Lake View's Oldest Business Being Developed into Lofts, Retail

After more than 110 years and three generations, Lake View’s oldest running business Anderson Brothers Storage and Moving will close to be developed into loft-style apartments.

The brick building at 3141 N. Sheffield Ave. is just steps from the Belmont ‘L’ station. In less than a year, it will become 80 apartments with a rooftop health club and a 5,000-square-foot storefront on the ground floor next to The Vic Theatre.

Anderson Brothers will apparently move to a new Chicago location, but exact details on where are unclear. 

While residents attending Thursday’s Central Lake View Neighbors meeting seemingly liked the proposal, Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) said he’s sad to see Anderson Brothers go.

“It’s a great location, but this is a big loss for our part of the community,” Tunney said. “They were the longest running business in Lake View’s history.”

Developer Kearby Kaiser and his team are now working to stay on schedule to construct the apartment building. They plan to maintain the historic brick building while adding nice features like decorative lighting to the outside to move away from the industrial feel.

“You basically have a fortress now—it’s dark all night, and it’s dark during the day,” Kaiser said. “We’re cutting out a lot of new windows to get bright light into the space. … We’re working within the existing structure to create this loft-style apartment feel.”

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The space will have 40 parking spots, less than what’s normally required for a space that size because of its proximity to the Belmont CTA stop. A larger bike room is also planned.

There will be six two-bedroom apartments—four of which will have rooftop terraces—combined with 50 one-bedroom units and 24 efficiency apartments. Rent is estimated to cost $800-$1000 for the studios, $1200-$1350 for the one-bedroom units and less than $2000 for the two-bedroom spaces.

As for the retail space, the only tenant to approach Kaiser thus far is 24-Hour Fitness, but they’re unsure if it’s an appropriate fit given the plans for a rooftop gym. Kaiser said he’s open to suggestions from the community regarding which tenants to target.

Members on CLVN’s Planning and Zoning committee are reviewing the development before potentially giving a stamp of approval next month. It’s one of two developments being reviewed by the committee, the other being the big changes coming to the former Sappano’s Paint on Halsted St.