An announcement from 45th Ward Alderman Jim Gardiner on Thursday evening has shut the door on a proposed residential project at 5500 West Devon Avenue in Edgebrook.
A developer with a contract to purchase the site, located at the corner of Devon and Lehigh Avenues, wants to build a five-story structure with 48 residential units above ground-floor parking and retail space. The parcel is across the street from the Edgebrook Metra station and its MD-N trains.
5500 West Devon Avenue, via Google Street View
Looking south toward the intersection from Lehigh Avenue, via Google Street View
Site context of Devon and Lehigh Avenues, via Google Maps
The ward held a community meeting on the project Wednesday night, according to Nadig Newspapers. There were arguments for and against the building, with some in support of the added residential units, while others pointed to traffic, parking, density, and the overall scope of the project as reasons not to redevelop the site.
Several current commercial tenants would be affected by demolition if the site is redeveloped, with at least one saying they were not informed by the developer of their plans, first learning about them from previous Nadig reporting. It is not noted if negotiations will be ongoing for a scaled-down version of the plan on the same site, though Nadig noted that Alderman Gardiner is more hesitant to approve larger projects in this area of his ward than in others.
4842 (lot) and 4844 West Montrose Avenue (frame home), via Google Street View
Also included in the alderman’s Thursday newsletter was notice of a community meeting on September 29. On the table is a proposal to rezone the property at 4844 West Montrose Avenue in Portage Park from RS-3 to B2-2 for a developer who wants to erect a six-unit condominium building.
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Alderman/women have too much power it hinders development all over the city.
Clearly the developer made a mistake by not laying some groundwork with the current tenants and lining up aldermanic support— but these kind of decisions in a city that desperately needs more housing are incomprehensible to me. This is not a 50 story eyesore that wrecks a neighborhood..
It is time to start decreasing funding for Wards that block development and the accompanying increases to the tax base. This city needs investments that create jobs, increase the tax base, and increase housing stock.
completely agree, delegate higher property taxes per resident to the NIMBY wards
across the street from a metra station and a huge upgrade from the current site…..come on……….
Foolish decision by the alderman. Retail in the two blocks of Devon east and west of Central is poorly occupied. Existing tenants at this site could move to vacant space nearby. Residential development at this site would likely strenghten retail demand on Devon.
It is time to abolish the parasitic political regime that weaponizes bureaucracy to stifle all progress. We must reforge our economic covenant by establishing a tax system that finally rewards investment, rather than penalizing homeowners. Our new system must protect existing property from punitive, development-driven tax hikes to ensure every citizen welcomes, not fears, the growth of their community.
LOL! Continue enjoying your lackluster “downtown”, Edgebrook.
Some communities are beyond redemption.
I was at the meeting and here is what I observed.
1.This was a thoughtfully designed project that responds to the usual concerns of the neighborhood including parking concerns. They included 30 parking spaces when they were required to provide 0 parking. The current site has 27 parking spaces on site, so counted curb cuts for a new driveway and short-term parking, there is a 0 net addition of parking while still serving the tenant should they choose to have a car. The development is surrounded on all side by other commercial building and would have no impact on residential properties
2. The congestion that exists on the site is because of three streets converging in close proximity compounded by trains that stop to load and unload passengers with the train blocking all the streets.
2. Most of the people in the room are retired, have lived in the area for 20-60 years, and want no change to the community, EVER, and are comfortable with a failed community downtown. They also express their intolerance for people different than themselves with one person adding that “these people will destroy the apartments”.
3. The majority of the conversations was centered around the lack of parking and that people that live and/or visit the building would “park in front of their houses”. Clearly these people do not understand that the idea of a Transportation Oriented Development is to reduce the number of automobile trips and encourage the use of public transportation. Another person stated, “If this project brings more foot traffic to the area, how are we going to manage that?” Wow!
4. The reality of the community, that a local realtor attending mentioned, siting her research data, is that the majority of the community consists of families in their 40’s with dual incomes and 2 children. This group was lightly represented in the room likely because they have kids at home and the meeting was on a weeknight.
5. The vocal minority was able to convince the Alderman that they are the majority, when they are not.
6. These NIMBY’s are why there is a housing crisis in this city and in the country. This meeting was an example of a lack of political will by the Alderman who chooses NOT to go out on a limb and support a project that would bring economic strength, vitality and a more diverse demographic to the area.
Well said! As an architect, I present projects to communities often and it’s always the same things. It’s aging neighbors who hate change and don’t believe that ppl don’t own cars and don’t want to own a car. That density is good and that change happens.
What we need is for ppl who support the project to show up, because they don’t.
We also need younger ppl to get involved in these community groups. Every group I ever present to are made up of only ppl in their 60’s or above. And most of them don’t know the first thing about zoning, yet are self appointed representatives of a community and decide its future.
Keep being vocal about it here, but get involved and show up to these meetings. Venting about it online is enough. Call your Alderperson, join your community groups, attend meetings.
Thx
Frustrated pro-density architect
I don’t live here but I read the negative (and worse) comments on a Facebook post about preserving their “way of life.” While I’m 100% in favor of community input to shape a building, I’m growing frustrated with community approval. Just because I live there today, why do I get to make decisions that will impact the neighborhood for decades to come. Before you all attack, I mean decisions on what should be non-controverial projects, not like a giant warehouse or recycling plant or uranium mine in their backyards 🙂
Napolitano and Gardiner are 2 of the WORST alderman in the entire city.
Voluntary, non-representational meetings to solicit “community” input often have an outsized impact, but Alders who really want a project to happen can influence who attends, how info is presented, and advocate on behalf of a project. If Gardiner really wanted to champion this project he could have done so, or not held any meeting at all. The PR might have been mishandled by the developers, but it also seems like the Alder just wanted to kill it.
Gardiner is perhaps the most “NIMBY” alderman in the City. Anything that smacks of “welfare people” or “social services” and most high-to-moderate density housing gets short shrift in the 45th Ward. Just this month (Sept 2025) Gardiner chose being alderman over remaining a Chicago fireman on leave of absence. He panders to the mostly status quoist people in this ward and has been in legal battles due to retaliation against his critics.
These quotes from the blockclubchicago article pretty much tell me all I need to know about why this proposal failed. These people are at every meeting and loudly decry any attempts at improving the neighborhood because they simply don’t want anything to change.
““I’ve lived in the South Loop. Renters destroy, renters do not build up,” said an Edgebrook resident who identified herself as a police officer.
Robert Vanna, who lives in Edgebrook and recently retired as the 16th (Jefferson Park) Police District commander, said neighbors might be more supportive of condos.
“There’s no high-end renter,” Vanna said.”
There were far worse comments on a Facebook post about “Section 8” and “low income” and how Edgebrookers pay “good money” to live in their pseudo suburban enclave that will be destroyed by a five story “high-rise.”
Terrible decision, especially right across from a metra station.