As a result, developer Joseph DiCosola is expected to get permission from the city council to build nine buildings of six condominium units each on a 1.6-acre site at 2124-2200 N. Natchez Ave. The condominiums, all two-bedroom, two-bath units, will be priced around $230,000, DiCosola tells GlobeSt.com. He hopes to begin construction on the $12-million project next spring with the first deliveries expected in early 2005. Six of the units will be accessible to handicapped persons, according to DiCosola's application.

The land, which was sold in December for $1.576 million, is surrounded on three sides by industrial users, including the Illinois Gear Co. However, single-family homes are across Natchez Street. That made DiCosola's plan a nice buffer between the industrial users and single-family homes, according to department of planning and development officials.

"We worked very carefully with the applicant and we feel comfortable with it," says planning and development commissioner Alicia Berg.

Attorney James J. Banks says environmental testing has been done and the site has been deemed clean.