A 12-unit apartment complex is proposed for a long-vacant lot near Montrose and Cicero avenues that is now used as a parking lot. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Heather Cherone

JEFFERSON PARK — A plan to build a 12-unit apartment complex on a long-vacant lot near Montrose and Cicero avenues has been dropped by the developer, officials said Tuesday.

Officials with Noah Properties, which had proposed building two, three-story buildings and 18 parking spaces at 4812-18 W. Montrose Ave., notified Ald. John Arena (45th) that they not intend to continue with the project, said Owen Brugh, Arena's chief of staff.

Although the proposal was greeted less than enthusiastically from neighbors who wanted to see condominiums built on the site rather than rental apartments, that opposition did not cause the plans to be scuttled, Brugh said.

"It was an internal issue," Brugh said, referring to Noah Properties.

Why did some neighbors object to the plans? Heather Cherone explains:

Sara Barnes, the developer's attorney, did not return phone messages seeking a response.

The property, which is close to the Montrose stop on the CTA Blue Line as well as the Mayfair station on Metra's Milwaukee District North Line and city buses, is now used as a private parking lot.

"It would be great to see something there," Brugh said. "It is a great location, and we'd like to see the property become an asset to the community."

The proposal from Noah Properties would have required a zoning change, which requires the support of Arena and approval from the Chicago Plan Commission.

Arena has touted his support often for projects that give people a chance to live near mass transit hubs and business districts.

Existing rules would allow eight apartments or condominiums to be built on the site, along with four storefronts.

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