18-Unit Condo Building Proposed for Edison Park Parking Lot

A four-story condo building with 18 units has been proposed for a parking lot in downtown Edison Park, adding another development push to a Northwest Side neighborhood already wrestling with questions about growth and scale.

Jim Ronan, of Ronan Construction, presented the plans Wednesday night before the 41st Ward Zoning Advisory Committee. The site, 6681-6685 N. Northwest Highway, currently serves as a parking lot for the nearby Emerald Isle Bar and Grill. Getting the building built would require City Council approval of a zoning change.

About 30 people attended the meeting. Not all of them were happy.

Ronan told the crowd his design was built to blend with the surrounding neighborhood. Each of the 18 units would include a private balcony, and the ground floor would offer roughly 29,000 square feet of commercial storefront space. A garage beneath the building would provide 18 parking spaces, one per unit.

The pricing won’t be cheap. Ronan said two-bedroom units would likely run between $450,000 and $500,000. Three-bedroom units would come in around $600,000. Under the city’s affordable housing ordinance, 20 percent of units in developments seeking a zoning change must be designated affordable. That means four units in this building would be set aside for residents earning less than 60 percent of the area median income. For a single-person household, that threshold sits at $50,400.

Still, residents at the meeting pushed back.

Parking was the sharpest point of friction. Attendees worried that condo owners with two cars would spill onto nearby residential streets, shifting the burden to neighbors already competing for curb space. The building’s height also drew complaints. Every surrounding structure tops out at two stories. A four-story building would stand out considerably.

Frank Icuss, a member of the 41st Ward Zoning Advisory Committee, said the group plans to consult with neighbors and local businesses before taking any formal position. A follow-up meeting is expected sometime in May, with the date to be posted on the committee’s website.

Chris Vittorio, chief of staff for Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st), said the process has a clear next step. Once the committee votes on the proposal, Napolitano will send his recommendation to City Council. That’s how development decisions in Chicago typically move, with the alderman holding substantial influence over what gets built in their ward under the longstanding principle of aldermanic prerogative.

If everything clears, Ronan said construction would take roughly 18 months.

The proposal doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Just down Northwest Highway, an 82-unit apartment complex is already in the pipeline at 6750 N. Northwest Highway, the former site of M.J. Suerth Funeral Home. That project, developed by Valdir Barion of Reliable Property Services, involves two four-story buildings, each with 41 apartments, 41 parking spaces, and a courtyard. The 41st Ward Zoning Advisory Committee approved it two years ago, but only after three contentious meetings. Neighbors hammered the project for its size. Barion eventually reduced the number of three-bedroom units, which softened some of the opposition.

Edison Park sits at the far northwest corner of Chicago, a quiet neighborhood of bungalows and two-flats that has historically seen less development pressure than areas closer to downtown. That’s starting to change. Two significant multi-unit projects along the same stretch of Northwest Highway, both cleared or in the process of clearing the same advisory committee, suggest the neighborhood is entering a different chapter whether residents want it to or not.

The condo proposal is earlier in the process than the apartment complex down the road. It still needs a committee vote, an aldermanic recommendation, and full City Council approval before a shovel goes in the ground. Block Club Chicago first reported the details of Wednesday’s meeting.

The core tension here isn’t new to Chicago. Neighborhoods want investment but resist change. Affordable housing mandates help, but four units out of 18 doesn’t dramatically reshape who can afford to live in Edison Park at those price points. And one parking space per unit, in a neighborhood where most households own at least one car and many own two, is a math problem the committee will need to reckon with.

Icuss and the rest of the advisory committee have until May to figure out what they think. Then it goes up the chain.