Neighbors weigh in on Armitage Industrial Corridor changes at the Feb. 4 open-house meeting. (Photo by Igor Studenkov/for Chronicle Media)

The city is proposing to keep most of Chicago West Side’s Armitage industrial corridor zoned for industrial businesses, while relaxing zoning on five major sites.

In July 2024, Chicago Department of Planning and Development launched a framework plan process for an industrial corridor around the section of Milwaukee District West Metra Line tracks between Oak Park and Cicero avenues. Most of the Armitage district is a Planned Manufacturing District — a special zoning classification that was set up to protect manufacturing jobs in major Chicago industrial corridors. Over the past 20 years, DPD looked into whether keep PMD zoning for several industrial corridors, which usually led to it being relaxed, if not outright removed.

During the Feb. 4 open-house meeting, which was held at the Radio Flyer factory on the north tip of the corridor, DPD unveiled the proposed changes. It carved out five properties for potential rezoning, most of which were in the industrial district but not part of the PMD. The city is also planning to improve the road infrastructure, diverting trucks away from the surrounding residential streets, and generally making the corridor more pedestrian and bicycle friendly.

DPD will take the feedback from the February meeting and use it to develop the final plan. The plan is expected to go before the Chicago Plan Commission on March 20, with the goal of having it before the Chicago City Council for final approval by May.

Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th Ward, speaks in support of the city plans for the corridor. (Photo by Igor Studenkov/for Chronicle Media)

The Armitage corridor forms the dividing line between the North Austin and Galewood neighborhoods to the south and Montclare and Belmont-Cragin neighborhoods to the north.

According to the DPD study, most of the employees live in those neighborhoods, as well as the Dunning, O’Hare and Logan Square neighborhoods farther out. A substantial number of workers also come from farther south, especially Chicago’s North Lawndale and Little Village neighborhoods and west suburban Cicero.

A DPD study showed that the number of jobs declined from 3,583 in 2002 to 2,133 in 2021. In 2002, manufacturing accounted for 70 percent of all jobs in the area, but that dropped to 49 percent by 2021. Meanwhile, the percentage of jobs in business support services went up from 3 percent to 32 percent.

In a presentation at the Feb. 4 meeting, Robert Roback, DPD’s coordinator of economic development, said that the goal is to “keep the Armitage corridor as a job center,” but that “we also need to recognize there’s been changes in the market conditions.”

He said that it has many things going for it, pointing to multiple CTA bus routes and four Metra stations, though three of those stations are currently rush hour only. Roback said that DPD would be looking to make the area more friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as try to get trucks off the residential streets by either paving new roads or expanding the existing roads.

The plan calls for preserving historic buildings where possible, as well as increasing communication between residents and businesses.

It also calls for zoning changes for five sites. One was already poised for zoning changes — the Mars Wrigley factory at 2019 N. Oak Park Ave. When the company announced the impending closure in 2021, it invited residents to weigh in on what they wanted to happen to the property. The resulting plan calls for housing, business incubator, urban farm and industrial business components. DPD plan would also add a new access road connected to Narraganset Avenue, which would take some truck traffic off Oak Park Avenue.

Area 2 is a six-acre parking lot at 6601 W. Belden, south of the Montclare Senior Residences of Galewood senior housing. The zoning would be changed to residential to allow townhomes, multi-story homes and senior housing, as well as community uses.

Area 3 is the historic Zenith Radio factory building at 6001 W. Dickens Ave. and the vacant lots to the north. There have been plans to redevelop the building, which has been vacant for 30 years, as a multi-tenant industrial building, but nothing has come to fruition so far. The plan calls for the zoning change to allow residential, commercial and light manufacturing/artisan uses. The homes would most likely go on the vacant land.

The last two areas stand out because they are currently a mix of residential, commercial and industrial uses, and the plan would encourage industrial use. Area 4 includes properties north and east of the Meskan Foundry, roughly between Armitage, Major, Parkside and Grand avenues. Area 5 encompasses all properties between Laramie Avenue, Armitage Avenue, Grand Avenue and the railroad tracks.

Roback told Chronicle Media that Area 4 has several industrial businesses that are looking to expand, and that the department believed there is an opportunity to bring in new businesses. There are also opportunities for improvements. Ryan Richter, a planner of the Chicago Department of Transportation, said that the section of Homer Avenue inside Area 5, is “extremely narrow,” so the city would look to widen it.

Claudia Perez is the executive director of the Greater Northwest Chicago Development Corporation, a nonprofit that supports industrial businesses in several corridors, including the Armitage corridor. She told Chronicle Media that she believes that the DPD plan be good for the corridor.

Steve Green, president of the Galewood Neighbors community organization, felt that the plan acknowledged the realities on the ground.

“Businesses are changing and that’s been very evident,” he said.

Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29^th Ward, whose ward includes more than half of the corridor, expressed his support as well.

“I think it’s a great plan to bring more industrial businesses to the industrial corridor,” he said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for the West Side of Chicago and the Northwest Side of Chicago.”