The owner of a vacant lot on Chicago Avenue pledged to work with neighbors in developing the property, which was rejected last year as a music hall.
Ken Kosinski sees 1834-50 W. Chicago Ave. as a "middle anchor" between the Dominick's Finer Foods and Goldblatt's buildings, he told more than 50 people attending a public hearing Monday at the adjoining Commercial Club Park. Plans might build a path to the playlot at 845 W. Rice St. or address another community need, Kosinski suggested.
Ald. Proco Joe Moreno called the hearing to consider including the property in Chicago Avenue's strip-mall ban, now in place between Ashland Avenue and Wood Street. Moreno would extend "pedestrian street" zoning a quarter-mile westward to Damen Avenue.
The East Village Association contacted Ken and Lois Kosinski after they inherited and tore down the former AAA Distributing Co. auto warehouse. Kosinski said his family grew up in the neighborhood and that he saw the property as a catalyst for further development. "With the right input we can really do something special," Kosinski said.
At Monday's hearing Moreno volunteered that he had contacted the Chicago Community Trust, unsuccessfully seeking funds to expand the park.