7-Story East Side Apartment Complex Wins Key Endorsement

Stowell and Webster apartment proposal. Rendering by Stephen Perry Smith Architects.

A proposed seven-story apartment building has cleared its last major public hurdle.

Newly-elected Alderman Alex Brower said he supports a zoning change for the proposed 65-unit buliding at 2560 N. Stowell Ave. and the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee unanimously recommended a zoning change to enable its development.

“This furthers the goal of having more density on the East Side, which is something we strive for,” said Brower at Tuesday’s zoning committee meeting. He said he would like to see affordable housing, but understands its a privately-financed deal. The new alderman said he also would like to see more wheelchair-accessible units included. “I think the fact that we need more housing on the East Side, I am in support of this development.”

Department of City Development planning manager Sam Leichtling said it was the position of the late alderman Jonathan Brostoff to support more housing on the East Side and DCD had supported the project in that same vein and he was happy to hear Brower continue that support.

The project will be developed just west of N. Downer Avenue, at the intersection of N. Stowell Avenue and E. Webster Place. It would include 81 interior parking spaces and a second-story deck.

The full council will vote on the committee’s recommendation at its April 22 meeting. There will not be a public hearing.

The amount of public opposition appears to have dropped since a February City Plan Commission hearing. Only a single individual spoke in opposition Tuesday.

Nearby resident Jen Lalko said it was “shady” to use the controversial 2008 plan to develop a 11-story building at the site as an anchor point in the discussion. “I also know that the neighborhood is wildly different than 2008.” She said more could be done to mitigate traffic, parking and congestion concerns. “I am asking this committee not to reject any development, but to implore to the developer to do better.”

Thomas Schafer is the registered agent for the development group. Eric Higgins, the head of Enigma Properties, is also involved in the development, said the development group’s attorney Leah Wyant.

The privately-financed project would be a market-rate development, but Wyant said specific rental rates had yet to be established for what is to be a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments.

“Nothing is a done deal until a shovel is in the ground,” said Wyant. She said the development team hoped to start construction later this year.

The new building is being designed by Stephen Perry Smith Architects.

A limited liability company affiliated with Schafer purchased the 0.45-acre property in November for $1.65 million from an affiliate of Van Buren Management. The site has been vacant for nearly two decades.

Schafer, according to city property records, is a resident of the area and is also a partner in the new ownership group that brought back Pizza Man to N. Downer Avenue.

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