After months of neighborhood lots sitting in limbo, the Chicago City Council on Wednesday signed off on rezonings that clear the way for two mid-rise apartment projects in Ukrainian Village and Bucktown. The approvals open the door for a four-story, 40-unit mixed-use building in Ukrainian Village and a separate four-story, 30-unit apartment project just off the 606 Trail in Bucktown.
The full council tucked both rezonings into its omnibus docket, according to Block Club Chicago. In Ukrainian Village, Barrett Homes plans a four-story building with 40 apartments, about 1,390 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, an interior garage with roughly 23 parking spots, and four apartments that will front W. Chicago Avenue, Urbanize Chicago reported. Ald. Gilbert Villegas, whose support helped move the plan along, told Urbanize the project will boost both density and tax revenue, adding that "Citywide, we need to build, build, build."
What’s planned in Bucktown
Over in Bucktown, the proposal at 1801-1809 N. Winnebago calls for a four-story building with about 30 apartments, with roughly 20 percent of those units reserved as affordable, plus a 23-stall parking garage that would be accessed from Bloomingdale Avenue, according to Chicago YIMBY. Plans show a compact street-level lobby and mailroom, a mix of studios and two-bedrooms upstairs, and a shared rooftop deck looking out over the 606 Trail. The developer has already submitted plans to the 32nd Ward and still needs final zoning sign-off before it can apply for building permits.
Zoning logjam begins to clear
Citywide, these approvals are part of a broader thaw in Chicago's development pipeline after a months-long slowdown. In early May, the Committee on Zoning advanced a large batch of projects to the full council, The Real Deal reported. That surge helped neighborhood-scale efforts like the Ukrainian Village and Winnebago proposals reach a final vote this week alongside much larger downtown rezonings.
Not every deal has cruised through. Neighbors have pushed back on a proposed seven-story building at 1704 N. Milwaukee, which is still on hold amid community opposition, and Ald. Scott Waguespack told Block Club Chicago that both of the newly approved sites have "been sitting vacant for a long time." Waguespack said he is hosting additional meetings and expects the 1704 N. Milwaukee proposal to move forward this summer.
With the council sign-off in hand, developers can shift to permitting and preconstruction. Barrett Homes has indicated it hopes to break ground on the Ukrainian Village project later this year, according to Urbanize Chicago, while the Bucktown timeline is still to be determined. Neighbors and would-be renters will want to keep an eye on aldermanic filings and the city permit portal for the next set of public milestones.
