News | City Names Klee Developer | Summary of Klee Redevelopment Proposals | Redevelopment Timeline | Building History | Photographs

The Klee Building is mostly finished with some eagerly anticipated storefronts to fill and the completion of an attractive pedestrian pass through off Milwaukee Ave. per the original construction plans.

More news to come in this section as the Klee reaches closer toward its completion goal. In the meantime - below is some neighborhood history describing the revitalization of this neighborhood treasure.

Klee Building today
Photo by Jerianne Garber

After years of high hopes, false starts and a long and involved selection process, the city has picked a developer to revitalize and renovate the historic Klee Building located in the heart of the Six Corners shopping district.

The Chicago Department of Planning and Development named Chicago Klee, LLC, a partnership of Poter Construction and Development and Oshinsky Development, to carry out the project, which is expected to turn the currently vacant building into residential and retail complex consisting of 64 mixed-income condominium units and 20,000 square-feet of ground-floor retail space. The city announced its selection January 8th.

This artists rendering shows the redeveloped Klee and the new structure that is planned as and attached addition. This new structure will match the existing buildings five stories and will allow for a pedway at its north end to connect Milwaukee and Cicero pedestrian traffic.

Poter won out over the other finalist in the Dept. of Planning and Development’s Request for Proposals (RFP) process, Pusateri Sandberg LLC. A third RFP entry, from G&A Construction, was removed from consideration in September of 2003.

In addition to the rehabilitation of the Klee Building, located at 4001 N. Milwaukee Ave., the winning proposal includes a new five-story building to the north on Milwaukee Avenue and a new one-story building on Cicero Avenue. Forty-eight of the new residential units included in the project will have two bedrooms, and 16 will be one-bedroom condominiums. Twenty-percent of the units overall are expected to be priced at affordable rates for low and moderate-income residents. Underground parking for residents will be included in the plan with a total of 22 ground level parking spaces provided for retail use.

This floorplan shows the layout of the first floor retail spaces, and the 22 ground level parking spaces. The developer’s plan includes the allocation of approximately 25,000 square feet of retail space in the to existing Klee Building. The hope is that this will attract a larger retail chain such as a book or record store according to the developer.

“We are very happy that they’ve made a selection, because perhaps no other project is as important in the ongoing revitalization of the Six Corners shopping district,” said Ellen Stoner, chair of the PPNA Economic Development Committee. “Either of those two (development proposals) would have had a positive impact on the neighborhood. We applaud the aldermen involved for moving the project forward, and we look forward to seeing the redevelopment in 2005.”

Decision is First Step in the Process

Gary Poter, president of Poter Construction, hopes that groundbreaking on the project can take place by the end of 2004 or the beginning of 2005, depending on the speed in which the next steps in the process can happen. “The next step is to get the project approved by the CDC (Community Development Commission), hopefully sometime in March, and then go to the full City Council for approval,” he said, citing some of the steps necessary before construction can begin, such as signing a redevelopment agreement with the city and finalizing an application for financial assistance from the city. “We’ve already begun the process of finding retail tenants, and hopefully we can complete the project within a year after all of the approvals are in place.”

Competing Proposal Still A Good Idea

The competing proposal from Pusateri Sandberg, developed in conjunction with the Portage Park Center for the Arts, was geared towards artists as residents and a combination of smaller, mixed-use development in the site’s retail spaces. Both plans intended to tap access to the funds from the Six Corners Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) district, and included incorporate environmentally sound building systems designed to reduce urban heat levels.

Joe Angelestri, who owns City Newsstand at 4018 N. Cicero, supports the city’s decision. “We’re excited about it,” he said. “(Poter’s) plan has everything that the community has asked for over the years.” But he also believes that the selection of one developer over the other doesn’t necessarily mean that the competing vision for the area will be lost. “There’s plenty of opportunity for the artists idea – either rehabbing some of the remaining stores (in the commercial district), or creating working or living space for artists elsewhere in the community. This isn’t the end of the process - it’s not the like it’s the Klee or nothing for the arts center.”

Jaques Sandberg, partner in the firm of Pusateri Sandberg, says he’s thinking along the same lines. “I remain convinced Portage Park would be a great place for a project like the one we had for the Klee,” he said. “I remain cautiously optimistic that we will find an alternative site. Over the past 14 months the Department of Planning and Development has expressed enthusiasm for the idea of arts-based project, and we will continue to work to see if we can make it a reality.”

Community Part of Process

At a community forum held at the LaSalle Bank Auditorium in April 2003, officials of the Department of Planning and Development, along with representatives of the three developers and aldermen Patrick J. Levar of the 45th Ward and Thomas R. Allen of the 38th, met with members of the community to present the various developers’ proposals. At the time, the city expected to have a decision made by the end of June. Alderman Levar, however, attributes to the delay in announcing a decision in part to the necessary thoroughness required for such an important project. “This process was brought to the community, but the city wanted to make sure that everything that needed to be done for this to be a successful process was done,” Levar said. “I believe the project will help revitalize the area’s business and shopping districts, and I want to compliment the city for doing such a good job in this process.”

Poter, who currently owns a parcel of land adjacent to the development site, is understandably thrilled at the city’s decision. “It’s been five years of hard work in order to get to this point,” he said. “But there’s still a lot of work left to do. We hope to make the community proud (with this project).”

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early 2006 (estimated date)

Redevelopment project completed; grand re-opening of the Klee Building.

spring 2005 (estimated date)

Groundbreaking ceremony for new buildings directly north of the Klee Building.

early 2005 (estimated date)

Demolition of buildings to the north of the Klee Building along Milwaukee Avenue.

late December 2004

Expected sale of City-owned Klee Building and other redevelopment parcels to Poter Construction.

December 9, 2004

City Council Zoning Committee approves zoning changes to allow redevelopment of the Klee Building and surrounding parcels. The site will be rezoned from B3-2 and B3-3 General Retail Districts to B3-3 Community Shopping District.

August 2004

City Council passes ordinances authorizing redevelopment project and subsidies.

March 9, 2004

Redevelopment project presented to and approved by Community Development Commission (CDC). The City of Chicago will provide TIF subsidies in the amount of $1.6 million in addition to subsidizing the purchase of the property. The property was purchased by the city for approximately $2 million and will be sold for approximately $200,000. Estimated redevelopment costs are estimated to be $18 million.

January 8, 2004

The Chicago Department of Planning and Development names Chicago Klee, LLC, a partnership of Poter Construction and Development and Oshinsky Development, to carry out the redevelopment project, which is expected to turn the currently vacant building into residential and retail complex consisting of 64 mixed-income condominium units and 20,000 square-feet of ground-floor retail space.

September 2003

One RFP entry, from G&A Construction, is reportedly removed from consideration by the Department of Planning and Development.

April 29, 2003

At a community forum held at the LaSalle Bank Auditorium, officials of the Department of Planning and Development, along with representatives of the three developers and aldermen Patrick J. Levar of the 45th Ward and Thomas R. Allen of the 38th, meet with members of the community to present the various developers’ proposals.

October 30, 2002

Sun-Times columnist David Roeder reports that three proposals for the Klee Building have been received by the City. Roeder reports that one redevelopment plan proposes artists' residences in the building and another proposal was submitted by the owner of the vacant Woolworth's building, located to the north of the Klee Building along Milwaukee Avenue. The article states that the Department of Planning and Development will select the winning proposal.

October 28, 2002

Deadline for proposals (per the RFP summary).

September 27, 2002

A visit to the site is scheduled for 10 a.m. (per the RFP summary).

September 25, 2002

A conference will be held at 1 p.m. at City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St., Room 1003A to answer questions about the RFP (per the RFP summary).

August 26, 2002

The Chicago Department of Planning and Development (DPD) has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) that will seek private developers to redevelop the Klee Building and the three parcels to the north of the building.

early August 2002

The PPNA Klee Building Committee (subsequently absorbed into the PPNA Economic Development Committee) recently sent a letter to Denise Roman, the DPD representative for the Six Corners district, stating the key elements of the redevelopment project from the community's perspective, as interpreted by the committee. The goal of the committee's letter was to communicate the needs and wishes of the community, as interpreted by the committee, in a proactive manner to the DPD, and thus to potential developers. Copies of the letter were also sent to Alderman Levar (45th Ward) and Alderman Allen (38th Ward).

Under construction...

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This photograph shows the detail of the elevator doors on the main floor. Note the use of marble surrounding the elevator doors. Hopefully the renovation will keep these rich design elements and building materials.

This photograph shows the high quality materials on the upper floors of the building. Note the hardwood doors and the free use of marble on both the floors and the lower half of the walls.

detail of vintage hardware

mail drop (from upper floors to ground floor collection point)

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