Developer Nick Serra steps April 7, 2026, onto the future balcony of a newly constructed third floor unit in a building he’s redeveloping to add rental apartments in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
By Olivia Olander | Chicago Tribune
Above the bay windows that run up the center of a two-story apartment building in Uptown, Nick Serra stands on what had been the roof but will soon be the balcony for a new third-floor unit he’s adding.
In many circumstances, the construction work would be a sure sign that another traditional Chicago apartment building was being gutted and converted into a single-family home that could fetch more than $1 million.
Instead, the new top floor will be a four-bedroom apartment that, along with other changes Serra is making, will turn the entire building into a six-unit development capable of housing a dozen people.
“Versus, you know, two people and their golden retriever,” Serra said, as he stood last week on the unfinished top floor.
Serra is part of a cohort of developers adding units to existing buildings rather than tearing them down or converting them to single-family homes — a practice many housing advocates say helps with affordability in high-demand neighborhoods. But finding lots zoned to allow the additional square footage and density he needs is difficult, particularly on the North Side, where he primarily works. Under current rules, he has managed roughly two dozen such projects over five years.
Those difficulties finding lots for such projects could change significantly under a package of proposals from Gov. JB Pritzker that would make it easier for developers and property owners across Illinois to build the kind of multiunit housing Serra specializes in.
The plan, a cornerstone political and policy piece of Pritzker’s State of the State address in February, would loosen zoning restrictions that currently limit the residential density allowed on a given lot and, supporters say, open the door to new multifamily buildings across the state.
Additional local rules for building size and height could still apply, potentially restricting a building of the exact dimensions of the one in Uptown.
But the prospect of allowing four-flats or six-unit apartments on quiet suburban streets, and granny flats in backyards across the state, has raised alarms among many local leaders.
The response from the governor’s office? Something has to be done in the face of a housing shortage across the state, and the Pritzker administration is pushing forward anyway.
Story continues here.
Related: “Pritzker to propose statewide zoning laws to spur homebuilding, limit local control,” “McLaughlin’s press conference video recording regarding Pritzker’s proposed municipal zoning powers grab posted,” “‘It’s just a bad idea’: Suburban officials oppose Pritzker’s plan to reduce local control over residential It’s just zoning”
