City Council approves land sale for The Grove

The Chicago City Council has approved the sale of city-owned land for the mixed-use development known as The Grove. Located at 4731 S. Cottage Grove, the project site is made up of seven city-owned lots along S. Cottage Grove, spanning from E. 47th Pl down to E. 48th St. Planned by Milhouse Development, the site is currently entirely vacant.  

With Krueck Sexton Partners leading the design, the project will consist of a three-story mixed-use building. Rising 60 feet, the building’s contemporary design will incorporate a glass and metal screen facade that creates movement along S. Cottage Grove Ave. The mass timber structure will be revealed inside, while the overall building will be topped by a solar panel array. 

At the ground level, the storefront will open to expand the public realm into the ground floor food hall. The upper floors will include further commercial and restaurant space, with a Five Iron Golf and gallery space planned for the second floor. Outdoor terraces on the third floor will look to the north and south. Benefitting from the Connected Communities Ordinance, the project will only provide 13 parking spaces. 

Appraised at $1.27 million, the developers will buy the parcels and those funds will be placed into an escrow account that the developer must use for environmental remediation on the property. Funding for the approximately $42 million project will include $15 million in equity, $18.1 million in loans, $4 million in New Market Tax Credits, and $4 million in a potential Chicago Recovery grant. 

With the approval of the land sale from the City Council, the developer can acquire the land and move forward with remediation before construction would move forward.