The stretch of North Clark Street between Lawrence and Winnemac avenues in Uptown has always been a little bleak – a cemetery, a body shop, a giant thrift store, a convenience store, an adult video store and a leather bar that, reputation has it, is not for the faint of heart. We had a soft spot for the old Rainbo Roller Rink, 4836 N Clark St, where everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Bruce Springstein played before the historic venue was turned over to troubled teens on wheels, but we’re not too sad to see it go. Nearly every time we passed the parking lot, there seemed to be a fight or shouting match in progress, an audience of kids clogging the sidewalk.
Rainbo Village is a welcome replacement. The development of 127 condos and townhouses by Metropolitan Development Enterprises will make this block feel a little less creepy at night, and the project’s 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail should work wonders for the streetscape. The shells of the two buildings that front Clark Street are up, snug to the lot line, and the street feels friendlier already (especially now that all human remains are being kept on the east side of Clark, in the graveyard where they belong).
At first glance, the development might seem a little insular, but consider the width of the grand central driveway (ok, maybe “grand” is a bit much, but compared to many recent townhouse drives, this is the Champs Elysees). Those Clark Street buildings currently make a great frame for the old frame houses behind the project, though, of course, they’ll be obscured by more new homes as building proceeds. In their place will be a central gazebo, visible from Clark, a nice counterpoint to St. Boniface Cemetery across the street.
The condo buildings might look a little dull at this stage of construction, but check out the rendering below. The red brick will have metallic accents, shades and balconies that add some visual interest. It’s at least a twist on the Standard Condo Mold every builder on the North Side seems to be following these days. Rainbo Village is more than half sold, according to the developer, and prices range from the $260s to the $750s.
