LAKEVIEW — When Brandon Cunningham helped start an advisory council to push for upgrades at Kelly Park, his kids were in elementary school. Nearly 10 years later, and after local and state officials secured more than $1 million for the work, the promised overhaul still hasn’t happened. “Now they’re in high school and don’t care about the park anymore,” Cunningham said, who serves as president of the Kelly Park Advisory Council. “The lesson I’m teaching them about civics is that the more work you do, the more you get blown off by your city. It’s depressing.” The Kelly Park Advisory Council and neighbors say they’ve spent years organizing, fundraising, attending Park District meetings and staying in constant contact with officials only to be met with shifting timelines, vague updates and more delays. Frustration has boiled over as they watch seasons pass and the park remain untouched, while Park District leaders continue to promise that work is coming “soon.” Kelly Park in Lakeview on Aug. 12, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago John H. Kelly Park is located a few blocks from Wrigley Field in Lakeview, stretching along Seminary Avenue between Grace Street and Irving Park Road. The 1.27-acre greenspace sits about two blocks east of Clark Street and features a soft-surface playground and a small passive recreation area. In 1991, the Park District began leasing the three-block-long site from the city as part of a complex land swap, and has continued leasing the property since 2018, according to the city. The Park District last made major upgrades in 1995, when it installed the current playground. Those upgrades, Cunningham said, were not upgrades the neighborhood signed off on. “They tore out a bunch of really good but very old park equipment and installed stuff that just seemed thrown together,” Cunningham said. “Nobody in the community was really involved in it. It kind of killed the park.” Without a field house or much programming, Cunningham said residents felt the renovation missed the mark. Instead of complaining about the upgrades, Cunningham and other neighbors formed the Kelly Park Advisory Council. Over several years, the park council raised money and hosted fundraisers for a full-scale renovation. Former Ald. Tom Tunney eventually secured $841,000 in state funding to overhaul the entire park. “We were floored,” Cunningham said. “We thought, why just replace the play area when we could redo the entire park, which hadn’t been touched since the ’90s.” According to the 44th Ward office, that funding is part of a larger package that also includes $60,000 from the ward’s office, $500,000 from the Chicago Cubs and additional private donations and in-kind contributions, including a grove of Japanese cherry trees. A plaque at Kelly Park in Lakeview on Aug. 12, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago Nearly a decade after the council was formed — and six years after the total amount of funding was secured — Cunningham said there has been no visible progress, despite repeated promises from the Park District that work was about to start. “Last year they told us it would get done. This year, they said everything was ready and work would start in the spring. Still hasn’t happened,” Cunningham said. Renderings for the upgrades to Kelly Park in Lakeview. Provided/Chicago Parks District According to the 44th Ward office, the renovation project is currently out to bid. In a statement provided to Block Club, a Parks District spokesperson said the district is “very excited about the upcoming improvements to Kelly Park.” “The project has completed design and is being bid for construction in Fall 2025,” spokesperson Irene Tostado said. “Once a construction contractor is secured, we will be able to provide a more detailed timeline for the start of construction activity and anticipated completion date that will be communicated to local stakeholders — including of course — the PAC.” The main frustration that Cunningham and other advisory council members have expressed is that, despite securing funding and doing much of the legwork themselves, they’ve seen no tangible progress. “I get that Chicago is a big bureaucracy, but you’ve got people in the community dedicating hundreds of hours of their own time to improve their local park, and the Park District — whose job this should be — can’t get it done,” Cunningham said. “We’ve basically handed them a million dollars and said, ‘All we want in return is some plans and construction.’” A bench at Kelly Park in Lakeview on Aug. 12, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago In May, the Kelly Park Advisory Council sent a letter to Chicago Park District Superintendent and CEO Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, urging him to intervene. “We have gone to the PAC conventions and been on the steering committees. We have joined our local neighborhood organizations and befriended our alderman and state representatives,” Cunningham wrote. “After all this and nine years, we are still being strung along by the Park District with no renovation timeline or concrete action.” Cunningham doesn’t plan on moving anytime soon, so he and the rest of the council will see this through. However, their patience is wearing thin. “I live half a block from the park and I’m not moving, but after almost a decade of rejection and delays, I’m worn out,” Cunningham said. “I want answers. I want action.” * * * **Support Local News!** **Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, **an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. 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LAKEVIEW — Developers are proposing a five-story apartment complex that would bring 92 apartments to the former Torstenson Glass site in Lakeview, a property that housed the family-run glass business for more than a century. The plan, called Sheffield Apartments, would redevelop 3233-47 N. Sheffield Ave., just steps from the Belmont Red, Brown and Purple Line station. The project is being led by Northpark Ventures and SNS Realty Group, which want to replace three low-rise masonry buildings — including the long-running glass warehouse — with a modern, transit-oriented residential development. Torstenson Glass relocated to Morton Grove in late 2024, vacating the property it had occupied since 1910. With that move, one of the neighborhood’s oldest industrial holdouts made way for potential redevelopment in a high-demand area near the CTA. The proposed development includes 41 one-bedroom and 51 two-bedroom apartments, according to plans submitted by the developers. Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th) said the development team has worked with his office to shape a plan that fits within the neighborhood’s character, particularly given its proximity to the Belmont station. “Commercial space is tougher here, especially during train construction, so we’re looking at an all-residential building,” he said. “It’s not out of character for what we’ve seen along the train lines.” The project will be evaluated alongside the 44th Ward community plan, which Lawson’s office is in the process of finalizing. The plan includes guidelines around density, walkability, alley treatment and design standards for major developments. “We’re glad we have that plan to guide us moving forward,” Lawson said. “It’s important for big properties like this to have thoughtful design and something that’s not just monolithic or a blank wall along the street.” Rendering of the proposed Sheffield Apartments at 3233–47 N. Sheffield Ave. Credit: Northpark Ventures, SNS Realty Group The plans for Sheffield Apartments call for a nearly 100,000-square-foot building with 25 car parking spaces and 80 indoor bike parking spaces, along with a loading zone and shared rooftop deck. Renderings show a masonry and porcelain-panel façade with recessed balconies and private terraces at ground level. To move forward, the development team is requesting a zoning change that would allow for more residential density and less commercial space. “We reached out to the local Chamber of Commerce to get their feedback on that,” Brian Murphy, president of Lakeview East Neighbors, said of the lack of proposed commercial space. “They pointed out there are already a lot of vacant storefronts in the neighborhood. So allowing residential on the ground floor on a case-by-case basis seems appropriate. And in this case, the developer said that’s what makes the numbers work financially.” The building’s first floor would include a fitness center, resident lounge or club room and a lobby area near the main entrance, according to development plans. Murphy said the neighborhood group sees the proposal as a strong example of transit-oriented development. “It provides density along a train line, which is how cities should grow,” he said. “They’re putting in fewer parking spaces … but they’ll have more space for bicycles. Population density near transit is something that helps our community thrive.” The development groups pitched the plans at the Lakeview East Neighbors meeting Tuesday, with the community feedback being “overwhelmingly positive,” Murphy said. “The developer came ready to answer every question and really seemed to have done their homework,” he said. “The only real criticism we heard was about the building’s aesthetic. It’s brown, and some people noted that other buildings on the block use more of a classic Chicago red brick. But that was the only thing people brought up as a negative.” The development would mean the loss of the Torstenson Glass building at 3233 N. Sheffield Ave. that housed the company for more than a century. > I regret to share that one of Lakeview’s oldest businesses, Torstenson Glass has relocated to suburbs after decades (a century+?} on Sheffield. > > Is a huge parcel. Had been waiting for them to move to modern space & cash out for years tbh. Wish them well. https://t.co/kcJ3oz1QNK pic.twitter.com/9oT8Uw0xjO > > — Chicago Bars (@chicagobars) January 27, 2025 Founded in 1889 by Elmer Torstenson, the business moved to Sheffield Avenue in 1910 and stayed for 114 years, becoming a fixture in Lakeview. For four generations, the Studt family ran the company and helped establish its reputation as one of the city’s most dependable suppliers, according to the company’s website. In December 2024, the company announced it would move to an upgraded facility in Morton Grove to improve operations and expand its capabilities. “Despite us having a new location, logo and website, the extensive products and services we provide will continue to be a part of the success we have had for the previous 135 years,” sales manager Tim Warren wrote in a farewell message. * * * **Support Local News!** **Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, **an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Already subscribe? **Click here to gift a subscription** , or you can**support Block Club with atax-deductible donation.** **Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:** Listen OnApple PodcastsListen OnGoogle PodcastsListen OnSpotify Will Chicago Close More Streets And Create More Pedestrian Malls? Episode play icon Will Chicago Close More Streets And Create More Pedestrian Malls? 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