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| Down in the weeds at the infamous Rezko lot (via Chicago Journal) |
This week, Chicagorealestatedaily.com did some digging and didn't find out any definitive answers. However, they did provide a little more info:
Ald. Daniel Solis, chairman of the City Council’s Committee on Zoning Landmarks and Building Standards, has proposed throwing out a blueprint for the site passed by the council in 2004 that allowed for 4,600 homes and 670,000 square feet of retail space. He wants to zone the property for light industry instead, according to a notice for an upcoming hearing on the proposal.
As drastic as that sounds, it may not signal a major shift in the city’s plans for the Riverside Park site, which stretches south from Roosevelt Road on the east bank of the Chicago River. The City Council approved a planned development for the property, a special negotiated zoning status for large projects that expires after six years if nothing gets built under the plan.They then added that there is uncertainty for anything moving forward:
It’s unclear whether a new plan for the site would include as many homes as the old one. Given the strength of the condominium market at the time, 4,600 seemed like a big but not unrealistic number. Today, it seems like a project that would take decades to complete. But Roosevelt Road’s continuing emergence as a shopping strip makes the property an even more attractive potential site for big-box retailers.
The zoning committee was scheduled to take up the zoning amendment Feb. 26, but the proposal has been deferred, possibly until the committee’s next meeting March 26, said Nicole Wellhausen, a legislative aide to Ald. Solis (25th).Stay tuned for more details.
(Hat tip: Curbed Chicago)
