Proposed residential building to replace an ugly Walgreens at Clark/Diversey/Broadway.

Here are recent plans for a proposed residential building, located at 544 W. Diversey Parkway, at Chicago’s Lakeview/Lincoln Park border.  The current site houses one of a million Walgreens stores so even if Walgreens decides to re-occupy the first floor space, this building will be an amazing change for this busy intersection.  Plus, the possibility of a nice green roof is pretty exciting too.  I don’t have any further information about this proposed building so if anyone knows of ANY information, it would be much appreciated.  Hopefully this gets built soon because I believe the Clark/Broadway/Diversey intersection deserves more buildings like this one.

Proposed building will replace the Walgreens at the lower right side.

Is Lakeview’s Broadway 3030 officially going kaput?!

Controversial fund to auction former Dominick’s site

By Eddie Baeb, May 27, 2009

(Crain’s) — A $7.9-million loan on a former Dominick’s site in Lake View is turning into a sour deal for a controversial investment fund managed by developer Allison Davis and a nephew of Mayor Richard Daley.

The fund managed by Mr. Davis and Daley nephew Robert Vanecko is seeking to auction off a site at 3012-3036 N. Broadway Streetafter an apparent default on the mezzanine loan by a venture owned by little-known Chicago developers Michael O’Connor and Jonathan Zitzman, according to a recently published notice of public sale.

The developers planned a 53-unit condominium building and a bigger Dominick’s to replace a store destroyed by fire in 2005.

The auction comes just a couple months after news reports that Chicago’s inspector general is investigating millions of dollars in investments by city pension funds in the fund, called DV Urban Realty Partners L.P., according to news reports. The auction is to take place June 5 at the office of law firm DLA Piper LLP, according to the notice.

Messrs. Connor and Zitzman bought the site for $16 million in early 2007 through a venture called Broadway 3012 LLC from the founding family of Dominick’s Finer Foods LLC, the DiMatteos, according to property records.

The new Dominick’swould have been twice the size of the original 20,000-square-foot store. In early 2008, the developers refinanced the property with a $10-million first mortgage from First Bank, based in suburban St. Louis, and a $7.9-million mezzanine loan from Urban Broadway Mezz LLC — an affiliate of DV Urban Realty, which is run by Mr. Davis and Mr. Vanecko. Mr. Davis’ son, Jared Davis, is also a manager of Urban Broadway Mezz.

Dominick’s had a lease in place for the new development, according to property records, and there was a groundbreaking last fall, although work didn’t get far. The developers are holding out hope, however, and in a statement blamed the credit crunch for the project’s woes……

To read the rest of the article from Chicago Real Estate Daily, click here!

Man, I am trying to be optimistic that Broadway 3030 will still take place, even after the auction takes place but it doesn’t look promising at all.  Broadway 3030’s sales center has looked closed for some time and I just noticed that their website is shut down as well.  To be honest, a grocery store or some other major retail space would be amazing for this enormous, empty lot and it would be a shame to have the lot sit empty for any longer.

Firkin & Pheasant’s new Lakeview location (3/5 stars)

I had two friends visiting from Moline for the Chicago Auto Show which just so happened to land on Valentines Day.  So what do single guys do for Valentines Day?  Well besides going to a bar and drinking, we have to eat first.  Firkin & Pheasant, located at 670 W. Diversey Parkway, had just opened their doors and after walking by the restaurant at least twice a day, and seeing that they have constant food and drink specials, I figured it was time to go in.  Even though Firkin & Pheasant was busy, my friends and I were immediately showed to a nice, big booth.  The hostesses and our waitress were all extremely nice and attentive, and our food and drinks came out after no time at all.  Thanks to Firkin & Pheasant’s website for their pictures and food information!

I ordered the Firkin Angus Burger which had jack cheese, bacon, and bourbon chipotle onions ($10.95).  Fries came with the burger, and as basic as they were, they were still really good.  The price was almost more than I would be willing to spend for a burger and fries, however.

Tyler ordered the chicken pot pie which had pulled chicken and vegetables in a rich gravy ($10.25).  For some reason, the cooks left a paper doily under the wet vegetables so Tyler kept picking the paper out of his mouth.  Pretty gross, but overall, Tyler said his meal was good.

Bill ordered the cottage pie which had simmered ground beef, peas, and carrots which is then topped with mashed potatoes and served with vegetables ($9.95).

Trader Joe’s coming to the Lakeview/Lincoln Park border.

According to this Crain’s Chicago Business article, M Development and FredLatsko, who is with Structure Management Midwest LLC, are planning to build a new 37,800 square foot store with 112 parking spaces on the second level and rooftop.  This new building will be located at 671 W. Diversey Parkway where Trader Joe’s will lease 14,500 square feet of space.  The site is currently being used as a parking lot and residential property next to the now vacant Pier 1 Imports and Barnes & Nobel stores.  Mr. Latsko says he hopes to get a construction loan soon in order to open up in late 2010.  So if everything goes well, the Lincoln Park/Lakeview border definitely wont be lacking on the grocery front.  Check out the article and I’ll also try to get a picture of the site!

CHA’s Britton Budd Apartments redevelopment

The Britton Budd Apartments is an 11 story building that was used by the Chicago Housing Authority as affordable housing for seniors up until the summer of 2005 when the apartments were closed for renovation.  The Britton Budd Apartments are located in my neighborhood at 501 W. Surf Street and since I’ve lived in Chicago, I’ve always noticed how beautiful but also creepy the building is.  Check out the Tribune article about the redevelopment.

The Will Group, Inc. and Walsh Construction are working to completely replace all pipes, boilers, windows, restorationof the terra cotta facade, renovation of 171 units, and even brand new landscaping.  It’ll be interesting to see how the street life changes once the building opens up too.