Last week, the City's Zoning Committee approved our request for a zoning change to reduce parking requirements for our brewery. We've had a couple community meetings about this, and almost everyone in attendance was in favor, so there wasn't much controversy. All the same, this is just one of the many bureaucratic hoops we need to jump through on our way to opening.
Rehabbing and old building that covers the entire lot we had to make the choice between making space for fermentation tanks or cars, which was easy for me to make. Milwaukee Ave. has lots of metered street parking, and I hope most folks walk or take public transport, especially if they're drinking. The proximity to CTA service (El stop and three bus lines within a block) were major factors in choosing this location.
Next hoop to jump through: getting a building permit. It only takes 4-5 weeks to get an appointment with the Dept. of Buildings to apply and submit plans. When the plans are approved is anyones guess. I think we'll be lucky if we get through the process in another 3 months. Gotta love Chicago.