Summit Begins Adaptive Reuse Project at Former Historic Sears Store in Chicago

CHICAGO — Summit Design + Build has begun the redevelopment of 1900 W. Lawrence Ave. in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood. The building was formerly home to a Sears department store, which opened in 1925 and was shuttered in 2016. The adaptive reuse project involves the conversion of the commercial building into residential space, including 59 apartment units ranging from one- to three-bedroom floor plans. The 105,000-square-foot, three-story building spans the length of an entire city block along Lawrence Avenue. Summit plans to add a fourth floor as well as two elevators and three staircases. Since the building does not have many windows, extensive work will be required to create new openings for the apartments. The project will also feature 30,000 square feet of retail space, of which DeVry University will occupy approximately 15,000 square feet. The third Chicago campus for the university will include 11 classrooms, technology labs, interview rooms, staff offices and an auxiliary lounge. Newmark Knight Frank represented DeVry in its lease. CA Ventures and Springbank Capital Advisors are the developers. Gillespie Design Group is the project architect. Completion is slated for fall 2020.