231 N Milwaukee AveWheeling, IL 60090
Freestanding storefront with a residence above, plus its side lot — two parcels, 12,596 SF, 100 feet on Milwaukee Avenue (US 45). $480,000.
A storefront, a finished second floor, and 100 feet of US 45
231 N Milwaukee Ave is a 1,648 SF two-story freestanding mixed-use building offered at $480,000 together with its adjoining side lot — two parcels totaling 12,596 SF (0.29 acre) with 100 feet of frontage on Milwaukee Avenue, where the Illinois Department of Transportation counted 24,300 vehicles a day in 2025. Cook County carries the building as Class 2-12, mixed-use commercial/residential: a storefront first floor with finished living space above, on a lot that is nearly eight times the building's footprint.
At this size an owner-user is usually choosing between an inline bay with no identity and a freestanding building at several times the price. This is the middle: a vacant, freestanding US 45 storefront with signage on both street-facing bays, finished living quarters upstairs with their own entrance, a paved parking lot and a detached garage on a 0.29-acre site — in one purchase, at a price the block has already supported. A mixed-use sale on this block, two doors south at 199 N Milwaukee, closed at $480,000 in September 2022 (Cook County Recorder); Jason Bitton represented the seller.
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Property highlights
Vacant and available for immediate occupancy. The first floor is set up as a storefront: two front rooms with large street-facing display windows fitted with merchandise grids, track lighting, an entry vestibule with exit signage and alarm keypad, a middle room with wood-look plank flooring, a kitchen area with sink, and a half bath. The second floor is finished as living quarters — an open main room, a second room facing Milwaukee Avenue, a full bath with tub and shower, a utility room with built-in shelving, and a door to the balcony over the entry, which has its own exterior stair down to the parking lot. Central air conditioning (condensing unit at the rear), boiler heat, partial basement, and a detached garage at the rear of the paved lot. Buyer to verify all systems.
First floor — storefront
Two display-window rooms facing Milwaukee Avenue, entry vestibule with exit signage and alarm keypad, a middle room with plank flooring, a kitchen area with sink and rear exit, and a half bath.
Second floor — residence
Open main room with laminate flooring, a second room with a window over Milwaukee Avenue, a full bath with tub and shower, a utility room with built-in shelving, and a door to the second-floor balcony with its own exterior stair to the parking lot — a private entrance for the upstairs.
Site
Two parcels sold together: the building lot and the side lot to the north, a paved asphalt parking lot with a detached garage at the rear. Central air conditioning, boiler heat, partial basement. Buyer to verify all systems.
What it costs to own
Asking price against the building, the land and the public record. Every figure is drawn from the Cook County Assessor and Cook County GIS or is seller-provided; buyer to verify in due diligence.
| Line Item | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Asking Price | $480,000 | Both parcels |
| Price per SF (building) | $291 | 1,648 SF, Cook County Assessor |
| Price per SF (land) | $38 | 12,596 SF across two parcels |
| Land | 12,596 SF (0.29 AC) | 100' x ~129' for both parcels together, Cook County GIS |
| Assessor estimated market value (2025) | $306,990 | $290,000 building parcel + $16,990 side lot |
| Assessed value (2025) | $30,699 | Class 2-12 mixed-use (10% level) + Class 2-90 |
| Tax code | 38055 | Composite rate 11.902% (Cook County Clerk) |
Real estate taxes: buyer to verify with the Cook County Treasurer. The building parcel was reassessed in 2025 (assessed value $22,000 to $29,000), which applies to the bill payable in 2026. Cook County assesses Class 2-12 mixed-use buildings at the 10% residential level rather than the 25% commercial level.
Ways to own it
Owner-user storefront
Vacant and ready: run the business downstairs on a US 45 address with your own signage and paved parking; the second floor is finished living space with its own entrance (buyer to verify residential occupancy with the Village of Wheeling).
Medical or professional office
Medical office (dental, chiropractic), general office and business service are permitted by right in B-3 — no special-use hearing — with 100 senior apartments across the street.
Land and frontage
12,596 SF on two parcels with 100 feet of Milwaukee Avenue frontage, next to the Milwaukee/Lake-Cook corridor. The building carries the site today; the lot carries the long-term value.
Investor — two income streams
A commercial tenant below and a residential tenant above on one deed (subject to Village verification of residential occupancy); a mixed-use sale on this block closed at this price in 2022. Buyer to verify permitted occupancy and rents.
Ideal uses under B-3 General Commercial and Office
Well suited to a range of uses under B-3 General Commercial and Office zoning — confirm your specific use and parking with the municipality.
Check any address against the village code with the Commercial Zoning Lookup →
What can open here
Zoned B-3 General Commercial and Office District in Wheeling. What the Wheeling zoning code allows in this district, checked October 2026:
Allowed by right
With Village approval
Each type matches at least one use the code lists for B-3. A business not shown may still fit under another name; confirm your specific use with the municipality.
See all 78 uses listed for this district in the Zoning Lookup →
Location & surroundings
Directly across Milwaukee Avenue is Wheeling Tower, an eight-story, 100-apartment senior residence, next to the Wheeling Senior Center; the Greek American Rehabilitation & Care Centre sits behind the block. Within a quarter mile: Benihana, Scooter's Coffee, the Russian School of Mathematics, Walgreens, Fresh Farms International Market, Chase, and the McDonald's, Panda Express, Popeyes, KFC, Taco Bell, Dunkin' and Jimmy John's cluster at Dundee Road. Bob Chinn's Crab House and Wheeling's Restaurant Row are under a mile south.
Wheeling Town Center — 301 apartments and 100,000 SF of retail, dining and entertainment — is one mile west, with Uptown 500 (321 apartments) rising beside it. The Wheeling Metra station (North Central Service) is 1.8 miles, Chicago Executive Airport 2.3 miles, I-294 at Lake Cook Road 3.9 miles, and downtown Chicago about 24 miles. A Pace stop for Routes 272 (Milwaukee Avenue) and 234 (Buffalo Grove Metra to Des Plaines Metra) is at the property. Wheeling has 38,433 residents in 15,171 households with a median household income of $85,205 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024) and 23,063 jobs inside the village (LEHD LODES 2023).
What’s around it
| Address | Distance | Building | Lot | Built |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1199 N Milwaukee Ave | <0.1 mi | 2,744 SF | 0.17 ac | 1929 |
| 2310 N Milwaukee Ave | 0.1 mi | 802 SF | 0.34 ac | 1997 |
| 3322 N Milwaukee Ave | 0.1 mi | 3,125 SF | 0.31 ac | 1926 |
| 4342 N Milwaukee Ave | 0.1 mi | 2,099 SF | 0.33 ac | 1926 |
| 5176 E Dundee Rd | 0.3 mi | 1,992 SF | 0.20 ac | 1922 |
| 6213 E Dundee Rd | 0.3 mi | 2,618 SF | 0.65 ac | 2022 |
Built by Jason Bitton RE/MAX Commercial from public property records, then cleaned, classified and checked; records as of September 30, 2026. Distances are straight-line from this property. Not an appraisal or an opinion of value; records can be wrong or out of date.
Own one of these? Get a confidential opinion of value →Buyer questions
What is the zoning at 231 N Milwaukee Ave, Wheeling?+
B-3 General Commercial and Office District, Village of Wheeling (2026 Zoning Map adopted March 2, 2026). Retail up to 20,000 SF, restaurant, personal service, medical office, general office, business service, artist studio, laundromat and secondhand store are permitted by right; 59 more uses, including bank, health clinic, health club, day care, animal hospital, tavern and drive-through, are special uses. No dwelling use appears in the B-3 use table, so buyer to verify residential occupancy of the second floor, and every intended use, with the Village of Wheeling.
How much land comes with the building?+
Two parcels sold together: PIN 03-02-405-004 (the building) and PIN 03-02-405-003 (the side lot to the north), 6,298 SF each per the Cook County Assessor — 12,596 SF or 0.29 acre — with 100 feet of frontage on Milwaukee Avenue and a depth of about 129 feet (Cook County GIS).
What is the traffic count on Milwaukee Avenue at the property?+
Milwaukee Avenue (US 45 / IL 21) carries 24,300 vehicles per day at the property, including about 1,075 heavy commercial vehicles (Illinois Department of Transportation, 2025 average annual daily traffic). Dundee Road, a quarter mile south, carries 23,200 to 24,500.
What are the real estate taxes?+
Buyer to verify with the Cook County Treasurer. The public record: the building parcel is Class 2-12 (mixed-use, assessed at the 10% residential level) with a 2025 assessed value of $29,000, the side lot is Class 2-90 with a 2025 assessed value of $1,699, and the tax code is 38055 with a composite rate of 11.902%. The 2025 reassessment applies to the bill payable in 2026.
Is the property in a FEMA flood hazard area or a TIF district?+
Neither, per the county layers. Cook County parcel data (2024) shows the building parcel outside any FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (the side lot carries no flag either way; buyer to confirm with a FEMA map determination), and the Cook County 2025 TIF layer shows no TIF at the site; the Village's Milwaukee/Lake-Cook TIF begins at the parcel line to the north.
Is the building vacant?+
Yes. The property is vacant and available for immediate occupancy at closing; no lease survives the sale.
Is there a video walkthrough?+
Yes — Jason Bitton's walkthrough of both floors is on this page and at https://youtu.be/-z79Qmun54E.
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