New Pawn Shop Possible For Bucktown

There may be a new pawn shop coming to town along the border of the Bucktown and Logan Square neighborhoods.

Residents of the two areas voted in favor Monday of a plan for an AmeriPawn shop at 2435 N. Western Ave. The support was garnered at Haas Park, where a community meeting was held on the Indiana-based pawn shop chain's proposal.

The company is seeking the community's consideration for a re-zoning of the parcel—from a manufacturing designation to a commercial one—as well as special use permission for the pawn shop, although no formal zoning request had been submitted to the city as of Jan. 14.  

After a presentation from the developers and a question-and-answer session, Monday's attendees voted 46-23 in favor of the idea.

However, Ray Valadez, chief of staff to 1st Ward Ald. Proco Joe Moreno, said that each ballot had to include the voter's address, and that ballots from people who live in the immediate area near the proposed pawn shop would be considered with more weight when ruling on the matter. After the meeting, Valadez said it was too soon to say whether Moreno's office would support the proposal.

"We're going to do a count of the ballots that were submitted and see what the sentiments of the residents in the community are regarding this proposal, and then the alderman will take that information into consideration and decide what the next step will be," Valadez said.

Pawn shops are among specific types of businesses that require a special use approval from an alderman regardless of a property's zoning classification. AmeriPawn previously made a similar proposal to the community in July 2012. Moreno refused the company's request at that time based on the community's feedback.

The Jan. 14 proposal was updated to include a building façade that was more in keeping with the others in the area, as well as plans for both commercial and residential use of the building.

A dentist is currently on board to set up an office in the facility if the development is approved, and the planners are currently seeking other retail or fast food candidates. The proposal also included three residential apartment units and an 11-space parking lot for use by the retail portions of the development.

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Logan Square community members started an online petition as a response to the original proposal in July to persuade aldermen in the 1st, 35th and 32nd wards to oppose the plan. The petition contends that there are already plenty of pawn shops in the area—two within 1 mile of the proposed location and 11 in a 2-mile radius. More than 230 people signed the document.

Those sentiments were echoed by many attendees during the public comment portion of Monday's meeting. Several people expressed concerns about safety near pawn shops and said they didn't want that in their neighborhood. Greater Goethe Neighborhood Association President Sally Hamann said she believed a pawn shop would bring more crime to the neighborhood.

"I don't care how good (the store) is," she said. "We don't need it. We don't want it."

Hamann said that Moreno approved a pawn shop against the will of the community when he supported the EZ Pawn at 2138-40 N. Milwaukee Ave. in 2011 after a community vote had been against it.

However, Moreno defended that decision, stating that the owners pledged to contribute to community social services and scholarship funds, and that he hadn't seen any negative effects from it in the past year. He said he had nothing against the idea of pawn shops in general.

"I have more issues in the 1st Ward with hot dog stands on Ashland Avenue, where I have gang bangers hanging out, and I've got to take them into court," Moreno said. "I do not have issues with these places. Again, I'm going to do what the community wants to do tonight, but I also want to be very open and transparent about how I feel as your alderman."

Other attendees commented in support of the proposal, claiming that any development of the property would be better for the community than letting the building remain vacant.

Some of the potential benefits mentioned during the meeting included property tax revenue the businesses would generate for the area and the possibility that the development could attract other businesses to the community.

Jeff Singer, who will operate the store if it is approved, also said that security cameras outside the store and in the alley could help make the neighborhood safer.

If the proposal is approved, Singer said it will take at least six months of construction and renovation time before the store would be open for business.