Danny Xin gets city approval for Old Town apartments

Danny Xin’s trip back to the drawing board has yielded better results for his Old Town development proposal this time around.

A project being led by Xin to build a five-story structure with 27 units at 1453 North Sedgwick Street has received full city approval, after he previously pursued a six-story contemporary design that was rejected by neighbors, Urbanize reported. Five of the apartments will be affordable, or priced within 60 percent of the area median income, per city ordinance.

In addition to being shorter, the new proposal has changed its exterior design from a glassy, metal-framed building to a brick building so it blends in better with the architecture of nearby buildings. Xin first proposed the original, taller design in January 2022. He bought the three-flats at 1453 and 1449 North Sedgwick for a total of a little more than $1.3 million in 2015. He paid slightly more for the northerly property, $715,000, as compared to $630,000 for the 1449 property, record show.

Xin’s entity that owns the existing three-flats on the site, Sedgwick Properties LLC, is separate from the group Sedgwick Development, which recently retooled a River North condo project first launched six years ago at 144 West Erie Street into pricey rentals, averaging monthly rents of $10,000 per unit.

Floor plans in Xin’s revamped project will feature a mix of nine studios, 10 one-bedroom units and eight two-bedrooms. Amenities at the site will include a lobby, shared workspace, an outdoor patio and a small yard that would be dog friendly. There will be 27 bike parking spaces but no reserved car parking.

The property is currently home to two small three-flats that will be demolished as part of the development. Sedgwick Properties has already attained zoning approval and can now move forward with seeking permits for demolition and construction.

— Quinn Donoghue