Your Neighborhood Is Getting a Glow-Up: Palmer Square's Historic Homes and the Development Wave Coming to Your Doorstep
By Socialhood News · Il/Chicago/Palmer Square ·
Palmer Square neighbors, your corner of the Northwest Side is in the middle of a genuine renaissance — and the proof is in the bricks and mortar going up all around you. Via Chicago Architects, a local firm with a studio just blocks from the square, purchased a neglected two-flat right in the neighborhood in early 2025 and is now deep into a creative historic renovation dubbed Palmer+. The project carefully restores the building's original character while converting its interior into a new duplex unit and reintroducing a garden apartment with its own private entry — a deliberate pushback against the wave of two-flats being gutted into oversized single-family homes. Completion is expected in 2026, making it one of the most architecturally thoughtful housing additions Palmer Square has seen in years.
And the good news doesn't stop there. Just up Milwaukee Avenue, the long-vacant CVS building at 2053 N. Milwaukee Ave. is officially becoming a Trader Joe's — a development confirmed by Alderman Daniel La Spata (1st Ward) in February 2026 and long at the top of neighbors' wish lists. Meanwhile, the broader Logan Square corridor is seeing a full building permit issued for a six-story, 50-unit development at 2240 N. Milwaukee, and the long-awaited Hollander Building redevelopment at 2938 W. Fullerton is now under renovation permit with new ownership at the helm.
Taken together, these projects signal a neighborhood investing seriously in its own future — preserving the architectural soul that makes Palmer Square beautiful while carefully layering in the housing and retail neighbors have been asking for. Stay tuned to chicagocityscape.com and blockclubchicago.org for the latest development updates, and keep your eyes on those storefronts, Palmer Square — your neighborhood is building something great.
Sources:
1. http://www.viachicagoarchitects.com/project-palmer-plus
2. https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/02/24/trader-joes-opening-new-store-in-logan-square/
3. https://chicago.urbanize.city/neighborhood/logan-square
4. https://comfortmovingchicago.com/we-love-chicago/2026-logan-square-development-update.html