by BRIAN NADIG

A zoning proposal to build a six-flat at 5667 W. Higgins Ave. in Jefferson Park appears to be moving forward.

"I see no reason to be opposed to this zoning change or to stand in its way," Alderman Jim Gardiner (45th) said at a Feb. 3 community meeting held at the Jefferson Memorial Park fieldhouse, 4822 N. Long Ave.

The Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association and Jefferson Park Forward had earlier submitted letters of support for the project, Gardiner said. He added that he meets with the boards of community groups to get initial feedback on development proposals prior to holding a public meeting.

Under the proposal, the current 94-year-old brick two-flat on the parcel would be demolished and replaced with a 3 1/2-story building with a five-car garage and one outdoor parking space in the rear of the property. The two ground-floor apartments would include a lower level.

The projected monthly rent would be $2,750 for the two duplex units, which would include three bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms, and $1,950 for the simplex units, which would include two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Project developer Pat O’Donnell is seeking to have the 6,250-square-foot parcel rezoned from RS-3 to the less restrictive RT-4. Both neighboring properties, including an existing six-flat which O’Donnell owns at 5673 W. Higgins Ave., and several nearby properties on the north side of Higgins are zoned RT-4.

O’Donnell said that his typical tenants are working couples who are too busy to worry about the maintenance associated with owning a home and want to live close to the Jefferson Park CTA Terminal, 4917 N. Milwaukee Ave.

"People (also) want to move here and send their kids to Taft. Taft is a good school," O’Donnell said.

Many tenants own cars, but their vehicles can go unused for days or weeks at a time, Gardiner said. "Their cars have dust on them … if you look in the garage," he said.

At the meeting the only one objection was raised. "This area is built out already," resident Ron Ernst said. "There’s a lot of RT-4 zoning in the city. You should buy those properties and build."







