Alisa Hauser wrote in DNAinfo three months ago that the Royal Palms Shuffleboard Company from Brooklyn, NY, was looking for community buy-in for their proposal to build a shuffleboard venue in an existing bow-truss commercial building in Wicker Park.
The building at 1742 N Milwaukee Avenue was purchased by R2 Companies, which is best known currently for their purchases on Goose Island, and their plan with Port Urbanism to transform the island and build new transportation links across the river and channel.
Matt Garrison, principal at R2 Companies, said, “Conventional wisdom is to go for a super dense vertical apartment project on this site, but we want to save the old bow truss building and bring in a great retail amenity for the neighborhood and 606. We think we found a special concept and operator that is going to help activate the area in an engaging and unique way.”
The Chicago City Council committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards is meeting tomorrow and will vote on the requested zoning change. Its Manufacturing zone disallows most non-manufacturing uses. They are also asking for permission to build a rooftop deck.
The city’s TOD ordinance and the building’s proximity to the Damen Blue Line CTA station reduces the new use’s parking requirement to zero spaces. Before the TOD ordinance, the parking requirement would still be less than a new use because R2 is renovating an existing building.
