A civic organization in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood
Our next meeting is Tuesday, November 9.
Location: Basement of St. Alphonsus Church
1429 W. Wellington
Agenda:
7:00 pm: Coffee & Cookies
7:30 pm: Meeting
OCTOBER 2010 MEETING PREVIEW
Location: Basement of St. Alphonsus Church
1429 W. Wellington
Agenda:
Alderman Scott Waguespack–State of the Ward
An annual event, SLN welcomes the Alderman for his State of the Ward speech. Considering the volatile environment of the City budget shortfall and the open Mayoral race, this appears to be an interesting evening. Get there early for a good seat.
1325-41 W. Belmont – presentation and discussion of potential zoning change
MedProperties, LLC will present its proposal for the Project at the above address. Those addresses are currently occupied by a mostly one-story medical building, the associated parking area and a Native American Art store. The Project is a 62,000 square foot medical office building. The Project is a 4 story glass and brick building. The top cornice will be 70 ft. high. The parapet wall will be 68 ft. high. For comparison purposes, the Senior Housing at 1501 W. Belmont is 77 ft high and 3133 N. Lakewood is 75 ft. high.The Project will be lot-line to lot-line front to back and side-to-side. There will be no side yards (gangways) for the properties bordering the Project. The Project will be anchored by Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH). There will be an Urgent Care Center at street level with extended hours. 12,000 square feet of retail space will be available on the 1st floor. The 1st floor will include a NMH Imaging Center. It is unclear how many medical or business tenants will occupy the building or if the make-up of the tenants is known. There will be 74 indoor parking spaces that can also be used for restaurants and theater in the evening. The roof consists primarily of a green wellness garden. In order to achieve the desired office ratio, the Project will require a B2-5 zoning. This Project is developed as a Planned Development.
ISSUE : The NDRC committee is concerned that allowing that zoning to accommodate this project will set off an avalanche of similar requests on the 1200 and 1300 blocks of Belmont.
The immediate area surrounding the Project will be flyered. This will be a Voting Issue.
View the newsletter in PDF format.
Dear Neighbors,
Scott Waguespack was elected alderman of the 32nd Ward in 2007, beating two-term incumbent Ted Matlack in a run-off election after neither had won 50% of the vote in a primary. (A third candidate has been lost to history.) It was the first defeat for the vaunted Dan Rostenkowski political organization since Terry Gabinski was elected alderman in the 1960s. At his retirement in 1999, Gabinski was the dean of the 50 Chicago aldermen: Matlack was his chief aide. You get the picture. Without re-hashing ancient history, suffice it that Matlak’s zoning decisions did not endear him to many South Lakeview neighbors. The near-empty condo buildings along Lincoln and the “For Sale” signs on other streets stand as testament to the zoning decisions made more than four years ago, when sunshine and blue skies stretched to eternity. It was fun while it lasted. Continue reading
State Representative – John Fritchey, Democrat
SLN’s long-time State Rep and Democratic Ward Committeman will appear to discuss the State of Illinois political mess. Budget issues, Educational funding, Governor Blagojevich and other issues will be touched on. Mr. Fritchey always gives interesting viewpoints on the State’s political issues. Mr. Fritchey is retiring from the State legislature at the end of his current term. Mr. Fritchey is currently running for the Cook County Board position vacated by Forrest Claypool.
Republican Ward Committeman – John Curry
As an equal-opportunity neighborhood association, SLN has invited Mr. Curry to give the Republican point of view of local and State-wide issues. Mr. Curry has appeared before the SLN membership in previous years and often attends SLN meetings.
1325-41 W. Belmont – preliminary presentation and discussion of potential zoning change
A developer has approached Alderman Waguespack’s office for a development proposal for the above address. Those addresses are currently occupied by a mostly one-story medical building, the associated parking area and a Native American Art store. Information is in a raw presentation stage. The developer wishes to obtain feedback from the neighborhood before committing a large investment in architectural and legal zoning fees. The general plan is as follows : 1) 4 story medical building, 2) 78 indoor parking spaces, 3) proposed tenants are to be doctors associated with Northwestern University Hospital. To obtain the desired office spaces needed, the property will need to be zoned as a B2-5 commercial property. This development will be considered a Planned Development.
ISSUE : The NDRC committee is concerned that allowing that zoning to accommodate this project will set off an avalanche of similar requests on the 1200 and 1300 blocks of Belmont.