R.P. Fox plans Logan Square rental project over alderman’s objections

R.P. Fox & Associates is moving ahead with its plans for a 60-unit apartment building in Logan Square despite opposition from Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th).

The Oak Park-based developer last week secured a permit for the project at 2755 North Milwaukee Avenue, which also will include ground-floor retail, according to Block Club Chicago.

Fox first proposed the project in 2017, four years after the Pierre’s Bakery on the property shut down.

Ramirez-Rosa called on Fox to include affordable housing in the building, but the developer was legally required to because it’s not on city land and doesn’t need a zoning change from the city or require city financial incentives, according to Block Club.

Ramirez-Rosa then introduced a zoning change for the property before the City Council, one of an alderman’s few ways to exercise control over a project allowed “as of right” under existing zoning. But the measure never went anywhere, and it’s unclear why.

Fox’s portfolio includes condominiums, townhomes, apartments, offices and retail properties throughout the city and suburbs, according to its website.

Logan Square’s housing market has been among the hottest in the city, with the median price rising by 19 percent in 2018 even as much of the rest of the city’s real estate has cooled. Rents in the neighborhood have been soaring as well, prompting backlash against landlords and developers who are being painted as agents of gentrification. [Block Club] — John O’Brien