Prairie Ridge Development Buys Goltz’s People’s Gas Project

The long-stalled overhaul of the former People’s Gas site in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood is on track for a fresh start.

Elmhurst-based Prairie Ridge Development bought the mixed-use project at 3955 North Kilpatrick Avenue from GW Properties, which spent years steering the 6-acre redevelopment through contentious zoning hearings and community negotiations. The sale closed in December but wasn’t previously known, Block Club reported.

Prairie Ridge Development’s plan scales back GW’s six-story, 346-unit apartment concept to 253 units across two mid-rise buildings: one with four stories and 213 units, and a second with three stories and 40 units. Prairie Ridge President Brian Pawlik said the redesign lowers density but preserves core elements, including a large retail component and a two-level parking structure with 164 spaces.

The $120 million project — up from GW’s $110 million estimate — is still slated to include at least 20 percent affordable units, per the city’s ordinance. Preliminary plans for the residential portion also call for a pool, fitness center, fire pit and courtyard-style amenities. The unit mix will include studios, one-, two- and three-bedrooms.

The retail piece remains largely unchanged: four one-story buildings, expected to deliver by spring 2027. If city approvals go smoothly, construction could begin as soon as next spring.

Prairie Ridge is working with the city’s Department of Planning and Development on an administrative amendment rather than pursuing a full rezoning, which GW secured last fall after a six-month delay over a project labor agreement.

That standoff, involving Alderman Jim Gardiner and several trade groups, slowed the project’s timeline and reportedly played a role in GW’s exit. GW founder Mitch Goltz said his firm, which focuses primarily on retail, ultimately decided to redirect resources elsewhere.

“If you look at where this project started and where it ended up, it’s not even remotely in the same world,” Goltz told the outlet. “It started all retail, and before you know it, it was a big residential project.”

— Judah Duke