A developer wants to tear down two one-story retail buildings just steps from the Diversey Brown Line stop in Lakeview and replace them with a five-story, 56-unit apartment building that would include just seven car parking spaces. The project at 920 W. Diversey Parkway, planned by JAB Real Estate, would rise 65 feet at a midblock site just east of the CTA station, overlooking the intersection of W. Diversey Parkway and N. Wilton Avenue.
The proposal, first reported by Urbanize Chicago, would require the city to rezone the site from B3-2 to B3-5. The proposal would replace the low-slung storefronts with a larger residential building.
Why So Little Parking
The building's location less than a block from the Diversey station on the CTA's Brown Line is central to the pitch. The proposal includes limited car parking.
Here, the proposal calls for seven car parking spaces for 56 apartments, all located within the building's footprint at the back and left uncovered. The back of the building would also hold mechanical spaces and interior storage for 52 bicycles, a nod to the transit-heavy location the project is designed around, the plans indicate per the same account.
Unit Mix and Amenities
The proposed building would rise five stories, with four floors of apartments stacked above 3,400 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Each upper floor would hold 14 apartments, for a total unit mix of 44 one-bedroom units, four one-bedroom-plus-den units, and eight two-bedroom units. The residential entry sits next to the ground-floor retail space, and select units would come with private balconies, while all residents would have access to a shared rooftop deck, per the proposal.
Nine of the 56 units would be set aside as affordable housing under Chicago's Affordable Requirements Ordinance. The city says developments receiving certain approvals after October 2021 are subject to the 2021 ARO, with rental eligibility generally at or below 60% of Area Median Income and sometimes extending to 80% or 100%, according to the City of Chicago. SGW Architecture & Design is the project architect.
The Approval Path Ahead
Before any of this gets built, the project faces a multi-step approval process. In the 44th Ward, represented by Alderman Bennett Lawson, the proposal faces further review. From there, the project still needs sign-off from the Chicago City Council and its Committee on Zoning.
JAB Real Estate, led by managing principals Frank Campise and Jim Jann, has been active in the local market. The firm sold a 19-unit building at 2848 N. Seminary Avenue for $10.8 million in March, a deal that worked out to about $568,000 per unit amid tight local supply, according to The Real Deal. Hoodline has also covered a JAB sale.
Part of a Broader Diversey Corridor Push
The Diversey proposal lands amid a wave of multi-family redevelopment along the corridor. Just over a mile away, Continuum Development purchased 2800 N. Sheridan Road for $17.25 million in late 2025 to advance plans for a 300-unit residential tower near Diversey Harbor, a site that currently houses a low-rise medical office complex slated for replacement, as Hoodline reported in December.
The push for density near transit is part of the broader development debate in Chicago. Whether the 920 W. Diversey project clears its remaining hurdles will now depend on the 44th Ward's community review process and the city bodies still standing between the proposal and a construction permit.
