Fourth Ward Meeting Held To Present New Development Projects To Residents

Fourth Ward Meeting Held To Present New Development Projects To Residents

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

Alderman of Chicago’s Fourth Ward, Sophia King, recently held a community meeting to give two developers an opportunity to publicly present the construction and renovation plans that they have submitted to the alderman for approval.

The goal of this meeting was to receive feedback from residents of the fourth ward so King can make the best decision for her constituents.

“What we like to do as an office, to make sure we are remaining transparent, is any time there is a new project we want to present it to you before we approve it because the alderman would like to have community input for whatever we do in the community going forward. We understand that Hyde Park has undergone a lot of development over the last few years. The developers are here to provide information about their particular projects and based on your input, we will go forward with a decision,” said Prentice Butler, chief of staff for the Fourth Ward Alderman.

The first project that was presented was a new masonry building to be constructed at 5117 S.Kenwood Ave which is currently a vacant lot. John Pikarski, of the Gordon and Pikarski law firm, is the zoning attorney for the project and spoke on behalf of the developer.

The proposed building will offer nine condo-style rental units. The first and second floor will have six units with two-bedroom’s and the third-floor will have three units with three-bedrooms each that include private balcony access, according to Pikarski.

The building will fit comfortably on the lot and offer nine parking spots, one for each unit, behind the building, according to Pikarski.

“The building is all masonry, all brick on all four sides and we believe that the design we have proposed is consistent with everything that is on the street,” said Pikarski.

The second project was presented by James Peterson from Pioneer Acquisitions. The company currently owns the Piccadilly building located at 5107 S. Blackstone. While there are already rental units and retail space available in the building, Peterson is seeking approval to renovate the ballroom on the 13th floor.

“It’s a gorgeous space with 20-foot ceilings and beautiful arched windows. A number of these windows have been covered with cinder blocks and we would like to open them up and upgrade them. Outside of that, there is a 2,000 square-foot terrace that we want to bring back into use. The idea is that this would be space for events like weddings, bar-mitzvahs, corporate events, community events, anyone and everyone, we would love to have as many people as possible be able to use the space,” said Peterson.

The plan is to open up the window, bring the bathroom up to code, create a dedicated entrance for the event space, add a catering kitchen, rehabilitate the floors, and update some of the historic plasterwork, according to Peterson.

To comment on the projects you can reach out to Alderman King on her website at www.aldsophiaking.com.

Latest Stories

Latest Podcast

STARR Community Services International, Inc.