







by BRIAN NADIG

A zoning application recently was filed for a proposal which calls for the construction of 12 townhouses on a longtime vacant parcel at the southwest corner of Austin and Lawrence avenues.

The proposal calls for 24 parking spaces and for each building to be 37 feet tall. The project requires the 21,248-square-foot parcel to be rezoned from B2-3 Neighborhood Mixed-Use District to RT-4 Residential Two-Flat, Townhouse and Multi-Unit District.

In 2007, a four-story building with 24 residential units and ground-floor storefronts was proposed for the parcel, but the project was never built due to the downturn in the real estate market, and the developer turned the property over to the bank which had financed the purchase of the land, whose address is 4744-58 N. Austin Ave. and 6001-09 W. Lawrence Ave.

The 2007 project also included a similar four-story, mixed-use building at 4732 N. Austin Ave., and a different developer eventually built that structure in 2011. In addition, three six-flats were planned in 2007 for 6015-21 W. Lawrence Ave., but they were never built.