Lakeview High-Rise Proposal Moves Forward With Design Changes, Demolition Timeline

LAKEVIEW — After six months of meetings with neighbors and Ald. Bennett Lawson’s 44th Ward office, developers have unveiled a revised vision for a proposed 355-unit apartment tower overlooking Diversey Harbor.

The developers say the latest design incorporates community feedback while expanding pedestrian space around one of Lakeview’s busiest intersections.

The proposal would replace the vacant Stone Medical Center building and an adjacent parking lot at the northwest corner of Sheridan Road and Diversey Parkway with a mixed-use residential tower featuring 355 apartments, ground-floor retail and a fitness club.

The latest plans also detail wider sidewalks, larger setbacks and traffic circulation improvements that developers say were shaped by months of conversations with neighborhood groups.

The project remains in the city’s approval process, but work on the site is about to become more visible as demolition will begin in phases next month, according to the developer and Lawson’s office.

Block Club first reported on the proposal in May after developers increased the project from a 303-unit concept to its current 355-unit design. Since then, the development team has continued meeting with neighbors and Lawson’s office while gathering feedback before the city’s formal review process.

In the newest proposal presented to neighbors at a July 13 community meeting, developers unveiled several design changes they said were made in response to months of community feedback.

Sidewalks along Sheridan Road and Diversey Parkway would be widened from about 13 or 14 feet to 20 feet, creating more space for pedestrians at one of Lakeview’s busiest intersections. Additional setbacks around the building would expand the “public realm,” creating 41 feet of open space between the commercial storefronts and residential lobby and up to 52 feet of open space near the residential entrance and drop-off area.

“The updates to the design of 2800 N. Sheridan reflect community feedback and create a more intimate streetscape at this gateway intersection to Lakeview,” a spokesperson for Continuum Development, the project’s lead developer and property owner, said in a statement. “Wider sidewalks along both frontages and additional setbacks will further enhance the pedestrian experience and allow for thoughtful retail activation that aligns with the character of the surrounding neighborhood.”

The revised plans also call for vacating and widening the east-west alley north of Diversey from 14 feet to 22 feet, along with a new off-street dropoff area designed to improve traffic circulation and reduce vehicle backups on nearby streets, according to project materials.

The project would continue to include 355 apartments, about 10,000 square feet of retail space and a standalone, roughly 50,000-square-foot fitness club on the northern portion of the site connected to the residential tower.

About 20 percent of the apartments — 71 units in total — would be set aside as affordable housing under the city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance.

Continuum officials said the additional density would be made possible through the acquisition of unused development rights from the neighboring Elks National Memorial and Lodge, whose landmark designation limits its ability to fully use the property.

The arrangement would allow the organization to generate revenue for future facility needs while enabling the apartment project to include more units, a broader mix of larger apartments and additional affordable housing, the developer said.

Brian Smuts, a longtime Lakeview resident who lives next to the proposed development site, was among the neighbors who raised concerns about the project’s scale, traffic and design after it was first unveiled.

“Everyone has been open to our input,” Smuts said. “We are not opposed to development. We just want to make it a good building that fits.”

Some of the revisions — including changes to parking, traffic circulation and the building’s lower podium — address concerns neighbors had raised earlier in the process, Smuts said. As an architect, he also understands developers will seek to maximize what can legally be built on the site, he said.

Still, Smuts said some residents remain concerned about the project’s overall scale, the potential for additional congestion at the already busy Sheridan and Diversey intersection and whether the building’s design fits the character of the neighborhood.

Smuts also questioned the appearance of the building’s darker exterior materials and the size of its two-story retail podium along Diversey Parkway, which he said feels out of scale with the surrounding commercial corridor.

For neighbors, the most immediate changes will come from the demolition of the vacant Stone Medical Center building.

Site preparation is scheduled to start Aug. 3 with construction fencing, the removal of a small structure next to the alley and other preliminary work. Interior demolition is expected to start Aug. 17.

Large-scale exterior demolition has been pushed back until after Labor Day, beginning Sept. 7, according to a construction schedule shared by Continuum.

The developer said it delayed exterior demolition after discussions with neighbors and Lawson’s office to reduce disruptions during the summer months.

During demolition, the alley immediately north of Diversey Parkway may close 8 a.m.-5 p.m. during active work, with traffic control personnel directing vehicles and reopening the alley after work hours. Pedestrian routes around the site will also be adjusted as needed using temporary barricades and sidewalk closure signs.

Developers said the adjacent vacant lot north of the alley will be used for staging equipment and hauling debris to reduce congestion while helping limit dust and noise in the neighborhood. Rodent control measures will be implemented before and throughout demolition, according to the construction plan.

The proposed redevelopment remains in the city’s approval process, and additional community feedback will continue to be collected before the project moves forward.

Lawson’s office is encouraging residents to review updated plans — including building height, shadow and sightline studies — and submit comments by contacting the 44th Ward office by emailing Ward44@CityofChicago.org.