CHICAGO SUN TIMES
May 15, 2025
Abby Miller



The Plan Commission also signed off on developer ZSD’s plan to build 35 townhomes along the north branch of the Chicago River.

The three-story, brick-clad townhomes, at 2235-2249 W. Oakdale Ave., would replace a long vacant site that was originally approved for residential development in 2008. The site sits to the west of the Lathrop Homes redevelopment.

But some community members and businesses bristled at the proposal and said there was a lack of community engagement. Nearby industrial businesses expressed concerns about their trucks’ ability to pick up and drop off orders in the corridor if new homes are built.

Concerns were also raised about ZSD choosing to build the affordable units — required under the city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance — off-site. The two buildings would be three blocks from the main site, and they’d be three-flats, a different housing type from the proposed townhomes.

Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd), whose ward the project falls under, said he and the developer are cognizant of the spatial concerns.

Regarding the off-site units, Waguespack said the developer committed to larger, four-bedroom units that would better suit families. The developer also committed to building the units a few blocks from the main development, as opposed to within a couple of miles like other projects have done with their ARO units.

“We feel it’s important to do something on this site after more than a decade and a half — almost two decades — of having fallow land there that we constantly have to maintain,” he said.