The future of a defunct Sears on Chicago’s West Side is coming into clearer focus.
John Novak’s Novak Construction is adding a 62,000-square-foot medical facility — which could cost up to $100 million — in its redevelopment plans at North and Harlem avenues near Oak Park and Galewood, Block Club Chicago reported. A grocery store and residential complex will also be included in the redevelopment.
The grocery store, which is yet to sign a tenant, as well as 125 apartments and 25 townhomes to be built on the northern edge of the lot at Neva and Wabansia avenues. The proposed medical facility won’t be a hospital or offer in-patient care, but instead will offer services like ultrasounds, mammograms and X-rays.
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“That area has been an eyesore so I’m glad that something is finally being done with it,” resident J. Bosco told the outlet. “I’m really excited for this; it will be a great addition to the community.
Jake Paschen, senior vice president of Novak Construction, said they already have a healthcare provider lined up to occupy the space and will announce who it is in the coming months.
“Our goal was to design a building that was an asset for many years,” Paschen said in an interview with the outlet. “We wanted to get high-profile healthcare to the community, to offer quick and convenient care. We believe it was worth it to get this healthcare provider and they will be a tremendous asset to the community.”
The loss of retail is opening the doors for other development projects around Chicagoland. Investors in and around the city have shown they’re unafraid to make nine-figure proposals to revive malls, even in the face of deep and dangerous pitfalls such as local government disagreements, properties having troubled financial histories and a housing market that threatens to upend plans that seemed solid only yesterday.
— Victoria Pruitt