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Uptown,
Chicago's Affordable Housing Struggle continues....
A New
York Times article that, despite its pro-gentrification spin, illustrates
the fact that our neighborhood is under assault by developers and their
"condos." How did the February 2 March
go? The February 5, 2002, CDC hearing at Chicago's
City Hall is over -- and we lost this round.
A Short
History of JPUSA in Uptown (here's an in-depth
version.....)
The struggle
for affordable housing in Uptown is one that Jesus People USA has been
involved in for nearly twenty years. We started simply by offering our
homeless neighbors shelter and food, but soon discovered that we'd made
powerful enemies by these simple acts. In the mid-80s, we found ourselves
in the middle of a neighborhood gentrification battle; apartment buildings
had been quietly purchased, then the residents either evicted or "priced
out." An attempt at the Yuppification of Uptown was underway....
We were
-- and still are by some -- accused of bringing 'undesirables' into
Uptown through our social services; CCO shelter, Sylvia Center, our
Dinner Guest program, and so forth. In reality, this is laughable. We
bring no-one here; they are here already. What is clear is that there
is a screaming need for more affordable housing in Uptown. The majority
of Uptown's citizens have a vision for a neighborhood that is affordable
for all its citizens.
In a referendum
just a few years ago, over SEVENTY-FIVE percent of Uptown voters supported
an 'affordable housing referendum' for more housing for poor and working
class citizens. That's over three to one odds, a landslide. Yet those
developers interested in co-opting our neighborhood for their own purposes
ignore these clear findings.
Uptown
is a wonderful place, a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural melting pot of
black, hispanic, asian, white, and many other races, religions, and
ethnic groups. Yet in the past few years, there has been a radical increase
in the number of urban white professionals and a decrease, percentage
wise, among both minorities and families. This is deeply troubling to
us, and directly traceable to the attempt by developers to 'flip' Uptown
into a yuppie ghetto.
We believe
that Jesus confronted the sins of both rich and poor. Yet it is also
evident that his harshest warnings were to the rich, and that his own
life reflected an identification with poverty and even homelessness
("The son of man has nowhere to lay his head"). Thus, we will
continue to identify with the poor of our neighborhood and a vision
which keeps their interests at the center of things.
EVENTS CALENDAR
How
the February 2 March went:
Ring
Around Goldblatt's
Saturday February 2, 2002
NOON
The noon,
Feb 2 march organized by COURAJ was a resounding success! Sorry we didn't
have a digital camera, but the turn-out was fantastic (somewhere between
100 and 200 people) despite freezing, windy weather. Folks from the
widest variety of organizations, COURAJ, the Uptown Greens party, Queer
to the Left, Jesus People USA, and many others, went to the microphone
in support of using the $5 million for low-income housing instead of
the currently-planned condos plus a Borders bookstore. After the speeches
(we nearly froze!) we got to march around Goldblatts a few times, which
felt pretty good, and chanted slogans. All in all, a fun, meaningful,
and very chilly time!
Jon Trott's
speech at the march:
We are born to struggle.
We struggle against what others say we are, their defining of us as
worthless because we are poor. We struggle against the violence that
is married to poverty, and against the despair that homelessness brings.
We struggle against hating - with a bitter, despairing hatred - the
wealthy neighbors we are commanded by God to love. How, we wonder,
when they show so little concern for us and in fact hate us by their
actions? Yet we will love them, will love them by telling them the
truth and by not allowing them to do what their own worst instincts
lead them to do. This is how we liberate ourselves and our wealthy
neighbors. They say, "Let us take this TIF money -- more money
than the money we already have -- and let us create more housing for
those like us…. Those who can afford expensive condominiums."
We say, "No, this is not going to happen. We, too, are human
beings. And this is where we will live."
We are not defined by what
we do, but by who we are. We are children of the most High God, made
in his image, female and male. We do not need to earn dignity; it
belongs to us as a birthright. The poorest among us; that's how Jesus
came. And we stand with Jesus today in saying NO to the developers
who would use our tax monies to build their own empire. This money
ought to belong to the poor, to working mothers with children who
have nowhere to lay their heads. To a young Hispanic father, struggling
to make ends meet for his family. To the young African-American male,
targeted as a gang-banger by his new yuppie neighbors.
It is morally right for
this money to go to further low-income housing in Uptown. It is a
moral evil for it to be used as the developers of this Goldblatts'
project wish it to be used. This is virtually the first time these
TIF funds will be used; are we to understand that right from the beginning
the TIF is going to favor the rich? We aren't surprised by this -
the love of money being the root of all sorts of evil - but we aren't
going to let it happen.
Build us housing for those
who need it, who - in a three to one margin just a few years ago --
demanded via referendum that more affordable housing be constructed
or created in Uptown.
And to those supporting
this Goldblatts' idea: We are your neighbors. You are our neighbors.
You have money already, housing, and security. We struggle, as we
have always struggled, to have these things. We must obey Jesus' command
to love our neighbor, and we love you by telling you this: You are
in moral danger by disregarding the least of us among you. And we
will not be moved from our commitment, our vision, and our love for
one another.
FEB 5 - How
the rally went:
by Jon Trott
Our journey
downtown to City Hall to testify against the Goldblatts development
plan was spirited and drew considerable media coverage. Unfortunately,
but not unexpectedly, the plan passed despite the many voices raised
against it. Various ones, myself included, spoke for the media before
entering the hearing room. Here's what I said, a slight variant on the
Feb 2 speech:
What defines a community;
its buildings or its people? Today, a five million dollar referendum
will be taken on that question. I am here representing not only my
own church community of Jesus People USA but also those we minister
to through our many outreaches. Just a few years ago, in a referendum
on affordable housing, a massive 75% majority of Uptown voters said
affordable housing was more desperately needed than ever. Today, a
multi-racial, multi-ethnic community is showing signs of being eroded
by the relentless gentrification drive we've endured for decades.
Recent statistics show a drop in families, a drop in minorities, and
growth among young single urban professionals, that preferred clientele
of gentrifiers.
The issue today is TIF
money. Where it should go. And I am amazed at the idea that such a
terrible precedent would be set; taking five million dollars of our
TIF money and pouring it into the pockets of those building condos
and massive bookstores. This TIF money is a sacred trust, one of the
very few remaining ways to generate low-income and affordable housing
stock. Will this city rubber stamp a plan that will, instead of using
the money to help the poorest among us, offer yet more to the wealthy?
Who is my neighbor? She
is the single mother, struggling to raise her children as decent human
beings while holding down a job that will pay for food and increased
rent. He or she is the gay person with AIDS, unable to find a place
to live. They are the young Hispanic family, welcome in many places
in Chicago but finding it next to impossible to live in Uptown. He
is the young African American male, labeled a gang-banger by his new
yuppie neighbors if he dare relax on the sidewalk outside his own
apartment.
What defines a community?
Its buildings or its people? I live in Uptown, and the answer to that
question is in every human face I see there.... and in the human faces
I see here representing Uptown.
Thank you.
As far as what others
and I said before the city's zoning board, our message was clear; Uptown
needs more affordable housing. The TIF dollars in the Goldblatts plan
are, in a 5 to 1 ratio, going into the pockets of wealthy developers
and (in the case of the Borders bookstore) multinational corporations.
In addition, this is the first large expenditure from the two major
TIFs in our area, and the precedent it is setting is highly alarming.
Are the TIFs to be used to further "flip" the Uptown area
into Yuptown? It remains to be seen. Meanwhile, our eyes will be on
the Southern TIF, the "Wilson Yards" area on Montrose, where
many of us hope to see major gains for low-income and moderate income
families' housing. We will keep you posted....
Meanwhile, what others
are saying:
A group called "Queer
to the Left" (yes, they are LGBT -- lesbians, gays, bisexuals,
transgendered) also opposes the Goldblatts' deal, on much the same grounds
Jesus People USA does. This provides observers with the somewhat fascinating
scenario of a church/community who believes homosexuality is outside
God's plan for humankind (i.e., sinful) working with a group radically
committed to homosexuality as an identity/way of life. We at JPUSA aren't
unaware of the complexities in such a relationship, but rejoice that
we can call the folks in Queer to the Left our neighbors. Undoubtedly,
they are puzzled at times by our views regarding homosexuality, but
we pray we can be what we ought to be in Christ to them and others in
a homosexual lifestyle.... That said, here is a letter from Queer to
the Left sent to the Windy City Times (a gay Chicago newspaper) Dec.
19, 2001:
LETTERS
Uptown development
While residents of public housing are told by city officials that
they must now find housing on their own, and while People With AIDS
are told by the state that they must now buy necessary prescription
drugs on their own, there are people in our community, and elected
officials who will be seeking our votes in the near future, who say
that a developer of expensive condos, as well as a profitable national
bookstore chain, ought to get $6 million in city subsidies. That is
obscene.
A private developer wants to remodel the old Goldblatt's Department
Store at Broadway and Lawrence into a Border's bookstore, with expensive
condos perched atop. Why should he get public money? Why does a national
bookstore chain need public money? Why do people earning way above
the city's median income need public money?
We do not oppose the redevelopment of the Goldblatt's building. What
we oppose is redevelopment that drives out longtime residents and
locally owned businesses with track records of commitment to our community.
We agree that there should be retail activity on the street level
and housing atop at the Goldblatt's site. We simply do not believe
city money should subsidize a chain bookstore (with two underperforming
stores in the chain just to the north and south) when it threatens
nearby, longstanding independent bookstores that have served our community
for decades. And we do not think the city should build subsidized
housing for the well-off, particularly when the greatest need in Uptown
is for low-cost family housing.
The City Council will soon be voting on these questions. They are
not voting to give permission for a developer to build a Border's
bookstore and expensive condos. The city is not preventing him from
doing so. They will be voting on whether he should be able to feed
at the public trough.
The Chicago
Tribune's coverage:
Uptown condo
plan wins panel's support
By Gary Washburn
Tribune staff reporter
Published February 6, 2002
In a classic confrontation
between proponents of upscale real estate development and the forces
of low-cost housing, the Community Development Commission on Tuesday
threw its support behind the proposed conversion of an old and vacant
Goldblatt's Department Store in Uptown into condominiums and modern
retail space anchored by a Borders bookstore.
The commission voted to recommend
approval of a $5.75 million city subsidy to Joseph Freed and Associates,
developer of the proposed $24.4 million project in the 4700 block of
North Broadway.
Freed, in turn, would funnel another $1.25 million in city assistance
to a not-for-profit developer that plans a $12.4 million rehabilitation
of a neighboring six-story residential building at 1201 W. Leland Ave.
with 99 single-room occupancy units and 34 studios for low-income tenants.
That project also received the commission's approval.
Both developments enjoy the
support of some neighborhood leaders and two local aldermen, Mary Ann
Smith (48th) and Helen Shiller (46th). But Uptown area activists, who
held a news conference before lodging loud protests during the meeting,
said that the Goldblatt's project will help fuel re-gentrification.
They also contended that public subsidies should not be used for fashionable
developments that fail to meet housing needs of the poor.
Of 37 planned condominiums,
29 would be priced from about $160,000 to $300,000. But officials stressed
that the remaining eight would be sold to moderate-income purchasers
who, with city grants, would pay $100,000.
Inclusion of the lower cost
units was "a clear response to community concerns," said Planning
Commissioner Alicia Berg. "We feel this is a great balance between
market rate and affordable housing, between preservation and building
re-use."
Freed and Associates is buying
the Goldblatt's property, which has been vacant for about four years,
from Louis Wolf.
Both projects still must
win City Council approval.
-end
*******************
Here's an example of media coverage (August 2001, New York Times)
that got only part of the story, namely, the part of the story that
supports turning Uptown into a mostly white, mostly young urban professional,
neighborhood. Uptown currently is an incredibly diverse neighborhood
with an incredibly diverse population, but all that is currently being
threatened....
Comeback for Rundown Area of Chicago
By JILL SCHACHNER CHANEN
New York Times
CHICAGO -- For years, the chance of the historic, but rundown, Uptown
neighborhood receiving substantial investment seemed about as remote
as the odds of the Cubs making it to the World Series.
But lately, the Cubs have been leading their division, and with construction
of several new mixed-use projects and plans to promote more development
by diverting portions of property taxes into the neighborhood, Uptown,
a highly diverse community, has become a rapidly redeveloping neighborhood.
While Uptown has had a fair amount of investment in the form of condominium
conversions over the last decade, that investment has occurred in pockets
off arterial roadways. But the new mixed-use projects are in the heart
of Uptown, along Broadway Avenue and Sheridan Road, its two main thoroughfares.
Situated on the north side of Chicago along the city's lakefront, Uptown
always seemed primed for reinvestment. The neighborhood is less than
five miles from the Loop and is sandwiched between the highly developed
communities of Lakeview and Edgewater.
Despite its desirable location, available vacant land and housing stock,
developers assiduously avoided the area. The community's ethnically
and economically diverse population, high crime rates and poor infrastructure
led to the belief over the years that the neighborhood would not support
market-rate residences or retail businesses.
Mary Ann Smith, a Chicago alderwoman whose ward includes a portion of
Uptown, said the area looked "bombed out" when she first took
office 12 years ago. Amid litter-strewn vacant lots and deteriorating
buildings, "the infrastructure had literally collapsed," she
said. "The streets had disintegrated. The sidewalks
had crumpled."
A plan to freeze property tax rates through a municipal financing tool
known as tax increment financing is expected to help rebuild infrastructure
as well as lure developers to the neighborhood.
Under the plan, properties in designated areas of Uptown will have their
tax rates frozen at a set rate for 23 years. While property owners will
still pay taxes, any increase in the taxes in the area during that time
period will be diverted by the city for use within the district.
The alderwoman said Uptown's history contributed to its image as a neighborhood
that could not support new investment.
Although Uptown has numerous architecturally significant buildings that
date back to the turn of the 20th century, the area was better known
during the 1920's as an entertainment district, with three large theaters,
movie production facilities ? including one in which Charlie Chaplin
made some of his first pictures ? and music clubs. Most of the entertainers
lived together in large apartment buildings, creating an ethnically
and racially mixed community unlike anything else in the city. The neighborhood
also had one of the city's toniest shopping districts of its time along
Wilson Avenue, one of its main streets.
But Uptown began to deteriorate after World War II, when many of its
affluent residents fled to the suburbs. Later, Alderwoman Smith said,
the neighborhood became a dumping ground for patients of many mental
institutions when the state and federal governments cut financing. Redlining,
she said, damped any attempts to revive the neighborhood in the early
80's.
Despite its problems, Uptown has continued to be home to some of the
city's most thriving entertainment venues, including the Green Mill
jazz club and the Riviera Theater and the Aragon Ballroom, theaters
that support a steady stream of rock, alternative and hip hop performers.
"The theaters can bring 8,000 people a night to the area, but there
are no small businesses to support that crowd," said Mimi Slogar,
executive director of the Uptown Community Development Corporation.
The municipal financing programs, worth more than $90 million, are intended
to help change all that.
One part of Uptown where the tax relief will occur is a national historic
area around the intersection of Broadway and Lawrence Avenues in the
center of Uptown. The area was designated last November because of its
history as a retail, transportation and entertainment center. The program
will provide financing
opportunities for entertainment-related uses that preserve historic
buildings, Ms. Smith said.
The second district in the neighborhood covers a five-acre parcel of
now-vacant land known as Wilson Yards, a one-time train maintenance
site for the Chicago Transit Authority that burned down five years ago.
The city wants to encourage retail and commercial development along
the southern end of Broadway in Uptown, the Wilson Yards area, through
the property tax financing tool, said
Helen Shiller, a Chicago alderwoman whose ward includes the southern
half of Uptown.
Victor Cypher, principal of Vicor Development, believes the financing
program will help to spur so much development that Uptown will be a
significantly different community within three years. He currently has
two mixed-use projects under way.
One of them, a historic terra-cotta clad building on Broadway that until
recently housed a discount furniture store, is to be renovated into
an office building with a ground-floor restaurant and night club. Mr.
Cypher plans to replace the now bricked-up windows with replicas of
the kind used when the building was
constructed in 1920. He says he has a commitment to lease the ground
floor to a restaurant operator in Chicago and a letter of intent to
lease two floors of the office building to a multicultural center that
will provide services to the community's large immigrant population.
Mr. Cypher's other project will cater to the burgeoning residential
market in Uptown with the construction of a 70-unit condominium apartment
building called the Alexa. A health food store plans to lease 15,000
square feet on the ground floor for an upscale grocery store with a
restaurant.
The apartments are being marketed as an "adult community"
and will offer amenities including housekeeping and wellness services.
Prices range from $189,000 for a 900- square foot one-bedroom apartment
to $400,000 for an 1,800-square foot three-bedroom apartment. Mr. Cypher
said he has sold 24 of the apartments since March. Construction is to
start next month and be completed by next July. Most of the buyers are
from the neighborhood, looking for
newer housing with better amenities.
Down the street from Mr. Cypher's office project, Joseph Freed &
Associates, a retail and residential developer based in suburban Wheeling,
has plans to turn a prominent building on Broadway into a mixed-use
residential and retail project. The building formerly housed the Uptown
branch of the now-defunct Goldblatt's department store.
The Freed company, which has a contract to purchase the property, plans
to lease most of the ground floor to a national bookstore chain and
create residences on the upper floors. The company plans to have the
building ready for occupancy by late 2002.
Another planned mixed-use project is on a blighted corner of Broadway
and Montrose Avenues. Called Buena Pointe, the 11-story building will
have 96 apartments and 8,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space.
Construction is to begin this fall.
The development offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and two
floors of penthouse duplex apartments ranging in price from $187,000
for an 890-square-foot apartment with one bedroom and one and a half
bathrooms to $675,000 for a duplex three-bedroom three-bathroom penthouse,
said William Lockhart of NE Development, the developer. Mr. Lockhart
has found buyers for 18 units after only a month of marketing the project.
He has interest from a bank
for part of the retail space.
The buyers have been young single professionals, many of whom are first-time
home buyers, said Scott Kruger, a broker with Koenig & Strey GMAC
in Chicago who is marketing Buena Pointe.
Mr. Kruger said prices for newly constructed apartments in Uptown were
approximately $200 a square foot, while buyers in more developed neighborhoods
like Lincoln Park or Lakeview are paying upward of $275 a square foot.
Other links
on Uptown:
Jazz
Age Chicago's Uptown history
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