Novak redevelopment still on hold from stop-work order

A stop-work order that halted a large redevelopment project in Six Corners remains in place, despite a conflicting statement from a city official.

City officials ordered Novak Construction to stop work immediately after crews began exterior construction on the former Sears building at 4712-4738 West Irving Park Road without a full permit in August, Block Club Chicago reported. Even though the stop-work order is still in place, 45th Ward Ald. Jim Gardiner recently said the order had been lifted.

Erroneously ignoring the work stoppage, at a recent meeting with Old Irving Park community members Gardiner said the council was “very excited about the roughly $100 million project and we think it will be a new shot in the arm for the Six Corners community.”

The record was set straight when Department of Buildings spokesperson Michael Puccinelli told the outlet that the order “remains in full effect for any renovation and new construction as no building permits for that work have been issued.”

The city is also still in the process of reviewing the illegal work that was done this summer to see if it was up to code, Puccinelli said. The work done includes the construction of an additional story as well as steel columns and exterior concrete. The only permits that were issued for the project were for interior demolition.

Puccinelli said Novak has been cooperating with the city and is working to secure the necessary permits.

The $90 million project will yield 206 apartments ranging in size from studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms. All of the units will be affordable housing with rents of $2,750-$3,000 a month.

The plans call for about 50,000 square feet of Target-anchored retail on the ground floor and a fifth-floor addition.

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Chicago

Former Sears store set to be replaced by six-story residential building

— Victoria Pruitt