Dear Neighbor,

I am pleased to report that the long-awaited development at the southeast corner of Howard Street and Ashland Avenue is underway with the demolition of the building that once housed the headquarters and printing site of Lerner Newspapers, the original publisher of the News-Star neighborhood newspaper.  The site has remained vacant since Lerner left the location in the late 1980s.

Lerner sold the property in 1994, and over the years several development proposals for the site, including two strip mall proposals, were presented and ultimately rejected by the community and me. 

In 2001, a residential developer proposed a condominium project for the site that won community approval.  Unfortunately, the development proposal became mired in a dispute between the developer and the owner of the property, Single Site Solutions, which tied up the property for several years.

Finally, in 2004, Single Site Solutions decided to develop the property themselves and proposed constructing 33 townhomes, which would front on Ashland Avenue and Rogers Avenue, and 10 condominium units, which would front on Howard Street.  After many changes to the plan as a result of community input, the community at a meeting in September 2004 overwhelmingly approved the plan, and the City Council later approved it as a planned development. 

Since then, the project lay dormant.  Although the delay was due in part to a lengthy remediation review by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), I also was concerned that the development team was dragging its feet. 

This apparently motivated Single Site Solutions to move forward with their project, and earlier this year they applied for a demolition permit.  The demolition of the existing building began late last month.

The development remains virtually identical to that which was presented to and approved by the community in 2004, with the exception of one less dwelling unit to allow for more green space.  The development now consists of 32 townhomes and 10 condominium units, with four condominium units priced at a more affordable rate under the Chicago Partnership for Affordable Neighborhoods (CPAN) program.

The Planning Department is now reviewing the final construction documents.  After Planning review, the developer will apply for permits with the City of Chicago Department of Construction and Permits.  Jennifer LaSota, project manager for Single Site Solutions, says she hopes to have the first section of buildings completed by the end of next year.

Because it's been three years since the community approval process, I have attached below the development site plan and renderings for two of the eight buildings.  Building 1 is one of seven town-home buildings, which will front on Ashland and Rogers.  All the town home buildings are nearly identical to Building 1.  Building 8 is the condominium building, which will front on Howard Street.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or my assistant, Michael Land, at my Ward Office either by e-mail or phone (773-338-5796).

Very truly yours,

Joe Moore

Site Plan for Howard-Ashland Development

Building 1

Building 8

Visit the website of the 49th Ward

James Partners didn’t plan to sell the nearly 10-acre property, which is on Waukegan Road just south of Willow Road in Glenview.

“I think it was a function of weighing the (investment) market,” says Edward James, chairman of Glenview-based James Partners. Oak Brook-based Mid-America Real Estate Corp. handled the sale.

In a sign of the strength of Heatherfield’s price, the buyer’s initial yield would be just 6.3%, based on an estimated annual net operating income of about $1.4 million.

Such a yield, or capitalization rate, would be slightly below the average 6.7% yield on 97 retail properties sold in the area during the 12 months ending in February, Real Capital says in the report.

Within three miles of Heatherfield, the average annual household income is nearly $170,000, making the center attractive to retailers. Heatherfield is the kind of top-quality shopping center “you very rarely see available in Chicago,” Joe Girardi of Mid-America says in a statement.

A Jewel-Osco accounts for about 68% of the center’s space under a lease that runs until January 2018.

The purchase was financed with a $7.9-million mortgage from National City Bank of Cleveland, records show.

The buyer is a trust and limited-liability company whose principal is a Northfield businesswoman, Berenice Ventrella, records show.

The buyer is also affiliated with retail developer John Terzakis of Willowbrook-based Single Site Solutions, those records show.

South Loop Commons is scheduled to open in spring 2009, with construction beginning early next year, says Joe Parrott, a CB Richard Ellis Inc. senior vice-president who began marketing the project to retailers earlier this year and hasn’t announced any tenants.

The center, at 1001 S. Clinton St., will be built atop the foundation of an industrial building that was the headquarters and warehouse of local retailer Chernin’s Shoes Inc.

The site is across Canal from the 300,000-square-foot Southgate Market, which is scheduled to open early next year and is to include a Whole Foods Market, Linens ’n’ Things and DSW shoe store.

Two larger mixed-use retail and residential developments are also being planned along Roosevelt just east across the Chicago River.

Retailers are looking to seize on the surging population of the South Loop. The population within one mile of where South Loop Commons is planned grew more than 16% from 2000 to 2006, according to CB Richard Ellis.

The population, with an average household income of $82,933, is estimated to grow another 10.4% by 2011.

South Loop Commons is to include three floors of retail, most fronting Canal Street, and four floors of parking with a total of 464 spaces. The center is being developed by Chicago-based real estate investment firm Equibase Capital Group LLC and Mr. Terkazis’ Single Site Solutions Corp. of west suburban Willowbrook.

Equibase and Mr. Terzakis bought the old Chernin’s building for $19.8 million from Chicago-based Sterling Bay Cos. in October 2005, according to property records. Executives at Equibase and Single Site Solutions didn’t return calls seeking comment.

Mr. Joffe says Best Buy Co. signed a lease at his Joffco Square development a few months ago and that the 45,000-square-foot Best Buy store is to open in March 2008. Company spokespeople at the suburban Minneapolis-based electronics retailer didn’t return calls seeking comment.

Mr. Joffe also has a letter of intent with La-Z-Boy Inc. to lease about 15,000 square feet on the second floor above Best Buy. It would be La-Z-Boy’s second store in the city.

Monroe, Mich.-based La-Z-Boy last year acquired all 13 of its Chicago-area stores from franchisees and is looking to expand in the city and suburbs, says a company spokeswoman, declining to discuss any specific locations.