Developer John Livaditis has submitted a revised plan to build an apartment building which will also house a Roots Pizza restaurant at 2941 N. Clark St., a long-vacant property in southeast Lakeview. The revise was submitted to the South East Lake View Neighbors group on Sept. 8.
“We’re going to do four stories that blend in pretty well with the neighborhood buildings,” Livaditis was quoted saying, as reported by Dnainfo.com.
Though the previous plan was to build a 33-unit apartment building, he revised the plan to build 19 one- and two-bedroom units occupying the second, third and fourth floors of the building, with 4,600-sq. ft. of ground floor space allotted to Roots Pizza, a family-friendly pizza joint. The plan also includes a bike room, elevator and dog-wash station.
The developers need of a zoning change to add the proposed seven additional residential units and 14 residential parking spaces accessible from the back alley, rather than the currently allowed 12 residential units and a 1:1 parking space policy.
“As a city, I think we want more people walking, more people riding bikes, using bike lanes,” Livaditis said. “Probably half the tenants won’t have cars. I think people who want to live in that area don’t have cars.” Though most members of the South East Lake View Neighbors group voted for the proposal, an approval from Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) and the city’s zoning board is still required.
Some residents have expressed concern about parking congestion due to Roots Pizza delivery and garbage trucks, but developers have assured residents that they will work together to fine-tune the plan.
