A couple of days ago Curbed Chicago reported that Mega Realty was finally granted a construction permit to build Lawrence and Laramie, the first of its two planned mixed use buildings in downtown Jefferson Park. Located at 5201 W. Lawrence, this four-story, mixed use project will contain 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail space, 39 one and two bedroom apartments and 41 parking spaces within an enclosed garage. As part of a Planned Unit Development, a triangular parcel on the east side of Laramie Avenue, between Lawrence and Avondale Avenues will also be redeveloped into a parking lot to serve the businesses and residents. This parking lot will have 21 parking spaces as well as a landscaped public plaza.
Here is what we know about the development, based on information from the public meeting in 2015, recent media reporting, public information available from the construction permit, and the developer meeting with our Community Development Committee early this year:
Construction
- For permitting purposes, the address of the site is located at the driveway at 4758 N. Laramie. This address covers the same parcel as 5201 W. Lawrence.
- The estimated cost of the development is $8.5 million
- Construction should break ground this fall and be completed within 12 months. Move-in likely around early 2019.
- Archamerica, Inc., a Gurnee, IL based architecture firm, did the building design
- Delko Construction Co. will be the general contractor
Parking
- Residents of the building will have access to 41 spaces inside the building
- 21 additional parking spaces will serve some combination of residents and businesses on the triangle lot east of Laramie.
- An ordinance will be introduced to exclude residents of 5201 W. Lawrence from eligibility for permit parking on Laramie Ave.
Residential
- 39 one and two bedroom apartment units. Roughly 50% split between the two.
- Residents will live on floors 2-4 and have direct access to their indoor parking garage
- All units will have a balcony
- Trash will be contained within the building. There will be no dumpsters in the alley or on Laramie Ave.
- The residential entrance to the building will be on Laramie Ave. Retail entrances will be on Lawrence Ave.
FAQ’s
How tall is the building?
Lawrence and Laramie will be a four-story, mixed use building that is approximately 50 feet in height.
Will the building make traffic worse?
Given its location two blocks from the Jefferson Park Transit Center and one block from the Kennedy Expressway, it’s not expected that the building will generate significant traffic from its residents. Traffic generated from retail uses will depend on the type of retailer. Residents of transit-oriented development generally own and use cars less.
Will the retail sit vacant even if the residential is filled?
This remains to be seen. At the public meeting for this project, held in 2015, the City Department of Planning and Development told residents that they were asking the developer, as a condition of the sale of City-owned land, to provide some guarantees in terms of leasing the retail space. We are not able to verify at this time what agreements between Mega and the City were ultimately made.
What economic impacts are expected from this property?
Based on back of the envelope calculations using the Metropolitan Planning Council’s Grow Chicago development impact calculator, we can estimate this development will generate $1.85 million in tax revenues, including property, sales and transfer taxes. As additional $367,000 in retail sales is expected, along with 29 jobs.
Any more questions?
Drop us a line. This FAQ is meant to grow as questions arise.