Deconverting attic unit weighing options

[Jane Mun]

I have a property that has 3 units currently no basement its an older building in chicago. The property is zoned for 4 units.

The city is asking to deconvert the attic unit that has 1 bathroom and kitchenette and is about the same size and height as the unit below ( dormers were added).  Second egress/exit was not done correctly its not in use it needs to be taken down and redone if I want to legalize it.  I was about to start the process to get a retroactive permit but realized the additional cost of a new exterior stairwell (metal) and architecture fees is almost 30k

Im starting to weigh the options of either full tear down with a new 4 unit construction or separate building in the front of property (current is set back thus the extra costs to permit)  or adding a 2 story 2 unit addition connecting to the old property

sorry this post has become 2 ideas i need advice on

if it deconvert can i use it as an inlaw suite with 2nd floor unit or a duplex up.  What can i keep (id ideally like to keep the bathroom and electrical) a enclosed stairwell/ porch connects them would I need an additional stairwell to be built?

Or should I just scratch the idea and pay the 30k to legalize it. Note It is an old brick  building with old school foundation that had a few inches flooding on the 1st level recently that needs to be repaired thats why I'm weighing all my options.

All advice welcome thx

[Samuel Pavlovcik]

@Jonathan Klemm thanks for the mention

@Jane Mun this is definitely a unique type of case in terms of compliance with the Building and Zoning Departments. Based on your description, it sounds like you have an existing Coach House property (located at therear of the lot) which is Legally a 2-Unit building but at some point was converted to a 3-Unit building.

First and foremost I wanted to clarify that RT-4 does not mean your property is "Zoned for 4 units". RT-4 means is a residential zoning district that allows for a density of 1 residential unit per 1,000 sq.ft. of lot area. With a standard chicago lot being 25'x125' = 3,125 sq.ft. you would only be permitted to have 3 residential units "By Right" (3,125/1000 = 3.125 = 3 units). In general, you would need to have a lot size of 4,000 sq.ft. or more in the RT-4 district to be permitted to have 4 Units.
In regards to the Attic level unit. If the existing coach house is only 2 units, then yes technially you could obtain a building permit o legalize the unit. You could also obtain a building permit to convert this to a "Duplex-Up" condition. Each would have their own concerns/standards to work with, but the means of egress would be a concern regardless (a bit more leniency if it is a duplex-up). All of that being said, in the eyes of the City, if they do not have any record of work ever being done to finish the attic space then regardless of if you make it separate unit or a Duplex, you would need to obtain a building permit and bring all work completed upo to "Current Code Compliance". This means that you may need to open up walls to expoise plumbing, electrical, hvac, etc. in order to show what was done, and if the work completed is Not up to current code standards, the work would need to be replaced.

Work within any coach houses can still be a difficult process to manage with the City, but they are getting better with updates to the zoning ordinances. It sounds like the other additional issies related to the existing structure would also require some significant work for remediation, so there is definitely more to be analized in terms of the existing structure.

In regards to wrecking the existing structure and building new, that would definitely be the easiest thing in terms of a Code Compliance perspective; however, I assume the financial portion of a project of that scale would be significantly more than any renovation work you want to do the existing structure.

In terms of trying to add a 2-story addition onto the existing coach house structure(or any type of addition), this would Not be permitted without obtaining significant Zoning Variations (which have no guarantee of approval). Additionally, you would not be permitted to add additional units to the existing coach house structure with an addition (again in terms of Zoning).

The full details are a bit unclear without the actual property address and plat of Survey, but you can feel free to reach out to me directly if you would like some assistance in further analyzing yoir specific property. In general there definitely sounds like there would be some difficult components of trying to do any type of expansion for the existing coach house and again, RT-4 does not mean you are permitted to have 4 Units (unless you have a 4000 sq.ft. lot or larger).