Demolition Begins At 1445 North Ashland Avenue In Wicker Park

Demolition has begun on what was little more than an eyesore of a building at 1445 North Ashland Avenue in the Wicker Park/Noble Square area. What looks like a two-story structure that was never finished, or perhaps a renovation that was never completed, has finally met the proverbial wrecking ball, giving way to a new residential development on the site. A demolition permit was issued on November 20 of last year, and thanks to a Twitter user, we know that demo work got started this week.

A pending permit that just hit the Chicago Data Portal calls for a four-story building with 12 dwelling units above ground-floor retail. There will be six parking spaces included, but the permit doesn’t specify if those will be inside or out. The elevator building will have balconies at the front and rear, plus a rooftop deck. There is no application date showing on the portal, so this permit info could only be preliminary.

Demolition view from the alley. Photo by Daniel Schell

Builder Luxury Inc. of Willowbrook is on the teardown. Photo by Daniel Schell

Photo by Daniel Schell

Photo by Daniel Schell

The front of the building from across Ashland Avenue. Photo by Daniel Schell

The pending permit names Michael Cox & Associates as the architect of record, with 1445 N Ashland LLC designated as the developer. A general contractor is not listed; Builder Luxury Inc. of Willowbrook is the demolition contractor, according to November’s permit. Real estate records vary, but indicate the site last change ownership in 2022; one site shows a build date of 1998.

The construction site is just north of three more new residential developments. Work is ongoing at 1235 North Ashland and 1257 North Ashland, where Noah Properties is building 16 and 24 units, respectively. At 1321 North Ashland, a nine-unit building began construction in October, but appears to have stalled.

Google Maps images as far back as 2007 show the building in the same condition it’s in now. A permit was issued in 2016 to rehab the two floors, and add two more stories above them. It was to become a three-unit residence with six parking spaces and offices at ground level, but clearly that work never got underway. And now it never will.

This Google Street View image is from 2007.

Christmas Day, 2024. The building looked like it had never been finished, even though it was to be “rehabbed.” Photo by Daniel Schell

The rear of the building looks older than 1998. Photo by Daniel Schell

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