A fresh construction permit issued May 18 has finally cleared the decks for Dinkel’s Lofts, a seven-story, 42-unit building that will tuck new housing around the historic Dinkel’s Bakery facade at 3329 North Lincoln Avenue in Lake View. The plans call for a single ground-floor commercial space, a roughly 20-space parking garage and a shared rooftop deck, all while keeping the bakery’s neon blade sign fixed to the preserved brick frontage.
Permit details and design
According to Chicago YIMBY, the May 18 permit spells out a seven-story structure with 42 dwelling units and explicitly requires retention of the bakery’s historic facade. The project is designed by Jonathan Splitt Architects, with Sovereign Construction Company LLC listed as general contractor. Renderings show inset and corner balconies, units ranging from about 628 to 1,318 square feet, and shared amenity space stacked above the old storefront.
Sale listing raises ownership questions
According to CoStar News, the site hit the market in November 2025 after Senco Properties and PCR Group had already taken ownership and secured zoning approval. "It is unclear why Senco is now looking to sell rather than seeing through the redevelopment itself," the outlet reported, pointing to financing pressures and market headwinds that have slowed some Chicago projects.
Project background and neighborhood fit
Permits for the plan have been grinding through the system since early 2025. As reported by Urbanize Chicago, earlier filings outlined a mix of four studios, 10 one-bedrooms, 21 two-bedrooms and seven three-bedrooms, plus roughly 2,700 and 1,267 square feet of retail space flanking a central lobby. The V-shaped site fronts both Lincoln and Marshfield and sits a block south of the Paulina Brown Line platform, a detail project backers cite when defending the relatively modest parking count.
Preservation advocates applaud the facade plan
Preservation Chicago has praised the decision to fold Dinkel’s storefront and neon sign into the new construction, calling the approach "a win" for keeping the streetscape intact while still delivering new housing. The nonprofit said it worked with the developer and the local alderman to encourage saving the adjacent ornate masonry facade as part of the final design.
Records, timing and what comes next
Chicago YIMBY notes that the construction permit first appeared in the city’s building-permits dataset on August 19, 2024, disappeared around August 2025 and then resurfaced in November 2025. The permit lists 3327 Lincoln Comet LLC as the developer, and as of May 20 no demolition permits had been filed for the parcels. YIMBY also points out that if ownership changes, an Express Permit would typically log that update on the city portal, making the public record the first real clue that work is about to begin.
There is still no firm construction start date. For now, contractors and curious neighbors are left refreshing the city’s permit portal, waiting for demolition filings, express-permit ownership changes or any other milestone that signals the project is moving from paperwork into the street. Until that happens, the neon Dinkel’s sign and the bakery’s brick face are expected to stay in plain view on Lincoln as plans inch toward the next step.
