Triangle Neighbors Association and the office of Ald Tom Tunney (44th) are working to curb new condo developments along commercial strips in Lake View, says Jim Ludwig, president of Triangle Neighbors.
Ludwig told community members at a meeting on Wednesday night that projects have the potential to “threaten our commercial district.”
“When you have owners above commercial districts verses renters, you have high expectations for peace and quiet and less traffic expectations,” he says. He adds that businesses are needed to keep residential taxes lower, saying, “If you lose your commercial district, you’ll kill your neighborhood.”
Ludwig points to a condo development above the nightclub Circuit, 3641 N Halsted St, which some condo owners complained about a few years ago. He didn’t know of any current project that threatens Lake View’s commercial district, but he says some might disrupt traffic.
For example, a proposed Koenig & Strey GMAC and MK Development Group condo development at the site of Brompton Body Shop, 3532 N Halsted St, might increase traffic congestion, Ludwig says. Representatives from the developer attended the last Triangle Neighbors meeting in May to ask for C3 zoning instead of C2 in order to build more units.