CHICAGO-Sears Holding Co. has partnered with Magellan Development Group and Sierra Realty Advisors to develop a $50 million mixed-use project in the city’s Ravenswood neighborhood on the North Side, near the corner of Lawrence and Ravenswood avenues. The site, the retailer’s parking lot, will include a supermarket, health club and a relocated Sears auto center – pending various city approvals.
An earlier proposal for the property had included retail and an 11-story condominium building, but the economy has forced the postponement of the multifamily, according to Magellan VP of development Brian Gordon. “The vacant portion of the site may be used for residential under more favorable economic circumstances,” he says. If approved, the retail project could be finished by spring 2012, he says.
The Roundy’s supermarket chain has signed on to fill the grocery space with a 55,000-square-foot Mariano’s Fresh Market. The gym would occupy 45,000 square feet on the third level, with another 7,000 square feet available for retail tenants on the first level. The development plan also includes a second building that would have a four-level parking garage for commuters for the nearby Metra station.
Gordon tells GlobeSt.com that the development needs to overcome some hurdles, including a full community vote scheduled for May 27, rezoning approval and the TIF. “We need the TIF in order to make it work. We haven’t determined how much financing will be needed,” he says. The company is meeting again with the city on Thursday. The 47th Ward Alderman, Gene Shulter, has already endorsed the plan.
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