Developers and builders love right angles for obvious reasons. And the proof is in the pudding, as just about every building you encounter in this town or any other is rectangular in shape. But the lots upon which buildings get built don’t always cooperate with a laser level, sometimes due to non-perpendicular streets and alternatively due to non-perpendicular lot lines. Unfortunately for the property at 3029 W. Glenwood Ave., it suffers from both afflictions, fronting diagonal the Glenwood Avenue while the corner of the adjacent Eastern Lofts is shoved into its midsection.
Given the location and shape of this property, it’s no shock that it has been sitting vacant for a number of years. But with the inexorable development pressure creeping up from Brewerytown, it’s also an obvious target for redevelopment. Equinox is currently building the Otto Brewerytown project around the corner at 31st & Jefferson, so it’s pretty natural that they would be interested in taking on a project here as well. And wouldn’t you know, there’s now a building under construction at this long vacant parcel, designed by ISA. Coming sometime next year, look out for a five-story building with 49 apartments, 16 parking spaces, and a small retail space.
The timing for this project feels right. It wasn’t so long ago that this vacant lot had blighted old industrial buildings on either side. To the north, the old Eastern Electric building was renovated into apartments back in 2016. In the other direction, a seemingly vacant one-story building was converted into the Community Partnership School in 2019. Needless to say, both are significant improvements.
The new building will fill the last gap on this side of the block, completing its rebirth for 21st century Brewerytown. With residents upstairs and next door and students (hopefully) coming from the other direction, combined with numerous apartment buildings just a block or two to the south, there will be a critical mass of new neighbors added to the longtime residents that could offer a surprising amount of nearby density for whoever leases the first floor retail space. Now that we think about it, compared to what this area was like even half a decade ago, to call this a surprising amount of density is a rather massive understatement. Shocking, maybe? Astounding? Those terms feels a little more accurate in this case.