Three small apartment buildings that have long served as a backdrop to historic Wrigley Field could meet the wrecking ball before the Chicago Cubs complete this baseball season after the neighborhood’s alderman threw his support behind plans for a larger residential development on the site.
Almost a decade after their rooftop views were blocked by a massive scoreboard on the North Side ballpark’s right-field bleachers, owners of the buildings between 3627 and 3633 N. Sheffield Ave. in recent months have been working to gain the support of neighbors to put a five-story, 29-unit apartment building on the site.
That plan cleared a critical milestone when 44th Ward Alderman Bennett Lawson recently told constituents in an email that he was giving formal approval for the project after the East Lakeview Neighbors group supported a revised version of the plan.
The plan, with aesthetic changes, is expected to be formally introduced to the City Council next week. If it wins approval from the zoning committee — whose members include Lawson — and the full City Council, demolition could begin by late summer or early fall, according to one of the developers, Marc Anguiano.
“Our full anticipation is to be breaking ground on this before the end of the year,” he told CoStar News. “We’re excited to bring this development to life in an area that’s becoming more and more populated. It’s a unique opportunity that we have, and we’re excited to get started.”
The smaller Sheffield Avenue buildings once thrived as businesses selling tickets to watch Cubs games from their rooftops, until the new scoreboard blocked their views. Rooftop business owners, including Edward McCarthy, who is now part of the redevelopment team, unsuccessfully tried to sue to stop the construction of the scoreboard.
Since the scoreboard’s arrival in 2015, the buildings’ revenue has been limited to rents from a few apartments. The new structure won’t revive rooftop viewing, but it will significantly boost apartment rental revenue.
In the message to constituents, Lawson said he was supporting the plan after changes were made to the design, including new decorative elements at street level, horizontal stonework “to break up the impression of vertical height,” and removing bright glazing from windows. He said the updated design “better fits with the look and feel of our neighborhood.”
Lawson previously said there would be added scrutiny on the project because of its proximity to a major tourist attraction and economic driver for the city.
Anguiano said the changes make the design “look even sharper.”
“It’s challenging because we’re building something new, but we still want it to have a historic, throwback feel,” he said. “We were already trying hard to have it conform and blend in.”
Anguiano said the developers hope to complete demolition and start work on the new structure by late this year, pending permits and landing construction financing, with the entire project expected to take about a year to complete.
Winter typically is a challenging time for construction in Chicago. But in this case, it offers the benefit of not working around baseball crowds.
The three buildings for decades have been known to fans visiting Wrigley Field or watching games on television for fans packed onto rooftop bleachers and imagery such as the “Eamus Catuli!” sign at 3633 N. Sheffield known for counting down the time since the team’s last championship.
Anguiano said a version of the “Eamus Catuli!” motto, which roughly translates to “Let’s Go Cubs!” in Latin, is likely to be displayed on the new structure. Memorabilia from rooftop businesses on the site also will be displayed inside the building, he said.