Residents of the Six Corners area near Chicago’s Portage Park are celebrating the grand opening Sunday of a new Target outlet. The retailer at 4728 W. Irving Park Road, one block north of a new Aldi grocery store, is another sign the neighborhood is finally making a comeback after years of stalled development plans.
“There’s a lot going on, and everyone is super excited since it’s been a long time coming,” said Amie Zander, managing director of Six Corners Association, a neighborhood group.
The 2016 demolition of a historic bank building at the intersection of Cicero and Milwaukee avenues and Irving Park Road left a gaping hole in the once-vibrant business district, and original plans to replace it with 100,000 square feet of retail fell through. The 2018 shutdown of the nearby Sears department store, Chicago’s last, made conditions worse.
But in 2021, developer Ryan Cos. began filling the empty space at 4747 W. Irving Park with Clarendale Six Corners, a $130 million, 10-story senior housing building, completing it in 2022. The new Aldi opened in early March just to the south at 3930 N. Kilpatrick Ave.
The 44,000-square-foot Target is on the ground floor of the former Sears store, built in 1938, which Novak Construction Co. just finished transforming into 6 Corners Lofts, a 206-unit luxury apartment building. A Starbucks, Ulta Beauty and CVS Pharmacy are also on the ground floor.
“I think Target will probably bring in more street activity, but I’m most excited about the Aldi,” said S. Gronkiewicz-Doran of United Northwest Side, a local political organization working to bring more affordable housing to Six Corners. “I think it’s great that people who live in the neighborhood have a place to shop that is affordable.”
Zander said she hopes the new outlets will give local entrepreneurs a boost.
“It’s great to have big-box stores, but we hope people will also visit our small businesses while they’re here.”
