City considers pivoting on plans for Hollander building

Developer is scrapping previous city-approved project for a more affordable option

Rendering of the Halloander building at 2418 North Milwaukee Avenue and Alderman Daniel La Spata with GW Properties Mitch Goltz (The1stWard, LinkedIn, NORR Architects, Getty)
Rendering of the Halloander building at 2418 North Milwaukee Avenue and Alderman Daniel La Spata with GW Properties Mitch Goltz (The1stWard, LinkedIn, NORR Architects, Getty)

Plans for the Hollander Storage & Moving site are heading back to the drawing board.

In 2021, the City Council granted GW Properties approval to convert the building at 2418 North Milwaukee Avenue into a mixed-use complex with offices, retail and nine apartments, Block Club Chicago reported.

Now the developers say that plan is “no longer financially viable” and the team is looking into a new redesigned plan that would include retail and more than 50 apartments.

The city of Chicago has been looking into plans to repurpose the 110-year-old property since the Hollander family sold the Logan Square building to GW in 2018. The building was being used to store Hollander’s company records.

Mitch Goltz, with GW Properties, said the new redevelopment plan is similar to other proposals discussed in 2019 and 2020 and is a pivot from the approved proposal.

The new plan involves rehabbing the Hollander building and replacing the one-story building and parking lot next door with an adjoining apartment building. The 57 residential apartments would range in size from one- to two-bedroom units and studios.

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Alderman Daniel La Spata expressed concerns about adding more studios and small apartments to Logan Square, an area that is experiencing a rapid displacement of residents.

“There’s a real interest in pushing for multi-bedroom housing,” La Spata told the outlet. “Those are considerations I’m really taking to heart when we look at new projects.”

La Spata’s office is collecting community feedback on the newest proposal via online forms to gauge public sentiment. A community meeting will likely take place in October.

Goltz, who has said he’s willing to market 15 percent of the units as affordable housing, told the outlet that he’s eager to fill the void in the neighborhood and breathe new life into the old building. He concluded by saying the developer’s new plan makes the most sense.

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— Victoria Pruitt