Construction for the Sherman Plaza has been delayed until late spring, despite a previous announcement by the developers that it would begin in January.
James Klutznick, a developer at Thomas J. Klutznick Co., said the $100 million development should start in May or June with the demolition of the parking garage on Sherman Avenue. In the fall, the company had given City Council a January start date.
The project should be finished by late fall of 2003 or early spring of 2004, Klutznick said. He attributed the delays to normal problems such as putting the demolition plan in order.
“Everything is moving along fine,” Klutznick said. “It’s the flow of getting the deal done.”
The development at Sherman Avenue and Church Street will include 212 condominiums, a branch of the Lake Shore Athletic Club, a public parking garage and retail space.
Klutznick said the company is keeping Osco Drug, 1630 Sherman Ave., informed of the project’s progress because the store will have to move locations when construction begins. Now, if the project starts in May, the store may move in June, Klutznick said.
Ald. Steven Bernstein (4th) said he was concerned about the delayed start, but said he understood that development can be a difficult. process He said he hoped the project would start soon because the city needs a parking garage.
“I don’t know what’s keeping him,” Bernstein said. “I’d hope for better.”
Ald. Stephen Engelman (7th) said he learned about the status of the development at the council’s Economic Development Committee meeting Wednesday. He said no final leases for the retail space have been signed.
Engelman said the idea that the development could have started in January was optimistic and that he had expected a delayed start on the project.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Engelman said. “The whole project has always concerned me because of the economy.”
The development of Sherman Plaza has been negotiated since 1999. In the summer, the council voted 8-0, with Ald. Edmund Moran (6th) absent, to approve Klutznick’s project. Since then, the original plan has changed.
Originally, Sears, Roebuck and Co. was slated to be the flagship store, but the company pulled out because the property was too expensive. Klutznick eliminated housing for senior citizens from the project in September to make more tax revenues and profit for the city.
Without senior housing, the city will earn an extra $5,000 a year per condominium in real estate tax revenue. Changing the composition of residents will generate an extra $1 million in revenue for the city.
