Monday, November 9, 2015

What's Going Up At Ainslie and Kenmore? A Parking Lot


Several readers have asked about the new construction at the northwest corner of Kenmore and Ainslie, where the urban farm used to be. A little investigation turns up that an outdoor parking lot for 24 cars, with four light standards, is being built, as a reader commented in 2014.

It will serve Mid-America Care Center located next door, at 4920 North Kenmore. The nursing home has owned the lot for quite a few years, and while having a working farm there was charming, Mid-America of course has the right to develop its own property.

The parking takes advantage of an empty lot, but doesn't create a lot of infrastructure in case the nursing home wants to build something there in the future. Readers with good memories may remember its request to build an eight-story assisted living center there a few years ago, which was opposed and denied by then-alderman Mary Ann Smith.

With the nursing home requiring round-the-clock staffing, and the location just a block or so from the Aragon, parking's got to be a problem on concert nights, both for staff and visitors. Hopefully this is a good solution for both the nursing home and the community.

3 comments:

  1. Parking is actually a much bigger problem during the day due to the nursing home (staff and visitors), two schools and the many offices at Lawrence and Sheridan. I'm across the street from this parking and lot and while not in love with parking lots, I'll be glad to see something take the cars of the street. Fingers crossed its doesn't become a loitering site.

    The farm was charming, and will be missed. The elderly man who ran that decided to retire this year. I don't know of Mid America waited for him to step aside on his own terms, but it worked out well for everyone.

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  2. The building permit for this parking lot was issued in June 2015. http://www.chicagocityscape.com/permits.php?pid=100538042 - Anyone can sign up for daily updates about new building projects in the Uptown community area on Chicago Cityscape with this link: http://www.chicagocityscape.com/account.php?src=follow_place&intent=subscribe&place=communityarea-uptown&place_name=Uptown%20Community%20Area

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