Ashland Church of God, 1062 N. Ashland East Village Association board minutes for May 11, 2015, submitted by Michael VanDam Planning, Preservation & Development 1062 N. Ashland: PP&D heard prospective owner Mark Sutherland 's proposal for new apartment construction around the Ashland Church of God's existing façade. Such a plan would require the city to change its zoning map, expand its new transit-oriented development zones and further loosen parking requirements. The PP&D committee and board felt the proposal was too preliminary to weigh in. Concerns revolved around added height and lack of interior preservation. 1838 W. Chicago (Fifield Cos. development): Fifield has obtained building permits and has begun marketing the development as Luxe on Chicago. Construction should start soon. Upcoming General Meetings A representative from the city forestry service is scheduled as speaker for EVA's June 1 meeting. A representative from the Active Transp...

Craft brewer Forbidden Root tapped a rich seam last year. EVA backed its plans for a brewery and tap room, now headed toward a May opening. Curious readers came to the East Village Association website for months preceding a May community vote to allow a tavern license and commercial rezoning at 1746 W. Chicago Ave. Half the 10 most-viewed pages on the site were devoted to the issue. Two longtime development issues were also in the top 10: apartment plans for the onetime AAA Distributing warehouse at 1850 W. Chicago, and a bid to lure a Trader Joe's grocery to the former Miller Lumber site at 1815 W. Division St. A site refresh added popular topic pages on EVA, its development review process and a community resource list. Here are EVA's top 10 pages from 2014: Chicago Avenue zoning crafts a better community Planning, Preservation & Development About EVA Shopping for solution to Trader Joe's traffic Forbidden Root alternatives brewing EVA seeks Fifield a...

East Village Association board minutes for Dec. 1, 2014, submitted by Catherine Garypie 2ND WARD CANDIDATES: BRIAN HOPKINS Hopkins spent 16 years working as part of Streeterville neighborhood groups, and had a lot of experience with developers in those groups. Originally from McKinley Park, he worked as chief of staff for Cook County Commissioner John Daley. Campaigning since July, Hopkins said he's concerned about community confusion over the 2nd Ward boundaries. Your position on aldermen accepting campaign contributions when they have matters pending before them? Ethical rules prohibit it when you accept contributions when there are matters pending before the City Council. I am ethical and will be ethical. Ethics and laws are pretty different. Laws are clear. Ethical guidelines are grey. Your conscience will tell you when you are acting ethically. I would not accept any contributions from persons or entities having matters pending before City Council, zoning committees,...

Ald. Proco Joe Moreno will support zoning changes for a 59-unit apartment building at 1822-50 W. Chicago Ave. Current zoning allows 39 apartments. The project's in the City Council's Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards committee, and is expected to come before the Plan Commission this fall. East Village Association members voted against the zoning changes on May 5. A letter to the alderman notes members' objections, and efforts to develop the property as an extension of Commercial Park . The developer is being allowed to "buy out" of two of the six affordable units that would be required with this zoning change. It appears that Moreno will require Fifield to build four of the six apartments, but simultaneously allowed the developer to reduce a pledged contribution to Commercial Park from $200,000 to $100,000.

East Village Association minutes for May 5, 2014 Submitted by Catherine Garypie WELLSAPOLOOZA (Susan Nusbaum, Wells HS) The Wells ball field will provide space for baseball, softball, women’s softball, little league and soccer. $1.6 million is the cost. The school's working with the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation on funding, and with Ald. Proco Moreno and Rep. Cynthia Soto. A fundraiser is 4:30-8:30pm Friday, May 16, with 6 bands and a taste of Wells. Admission is free, but you pay for food & there will be a silent auction. Principal Rituparna Raichoudhuri and former principal Ernesto Matias will be at donation table. FORBIDDEN ROOT PRESENTATION (Rolando Acosta) Forbidden Root would be the first Botanical Brewery in the world. The location on Chicago Avenue will hold the headquarters, R&D, some production, taproom, some package sales and offices. Production would be limited to 9,000 barrels a year. Main production and mass bottling will be offsite. The taproom will be ...

East Village Association members vote Monday night on two high-profile Chicago Avenue developments. Ald. Proco Joe Moreno often seeks input from community groups on zoning, land use and licensing issues; these votes advise him. (While the City Council's making the decision, nearly always it follows the home alderman's recommendation.) At 7pm in Happy Village, 1049 N. Wolcott Ave, the meeting starts with a progress report on the Field of Hope ballpark plan for Wells Community Academy High School. A $2.5 million fundraising drive continues with a May 16 fundraiser at the school, 936 N Ashland Ave.

East Village Association board meeting minutes, April 14, 2014 Submitted by Catherine Garypie Fifield project, 1822-50 W. Chicago Ave. Ald. Proco Joe Moreno stated that the Fifield Cos. can build 39 units as of right, but the new plan is to upzone for 59 units. The Fifield position is: We can do more bedrooms at the higher zoning but we’re not, and we can do a higher floor-area ratio but we’re not. Fifield does not feel it can build a connection to Commercial Park as requested at the last EVA board meeting. Fifield wants to build a larger building than allowed, so the law requires on-site affordable units on-site or a donation to the Chicago Low-Income Housing Affordable Trust Fund. Fifield wants to make a donation to the fund. The city has determined that legally this donation cannot be a space donation to a nonprofit, as EVA has discussed . Moreno expressed a general concern with developers donating to the fund instead of providing affordable housing, absence extreme circumsta...

East Village Association board meeting minutes, March 10, 2014 Submitted by Catherine Garypie Fifield Cos., 1822-50 W. Chicago Ave. Steven Fifield made a presentation to the board on his current development plan. He's seeking a "no objection letter" for his zoning package, and wants to go before the full EVA membership April 7. Details include the following: Rental only, not condo. 4 stories, frame construction, parking behind building. Floor 1 is commercial, floors 2-4 residential. 59 units: 40% studios & 1-bedroom, 60% 2- and 3 bedroom. Likely 1st floor commercial tenants are: daycare to the west, restaurant to the east. 2 shallow storefronts not yet filled. Flexible on how to direct traffic to parking. Suspects that Zoning Commission will not require 1:1 parking because of the number of studios & 1-bedrooms. 5-6 ft of green wall between the building and the park. May replace sidewalk & alley surface depending upon condition. Leasing agent ...

East Village Association membership meeting minutes, January 13, 2014 Submitted by Meghan Quinn Planning, Preservation & Development: Forbidden Root, 1746 W. Chicago Ave. A new brewery and taproom is interested in moving into the former Hub Theater space at 1746 W. Chicago Ave. They will need the liquor moratorium lifted in order to sell packaged goods, and they also need zoning changed from B to C to produce beer on site. EVA has worked to purposefully downzone from C to B in a lot of the commercial strip areas to keep out unwanted light industry uses such as dry cleaning and auto services. Additionally, from an urban planning standpoint, commercial zoning adjacent to residential zoning and spot zoning are not ideal practices. There are some existing C zoned areas close by on Grand Avenue that would work well for a project such as this one. At this point, the planning committee is against the upzone and moratorium lift, as it goes against what they have been working toward f...

East Village Association board meeting minutes, January 13, 2014 Submitted by Meghan Quinn Planning, Preservation & Development: Forbidden Root, 1746 W. Chicago Ave. Representatives approached Neal McKnight with their proposed brewery-taproom on Chicago Avenue. They need a liquor moratorium lifted, and the zoning changed from B to C to open at that location. McKnight discussed the project with Scott Rappe and Peter Locke of the PPD committee, and they all agreed that the project would be fine if they kept within the existing zoning of the site. Rich Anselmo stated that he and EVA fought for B zoning there, as well as along much of Chicago Avenue to keep out unwanted uses such as dry cleaning and auto services. Additionally, from an urban planning standpoint, commercial zoning adjacent to residential zoning and spot zoning are not ideal practices. There are some existing C zoned areas close by on Grand Avenue that would work well for such a project. EVA worked extensively ...

President's Message By Neal McKnight There has been a great deal of talk today about EVA's involvement in a request to upzone a Chicago Avenue property from B to C zoning to accommodate a small brewery with wholesale sales and an accompanying large bar. Forbidden Root presented a proposal to EVA representatives knowing full well that their proposal was contrary to the City of Chicago zoning, contrary to what both Alderman Moreno, EVA and others had together agreed were appropriate uses for this area. Nevertheless, EVA discussed with a representative of Forbidden Root the proposal and requested that they alter their plans so that they need not request a zoning change from B to C zoning. First, EVA suggested that they open an establishment that served their own beer as being incidental to food service. Second, we asked that they not use the location as their wholesale beer sales point. Notably, these uses are not described in the flyer that is being distributed. We have h...

The Polish Triangle's prototypal transit-oriented development has a long history. The 1611 West Division location was a YMCA , a Pizza Hut and (at least on the drawing boards) a Walgreens drugstore. Next month it opens with 99 apartments above a PNC bank and Intelligentsia coffee bar. This site has posted more than 700 articles since 2007, not counting archived editions of the East Village Association newsletter . Names have changed for prominent sites: News about the 1611 West Division address is filed under Pizza Hut and lead anchor PNC Bank. Similarly, the several Fifield Cos. apartment proposals for 1822-50 W. Chicago Ave. are known for the vacant site's last building, the AAA Distributing news agency, and its onetime prospects for renovation as the Chicago Bowl nightclub. Search engines and real-estate blogs such as Curbed cite this site for background on these developments. Some of our most often-viewed posts date from several years back, including stubbornly p...

East Village Association board meeting minutes December 9, 2013 Submitted by Meghan Quinn Developers Steve and Randy Fifield of the Fifield Cos., attorney Larry Lusk and others came to present a new project they would like to build at 1822-50 W. Chicago Ave. Chris Fifield of Fifield Construction & Realty, who is Steve’s son, had presented to EVA the previous 39-unit mixed-use, live/work plan . However, Steve Fifield's company has taken over the project and will develop the site. The new proposal is for a 4-story, 59-unit, mixed-use apartment building that would require a zoning change from B3-2 to B3-3. The ground-floor retail is split into 2 non-adjacent larger spaces, each of which can be further divided into multiple storefronts. If built to the current zoning, the affordable housing component requirement would not kick in. However, at the larger size, 10% of the units would be required to be affordable housing. Fifield stated he would not include these units in the pr...

1822-50 W. Chicago Ave., January 2013 rendering Revised plans for a vacant stretch of Chicago Avenue would build additional apartments without enclosed parking across from Commercial Park. Developer Chris Fifield, of Fifield Construction & Realty, proposes 59 apartments and added retail space in a four-story building at 1822-50 W. Chicago Ave. The East Village Association board meets Monday to review the proposal at 6:30pm, a block away from the site at West Town Bakery & Diner, 1916 W. Chicago Ave. First-floor retail spaces are still planned on either side of a central entrance, topped by three apartment floors. But instead of enclosed parking, the latest drawings from the Pappageorge Haymes Partners architectural firm indicate 58 angle parking spaces and a trash enclosure accessed from the brick-paved Commercial Park alley. Only three parking spaces are reserved for the stores. Units range from 498 to 1,438 square feet and include 5 studio, 18 1-bedroom, 24 2-bedroom and...

Chicago Police closed the Wood Street station house at yearend. East Village Association board meeting minutes, Jan. 14, 2013 Submitted by Meghan Quinn Winter Mixer 2013 Tom Tomek will bring the old EVA signs to auction off. Gladys Anselmo stated that most of the party supplies will be donated, but we will need to spend $100-200 of EVA funds. Everyone is encouraged to bring a new neighbor. Gladys Anselmo/Peter Locke will put together a half-sheet takeaway for people to learn more about EVA and what we do. Suzi Wahl will do a story time for the kids, so the adults can mingle. The suggestion was made to invite all of the other neighborhood groups such as Wicker Park Committee, Chicago Grand Neighbors Association, Ukrainian Village Neighborhood Association, Eckhart Park Advisory Council, etc. Neal has already invited many of them. Another fundraising idea would be to get EVA T-shirts made with our logo on them. We should get them made locally if we do this. Next meeting’s speak...

Perspective view of 1822-50 W. Chicago Ave., September 2012 East Village Association board meeting minutes, Nov. 12, 2012 Submitted by Meghan Quinn Holiday Party 2012 Directors would like to have it on Dec. 3, the first Monday night in December. [Date and details are not final at this posting.] Event will be potluck and we will try to get 2 or 3 restaurants to sponsor or provide food. Neal McKnight will ask 3 Floyds to donate beer. Next meeting’s speakers Business Minute: Meghan Quinn will ask Pure Vibes Fitness and Inside Home for Jan. 7 membership meeting. Idea floated to have five or so businesses at a time at each meeting to represent areas of the neighborhood, i.e. Chicago Avenue Business Minute. Guest Speaker: McKnight will contact U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley ’s office to see if someone is available. Another idea would be to have a speaker from city Housing and Economic Development to discuss the department's vision.

Storefronts and 63 apartments are proposed for the empty lot at 1822-50 W. Chicago Ave. East Village Association board minutes for Oct. 8, 2012 Submitted by Meghan Quinn Next meeting’s speakers For the Nov. 5 membership meeting, Wells High School Principal Ernesto Matias will be guest speaker. Artist Layne Jackson will present the business minute; she recently relocated her art shop from the Miller Lumber building to Ashland Avenue between Cortez and Haddon. Community Meeting - Liquor Moratoria There will be a community group discussion regarding the lifting of liquor moratoria on Ashland. The moratoria affect liquor stores, convenience stores etc. Restaurants can sell liquor regardless of a moratorium. The meeting will take place at 6 pm Oct. 17 in the Bedford, 1612 W. Division St.

An architect's rendering shows proposed units west of Tecalitlan Restaurant, 1814 W. Chicago. A developer will unveil plans Monday for 63 apartments above first-floor shops at 1822-50 W. Chicago Ave.  Representatives of 1850 FCR LLC, a group led by Fifield Realty Corp., will make a presentation to the East Village Association board at 6:30 p.m. in Leona's Restaurant, 1936 W. Augusta Blvd.

Minutes for Sept. 17 East Village Association board meeting submitted by Stephen Rynkiewicz Upcoming Meetings: Oct 1 - Energy Impact Illinois; Nov 5 - Cook County Board of Review Pedestrian Designation: Motion passes to recommend city extend Chicago Avenue pedestrian street designation east to Noble Street (moved by Scott Rappe, seconded by Neal McKnight). West Town Chamber/SSA Expansion: McKnight will schedule meeting with Ald. Waguespack. 30th Anniverary Celebration: Event raised $3,000 for West Town library; expenses estimated at $750. Frankie Machine Community Garden: EVA will contribute to build birdbath. Planning, Preservation & Development: Villa shoe store at 1555 W. Division has been rezoned B3-2. Following an inquiry, a developer will be invited to present a plan to upzone AAA Distributing Co. site at 1834-50 W. Chicago to B3-3 for first-floor retail and 70 residential units. EVA directors discussed an alternative plan: to swap the Chicago Avenue prope...

After closing Ashland Avenue last August, the Food Truck Social is looking for another place to park. The site is on Monday's agenda for East Village Association members. The street fair is set to expand to two days, from noon till 10 pm Aug. 25 & 26. On Friday the sponsoring West Town Chamber of Commerce sent an email to merchants and community groups seeking comments on a Chicago Avenue location. Food trucks would ring the vacant lot at 1834-50 W. Chicago Ave., once the AAA Distributing warehouse. A music stage booked by Empty Bottle Presents would close Chicago Avenue between Wolcott and Wood Street, along with a mix of beer, wine and craft vendors.