nonconforming use under its RT-4 zoning.

It also was announced that a public place of amusement license is being sought for a new restaurant in a strip shopping center in the 4600 block of North Cumberland Avenue.

Sposato said that the owner plans to offer live music and that the fact that the restaurant will be part of a larger shopping center helps to isolate the establishment from nearby homes, minimizing any affect on residents.



