Neighborhood News
Apartments, Commercial Space Pegged for Parkview Developments on Pershing Road
Parkview Lofts and Parkview Commerce, two conjoined development projects at 2159 and 2139 W. Pershing Road, Chicago, moved forward with community outreach at the Wednesday, February 20, meeting of the McKinley Park Development Council. The Parkview projects look to completely overhaul the two massive, vacant Central Manufacturing District buildings currently occupying the properties, filling them with more than 150 apartment residences and over 75,000 square feet of commercial space while retaining the historic presence of the buildings, developers said.
Thomas Brantley, part of the Code Real Estate Partners team shepherding the development, outlined their plan at the council meeting and tallied the two projects' estimated cost of over $60 million. Build-out of the all-residential Parkview Lofts at 2159 W. Pershing would precede construction of Parkview Commerce, its mixed-use neighbor at 2139 W. Pershing Road, Brantley said, with a target construction start date of spring 2020.
The all-residential Parkview Lofts would contain a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, Brantley said. Project documents provided at the council meeting noted that the residences are designed for singles and young families with a smaller number of children. The middle areas of the monolithic building would be used for residents' storage, and on-site amenities would include a park-facing fitness room, a green roof, community spaces and an on-site management office with business hours staffing.
The prospective interior of a Parkview Lofts apartment is on display in an architectural rendering provided by project developers.Historic elements are integrated into Parkview Lofts' residential layout, notably windows and hallways, according to project documents. The loft-style apartments will include full kitchens with appliances, full baths, carpeting and window blinds. Secured indoor parking for 60 cars occupies much of the first level, which also features a sheltered drop-off area for residents and a private, landscaped courtyard. The exterior will undergo a full refinishing and structural rehabilitation.
Affordability is a built-in component of the Parkview Lofts project, Brantley said, with developers formally committing to keeping rents within affordable levels as benchmarked against the local Area Median Income (AMI). According to the building summary document, this prospectively translates into a rent of $598 a month for a studio apartment on the low end, to a rent of $1,230 a month for the most expensive two-bedroom apartments, with many of the building's two-bedroom units exceeding 900 square feet.
Assisting with operations and marketing of the development is the Hispanic Housing Development Corporation, a non-profit organization that has developed over 4,300 affordable residences in 55 other developments across the Chicago area. Chief Executive Officer and President Hipolito (Paul) Roldan attended the council meeting, explained his group's role in Parkview Lofts and shared background on their affordable and senior housing developments.
An architectural rendering provided by project developers displays another view of a Parkview Lofts apartment.Construction of Parkview Commerce at 2139 W. Pershing Road comprises the project's second phase, the result of which will be a mixed-use building combining over 75,000 square feet of light manufacturing, office and warehouse space on the lower floors with market-rate two- and three-bedroom apartments on the upper floors. On-site parking will be reserved for residents, with the overall design meshing well with business incubator and live-work environments, the documents said.
A shared courtyard space will rest between the two buildings, and project blueprints provided at the council meeting also displayed accessible green roof areas for both buildings and a rooftop amenity deck for Parkview Commerce.
In response to audience questions, the development team noted that the buildings would be fully accessible and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, that little environmental mitigation is required at the properties, and that plans for adding a crosswalk and addressing any traffic issues will need to be coordinated with the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT).
The development council meeting also featured cooperative brainstorming toward developing ideas for community benefits that might be tied to development agreements (or not). Both residents and developers were invited to participate in a process that council President John Belcik said should not be a zero-sum game.
The next McKinley Park Development Council Meeting is at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20, again at Razzmatazz Family Fun Center, 3900 S. Ashland Ave.
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