Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined representatives from Clark Street Real Estate and other VIPs on a balmy January day on the Northwest Side to break ground on Retail at the Fields, across the street from Merit Partners' The Fields.

When it's completed later this year, Clark Street and its partners, Merit Partners and Shiner Capital Partners, will deliver 50k SF of new retail to serve residents in Logan Square, Avondale, Hermosa and Belmont Cragin. Ross Dress for Less has already pre-leased space.

Clark Street Real Estate principal Peter Eisenberg told Bisnow after the groundbreaking that Merit Partners' success repositioning The Fields, which is home to Cermak Fresh Markets' 70k SF Chicago flagship store, highlighted the need for more retail in the area. Retail at the Fields is being built on a three-acre site that used to be a parking lot for the former Marshall Fields warehouse at Diversey Avenue and Pulaski Road.

Eisenberg said Retail at the Fields is only the beginning of Clark Street's activity in Avondale. The firm is under contract to buy nearby parcels so it can build more retail developments.