2nd Ward Opposition to Hotel: Déjà vu All Over Again

posted by richard gill

As reported January 4 in ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com, the Unite Here hotel union is working to block construction of a hotel in Chicago’s West Loop area.  It’s a 615-room hotel proposed by Toyoko Inn Co. Ltd.  What a jobs generator this would be, and what a boost to the West Loop area. But Unite Here wants to block it because it says the company plans to subcontract housekeeping work to non-union employers.

Second Ward Alderman Bob Fioretti has been delaying the zoning approval process, although local residents are not opposed. Fioretti must be feeling enormous pressure from Unite Here.  In the 2^nd Ward, the union is trying to pull what they pulled and got away with—in Hyde Park—not too long ago.  The union tried to disrupt a public meeting about a proposed Marriott Hotel. The developer wanted to get the hotel up and running, and employing people. Not good enough for Unite Here. They insisted on an up-front guarantee of a union shop.  The guarantee was not forthcoming, so Unite Here sought to block the whole project.

Neighborhood organizations, the unemployed, the University of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the vast majority of area residents thought the hotel was a great idea for the site of the abandoned Doctors Hospital.  A few people who lived in the 5^th Ward’s 39^th Precinct, where the hotel would be built, opposed it.  One of them stood up in public and said the hotel would host alcohol-soaked events whose drunken attendees would spill into the streets.  He gave as an example…..Bar Mitzvahs.

Seeing that the neighborhood was strongly in favor of the hotel, someone in the precinct or the union found a hook: vote the precinct dry.  Only the precinct residents needed to vote on it.  A large city hotel can’t make a go of it without sale of alcoholic beverages in its bars and restaurants.  The union did much of the legwork to get the dry proposition on the 2008 ballots. They managed to do it, and it passed narrowly.  No hotel was built.  The hotel union helped kill 200 hotel jobs on Chicago’s high-unemployment South Side.

Fioretti should support the Toyoko hotel.  Let the union convince the workers to organize, once they’re working.

Read about the 2008 hotel fiasco on this blog. Start at November 23, 2008 and work back through several earlier posts.

U of C Public Planning/Zoning Meeting Tonight

posted by Elizabeth Fama

This evening the U of C is holding a public meeting at the International House, 1414 East 59th Street, at 6 PM.

From a U of C official:

The University as a whole is in a planned development zone, and is working with the city right now to update the zone. As part of that process there will be public hearings. Some of the issues that come up have to do with height of buildings, what is in the zone (the University has acquired property since the zone was last formed), etc. The city has requirements for which neighbors should be notified about any planned changes — essentially all residents within 250 feet of the zone perimeter. That group received a letter. In addition, we have done some stories about this to be sure it is much more public.

 

Five Guys Burger Joint Lands on 53rd St.

posted by chicago pop

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Things seem to be happening fast in the old Herald Building at 53rd and Harper. Via the U of C's 53rd Street Blog:

Five Guys has signed on as the inaugural tenant at the soon-to-be renovated office and theater buildings at 53rd and Harper Avenue. The news comes fast on the heels of the University’s announcement that it is renovating these key buildings.

“We’re delighted to introduce this crowd favorite to our community,” said James Hennessy, Director of Commercial Real Estate Operations for the University. “The University is committed to working with the community to revitalize the 53rd Street corridor, and the arrival of Five Guys is good news for those efforts.”

With 725 locations around the country, Five Guys is just one of a number of big-name retailers the University is talking with about setting up shop in new spaces along 53rd Street, here and at the nearby Harper Court redevelopment, to blend with local businesses.

The new Five Guys in Hyde Park will occupy 2,200 square feet and could also make use of outdoor seating with a plan for attractive awnings. Officials said they expect the restaurant to open around the end of this year.

It's been a long wait. Once that corner gets turned around, I have a feeling it will be hard to remember what it was like before.

Newsflash: U of C to Begin Renovation of 53rd St. Buildings, New Tenants Announced

posted by chicago pop

For immediate release: January 10, 2011

University announces renovation of 53rd Street buildings

University officials announced at the Jan. 10 meeting of the 53rd Street TIF Council that the University will undertake a major renovation of the theater and office buildings at 53rd Street and Harper Avenue.

Work will begin Thursday on the adaptive reuse project slated for completion this fall, which will provide a home for new restaurant, retail and other tenants. University officials told the TIF Council that they expect to provide news about those tenants in coming weeks and months.

“The University has an interest in saving these buildings,” said Ann Marie Lipinski, Vice President for Civic Engagement. “We believe they are a key piece of our shared efforts with the city to revitalize this important Hyde Park corridor.” The University has owned the 13,000 square-foot office building at 1452-1456 E. 53rd St. since 2003. OKW Architects of Chicago will serve as the lead architect on the renovation of that building, while HSA Commercial Real Estate, a national, full-service real estate firm, will serve as the property manager.

The project scope includes façade work, tuck-pointing and a complete rehabilitation of the interior to make appropriate space for the new tenants and enhance its overall character. Other plans include new windows, signage and outdoor seating capabilities.

University officials said the refurbished office building, which has been vacant for seven years, will generate considerable interest among commercial tenants. The ground floor and second floor each occupy approximately 5,000 square feet. Restaurants and retail operations are planned for the ground floor and the second floor will have multiple uses, including potential office space.

The University also owns the former theater building, which is slated for upgrades in the latter part of the year. Officials said more information on the renovation project for that building would be available by spring.

Spring Fix-Its and Digs: Metra Midway Viaducts and CTO Building Site

posted by richard gill

Midway Viaduct Repairs

It is spring once again, and in Hyde Park there are some welcome sights and sounds of air compressors, diesel excavators, front end loaders, and the backing-up beep, beep, beep of heavy equipment.

Some things are getting done that needed doing.

For instance, Metra is using Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) funds to repair the viaducts across 59th Street, the Midway, and 60th Street. Much work still needs to be done at this station (we called the staircase from the 59th Street Metra platform the "Stairway to Hell" last spring). But still, it's a good project; no controversy there.

New Chicago Theological Seminary Site Preparation

Also, the U of C has begun the construction of new headquarters for the Chicago Theological Seminary at 60th & Dorchester. Good project; controversy there. Remember the “community” garden on what is now the construction staging site abutting the actual construction? The gardeners insisted on remaining on the University-owned property during and after construction. They said the staging could just as well be done a couple of blocks away. Well, yeah, but at what cost, along with neighborhood disruption and safety problems as material and equipment is moved over the street?

That the Seminary is being built is good news. Even better: For once, a strident clique of Hyde Parkers was sent packing, along with their silly claims of entitlement and righteousness. For the greater good, the garden got moved. The carrots and radishes will grow again, perhaps on less sacred ground. But they will grow.

Nice as these two projects are, it’s too bad that they’re public works or U of C-sponsored. Private sector development in Hyde Park remains stymied by … well, just read some of the past entries on this blog.

The University and Lab School ECC Plan: Too Hasty?

Posted by Elizabeth Fama

On Thursday night (2/11/10), the University, Lab Schools, and Alderman Hairston hosted a community meeting about the possible use of the Doctors Hospital site (58th and Stony Island) as a location for a new Early Childhood Center (ECC) for the Lab Schools.

I counted roughly 140 people in attendance. Most people in the audience had positive comments; there were few hard questions. Most identified themselves as Lab parents or Stony Island neighbors. One preschool teacher vocally supported the proposed off-campus location, citing the nightmare-ish drop-off and pick-up she experiences daily at the Woodlawn Houses (two homes currently used for 4 nursery classes on Woodlawn near 58th).

After attending the meeting, and spending a few days digesting the presentation, there are three important questions that I believe go to the core of whether this is good decision-making versus hasty*, shortsighted decision-making:

1. Would the University have bought a 10 million dollar property (not counting the cost of demolishing a 1920s masonry hospital) just to build a Lab School ECC?

2. Is this the best use of the Doctors Hospital site from the University's and community's points of view?

3. Is it this the best place for the Lab Schools to build its ECC?

I think the answer to all three questions is unfortunately, "No."

1. I assume that the U of C bought this property with the hotel in mind. Now that the precinct has voted itself dry, the hotel developer is gone and the University is searching for a worthy cause for the property. The Lab Schools ECC is a handy cause, but not necessarily the right cause, and it wasn't chosen with any sort of Master Plan in mind for either the Lab School campus or the University campus. The University owns much of the land on Stony Island between 56th and 59th -- for example, one person at the meeting questioned whether they had more useful plans for the facilities building between 56th and 57th -- and it should be working toward a coherent vision for that entire stretch.

2. So what is the best use of the Doctors Hospital site? Stony Island is currently a relatively desolate street-scape, and it would be best for the community and for the University if it were enlivened with a steady flow of pedestrians and with some sort of night life. The ECC will be locked down tight after 5 PM, and it will be designed with little interest in foot traffic: the play spaces will be safely enclosed, away from the street, and the drop-off and pick-up car line will snake around the back of the building, with a slow lane and an express lane. Because the children it's intended for are in grades N through 2, very few families even in Hyde Park will feel they're within "walking distance" to school, particularly if they also have older children to drop-off on the main Lab School campus. The very rough schematic of the building already shows that it encourages a car (not pedestrian) culture. In my opinion, this "green" building will actually increase the number of families who drive to school.

Stony Island Early Childhood Center Study, including drop-off/pick-up car line.

I can think of two better alternatives for the site without even breaking a sweat:

a) build a large dorm complex geared especially toward 3rd- and 4th-year students. Dean John W. Boyer has written a detailed pamphlet discussing how the University should strive to be like Oxford, where students live all four years on campus. That will only happen if the housing options include something designed for the maturing lifestyles of upperclassmen, namely (from my informal poll of college students): suites made up of four single bedrooms surrounding a kitchen and bath. There could be an exercise room and a rec room on-site, plus common hang-out areas on each floor. There could be a cafe on the first floor that is open to the public (like the Booth cafeteria). Students would mill about the neighborhood on foot at all hours, and would help make the street safer.

My two U of C college students know many upperclassmen who like dorm living and feel a loyalty to their houses, but leave housing after their first or second year because the dorm lifestyle (eating in the residence halls and sleeping in the same room with a roommate) no longer fits their needs. On top of that, if you haven't been in them lately, Broadview, Blackstone, and Snell-Hitchcock are barely suitable for human habitation (the kitchen units in Blackstone are downright dangerous) and desperately need to be remodeled or closed.

b) build a faculty apartment complex (managed rentals or a mix of condos and rentals) with an exercise room, a rec room, indoor parking, and that same cafe on the first floor (open to the public, like the Booth cafeteria). This would draw young faculty back to the neighborhood from the north side, and allow faculty in lower-paying disciplines to afford to live on campus. It would also, incidentally, convert some commuting Lab families to walking families -- a hidden "green" benefit. Perhaps after several years of eating at the cafe, the neighbors would vote themselves "wet" again, just to be able to have a glass of wine there. (I can dream, can't I?)

3. The problem of space on the historic Lab School campus comes down to this: preserving the regulation-sized soccer field that's on Jackman Field. I'm not kidding. When you peel everything away, that's the reason they're proposing splitting the campus in two (either the regulation soccer field will have to go, or the tennis courts). Rather than list the pedagogical reasons that I believe a single campus is at the heart of Lab's teaching mission and should be a selling point for the school (as it is for Lab's feisty competitor, Francis Parker, which touts "Parker is proud to be the only independent school in Chicago where 14 different grades learn, share and grow under one roof."), I'll just offer the simple solution that solves the space problem: put the regulation soccer field -- which only high schoolers use -- across the Midway, near the South Dorm, the Harris School, and the future home of the Booth dorm (bonus: a soccer field would get plenty of use by the University and by Woodlawn neighbors). Then build an ECC that can house all of N through 2 (including the Woodlawn houses) on the historic Lab campus. Mind you, this still leaves room at Lab for a non-regulation soccer field for gym classes and practice, and leaves the tennis courts intact. Only the regulation soccer field would move. It would be relatively cheap to build a field and a shower/locker room facility across the Midway.

One study for an ECC placed on the historic campus, showing loss of tennis courts.

In sum: there are much better uses for the Doctors Hospital site, and there are ways to keep all of the grades at Lab in contiguous proximity to each other, to preserve the educational, progressive principles we should be holding dear for all grades, not just N through 2. Preserving one Lab campus would also help to decrease the driving culture surrounding the school and the University.


------------------------------------------
*Post-script for dedicated readers:

Some of the sense I got of the "hastiness" of the Stony ECC idea were logistical, practical issues. The University will obviously work on them, but they added to the proceedings a slight air of "rushing the plan through."

1. Alderman Hairston reassured the audience that the drop-off and pick-up car traffic associated with Bret Harte (a public school at the corner of 56th and Stony) would not interfere with that of the new ECC because a plan was in place to re-route Bret Harte traffic through an alley behind the planned Solstice development. When questioned about what would happen to that re-routing plan if the Solstice project did not get off the ground (a real possibility, because Antheus Capital has not sold enough units yet to break ground), Alderman Hairston said, "We'll have to find alternative funding somewhere." With the City's current finances, that seems thorny.

2. The Stony ECC would have 70 parking spaces for staff, and Mr. Magill said the staff will number about 75-80. However, with six classes for each grade, I count 72 teachers and assistant teachers just for the classrooms alone. Presumably there will also be teachers in art, music, and computers, staff for the library, tech support, facility services, a principal, a secretary, a security guard, and a nurse -- not to mention visitors spaces. On-site parking isn't important to me, but the numbers should add up in a presentation.

3. Much of the outdoor play spaces are in the form of enclosed courtyards. Even with a glass building, these spaces will be wet and muddy for much of the year. The pretty pictures didn't show the typical Midwestern "coatroom-mudrooms" that usually handle that kind of mess -- instead it looked like an idealized Palo Alto scene.

4. Many of the "best practices" schools that the architects studied were in warmer climates like Palo Alto, where the weather is ideal for contiguous indoor-outdoor space. The architect spent some time talking up the Google corporation's Wetlands preschool. A quick check shows that tuition at Wetlands is $57,000 per year (and no longer subsidized for employees). The student-teacher ratio is ridiculously low, with enrollment of only 72 kids in the Google Woodlands preschool, in Mountain View CA, for example.

Ideal classroom configuration, based on the Reggio Emilia Approach, which many of the Lab Schools preschool teachers have been hoping to adopt at Lab.

If you're interested in participating in an open (and I hope open-minded) discussion of the ECC plans on facebook, here's the link.

City of Chicago and University announce developer for Harper Court

posted by chicago pop

Newsflash!

From the U of C's website (January 14, 2010):

The City of Chicago and the University of Chicago on Thursday announced that Vermilion Development has been selected to redevelop the Harper Court retail complex in Hyde Park.

Vermilion, which has extensive experience in mixed–use developments, was recommended by a joint committee comprised of Department of Community Development planning staff and staff at the University of Chicago.

Vermilion was selected from among 12 development firms who responded to a Request for Qualifications that described the development opportunity and requirements for submitting a proposal for the 128,000–square–foot site.

“This creates an exciting opportunity to redevelop this portion of 53rd Street by creating commercial and retail space that complements the surrounding community,” acting DCD Commissioner Chris Raguso said. “The proposed development will complement and enhance other nearby revitalization efforts, helping to ensure Hyde Park’s future economic viability.”

“As a result of thoughtful and creative input from Hyde Park residents and business owners, we have an excellent development proposal that will serve both the neighborhood and the many visitors to Hyde Park from throughout the city and beyond,” said Ann Marie Lipinski, Vice President for Civic Engagement at the University. “The commitment to Hyde Park’s vitality by both the city and the university is very strong, and this project is a powerful demonstration of that commitment.”

“I am grateful to my staff, DCD personnel and University of Chicago staff for their hard work over the last year on this project,” said 4th Ward Alderman Toni Preckwinkle. “The development team which was chosen will transform commercial development in Hyde Park.”

The project is a partnership between the City, which owns an adjacent parking lot on South Lake Park Avenue just east of Harper, and the University, which owns the current retail properties.

Vermilion’s proposal calls for redeveloping the 40–year–old shopping center located at 5211 S. Harper Ave. by demolishing the existing center and replacing it with a mixed–use development.

The proposed $200 million development will be built in three phases that may include a mix of unique dining, entertainment, retail and office uses.

The City and the University will enter into negotiations with Vermilion and prepare a redevelopment agreement for approval by the City Council at a later date.

How to be Sicilian 101

Posted by Elizabeth Fama

In a recent article in the Maroon, Hans Morsbach cites the raised rent at his University Market location as the reason the market is closing. The implication -- voiced outright only by UM cashier, Alma Silva, but present in the undercurrent of the interviews in the Maroon -- is that the University is deliberately forcing him out, to make way for a new tenant.

Let's suppose that it's true. Suppose that it finally dawned on the administrators at the University that Mr. Morsbach frequently bites the hand that feeds him. Suppose they noticed, as I did, that he stood in front of Bret Harte on Election Day, 2008 with an enormous tray of free cinnamon rolls for his neighbors, campaigning for a dry 39th precinct, in order to squash the University's plan to build a hotel on the abandoned Doctors Hospital site, and likely costing the University tens of millions of dollars, not to mention depriving the neighborhood of jobs, a decent hotel, and a couple of new restaurants? Suppose the University noticed his literal painting of himself as a martyr against the oppressive establishment, hanging in his restaurant on 57th Street -- a restaurant that arguably thrives because of University students, staff, and catering jobs? Suppose the administrators actually got fed up? (It took them long enough!)

Well, as a Sicilian by heritage and temperament, I'm here to say they did a lousy job in the vendetta department, because somehow Mr. Morsbach wins privately while he publicly "loses."

Am I the only person who noticed that he gets to move the profitable part of his operation at the UM (the deli sandwiches) to his bakery, while cutting loose the unprofitable grocery section, and saving a whole lotta rent in the process? Am I the only one who wonders what business model the next tenant of the UM space is left with, now that Mr. Morsbach has skimmed off the cream of the potential business, and the rent is apparently too high for the location? And Mr. Morsbach gets to do all this while complaining about the University, one of his favorite diversions.

Here's what Michael Corleone would have done after the dry vote debacle, if he had been the University: he would have put a drug-rehab or halfway house in the Doctors Hospital location. He would have said, "Look, you got what you wanted -- we preserved the bland architecture and we're helping the community, all without increasing congestion or taking up public parking spaces on the street."

That, or a severed horse's head on the Market floor the next morning.

The University of Chicago's Health Care Desertification Project

posted by chicago pop

47th Street Clinic to Close by Early Spring 2009 -- University Shafts Neighborhood Middle Class

Since we posted on the prospect of Hyde Park's Impending Health Care Desert in June 2008, the situation has evolved considerably. It is now safe to say that, as a result of the subprime blowout, consequent credit crisis, and related global recession, the recently announced budget cuts at the University of Chicago Medical Center will leave Hyde Park without easily accessible primary care for everyone.

In particular, the 47th Street, University-run clinic will be closed entirely in March or April, instead of being sold to a private, federally subsidized medical group as originally planned. The tax-exempt Medical Center is transforming itself into a science colony inconveniently located among an underinsured population, with access to its basic services increasingly restricted to the original colonists.

While the issue of Chicago's ER sending l0w-priority patients to surrounding clinics or hospitals has been in the news recently, ("University of Chicago ER Sends Kid Mauled by Pitt Bull Home," Chicago Tribune, February 13, 2009) other changes strike closer to the heart of preventive, family primary care for Hyde Park residents.

If you have a doctor at 47th Street, they will be moving to DCAM.

If you want to get a doctor there, too bad, no new adult patients are being taken.

And from the word on the street I understand that it will be extremely difficult for newcomers to the neighborhood, even those with insurance that allows the University of Chicago and don't mind fighting their way into the heart of the massive Duchossois Center for Advanced Medecine, to get anything other than walk-in service with rotating physicians.

Like the idea of a family doctor who tracks your case history over years and knows your kids? The kind of medicine that can spot problems before they become the kinds of "complex" issues that the University prefers to treat?

Consider living in a different neighborhood. Until you need a liver transplant, that is, or you have a child who needs special treatment at Comer.

I felt at the time of the first post, and even more so now, that a community like Hyde Park needs a family health clinic accessible within the neighborhood by everybody -- not just faculty and staff, but anyone who can pay their bills and takes the chance on locating a family in this community.

While the University demonstrated a commitment to getting a decent supermarket in the neighborhood to replace the Co-Op, by closing the only conveniently located clinic in Hyde Park they are leaving dozens of families without local options for health care. This is a vastly more consequential decision that has received much less attention. While it is now much more enticing for people to shop locally for their groceries, it will soon be much more difficult for them to shop locally for a doctor.

Many families and individuals have already adjusted to this reality. In the comments to the original Hyde Park's Impending Health Care Desert post, it became clear that a large group of people had either resigned themselves to migrating north for primary care, have satisfied themselves with neighboring South Side, Federally Qualified Health Clinics, or somehow or another see physicians at DCAM for regular primary care.

It should be clear that the last option is not a reliable one in this neighborhood unless you are already in the system, and even then, it's not clear how many physicians will be retained.

A recent promotional brochure for the U of C had this to say about Hyde Park health care options:

U.S. News and World Report consistently selects Hyde Park's own University of Chicago Medical Center as one of the best hospitals in the United States...Also under the Medical Center umbrella are the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine, an outpatient facility; clinical training programs of the Pritzker School of Medicine; and several health care locations throughout the Chicago region.

The "clinical training programs of the Pritzker School of Medicine" are what you get as a walk-in from medical residents at DCAM, and there is no mention of a primary care health clinic in the neighborhood.

Ready to move your kids cross-country for that faculty job, knowing that the resident who treats them at DCAM will be gone in a few years and replaced by another?

The University of Chicago can do everything imaginable to encourage retail in Hyde Park, it can do a magnificent job coordinating the redevelopment of Harper Court, but if the families who chose to buy homes, pay property taxes, and volunteer at the local school can't see a doctor without having to travel many miles away from the coming $700 million medical center, then the University will undermine virtually everything else it accomplishes in terms of making Hyde Park a desirable place for people to settle in and live.

[This post also appears on Huffington Post Chicago]

Notes from an (Ex-)UnderGrad: Which Way Out of Here?

posted by Jason Finkes

Or, Exploring Transportation Options in Hyde Park

One of an occasional series at Hyde Park Progress exploring things from an undergraduate (or recently graduated) perspective.

While it now occurred a long time ago (February-March 2008), the controversy over 4 private parking spots being weighed against a key bus stop got me thinking: perhaps we should look over the transportation issue that undergraduates face. The first time I visited the University was also the first time that I knew transportation was going to be an issue.

Having trouble navigating through a narrow pass into the neighborhood that could be defended by 300 Spartans (thanks for vocalizing the frustration with the 57th and Stony "Do Not Enter", Elizabeth), the impossible task of finding parking, the late nights waiting for the 55 at the Garfield Red Line station, the impossible task of finding not only the commercial zones to furnish my dorm room and, later, apartment ... for all these reasons my parents won't visit me anymore. It's mainly because of transportation (and, alas, the choice of ... hotels ).

First, an overview of the options:

1) Walk/Bike
2) Private Car
3) CTA
4) Metra
5) cab
6) I-Go or Zip Car
7) Motorscooter

While walking and biking are the most ideal, we all agree that Hyde Park is lacking in commercial density (where would you bike or walk to?) and warmth in the winter months (you're joking if you think biking downtown during a blustery winter's day is an option) that makes it that viable an option.

Also, let's quickly dissect #2. Ideally, one wouldn't need a car in the city, and realistically speaking, undergrads don't have cars. Parking anywhere - downtown or Hyde Park - is frustratingly unfun or prohibitively expensive (to put it in mildest terms). If anything, the simple fact that undergrads don't have cars is a real problem, and I don't mean a personal one at that.

I'm speaking of the Co-Op. Many Hyde Park residents did exactly what one would expect when the only local option is terrible: vote with your feet.

But because there wasn't a decent alternative within walking distance, it was vote with your wheels, which is fine for everyone who has a car (a bit of a hassle, but we've already determined it was a better option than the Co-Op), but an impossible action for us carless students. One reason the Co-Op was probably able to stay longer than it should was its relative monopoly on non-produce groceries for all the students living in the student ghetto.

Another option then should be CTA. It offers a wide range, it's a bit slow and it is cheap. But you aren't going to be buying perishables or bulky items when you're taking public transit...it's just a silly idea. It's also really the only option for late-night sojourns, given its hours of operation and breadth of service.


Metra, CTA's better run cousin, is a faster option that is comparable in cost, but what it makes up for in speed, it lacks in frequency of runs and the (predictably) linear nature of its lines. Granted, weekend passes are probably the best buy out there ($5 for a free pass on Saturday and Sunday).

These can be shored up by Cabs, but even sharing costs, it's an expensive proposition. While of course there will never be a replacement for a wide variety of transportation options servicing the neighborhood (or for commercial development so more amenities are more available), I must say that the two great options I've found - getting far more appealing as gas prices go up and fewer want to own and operate SUVs - are Car Sharing programs and motorscooters.

My own experience with Zip Car was amazing. Blocking out 1 hour of car time cost a surprisingly small amount and my girlfriend and I were able to pick up a used piece of furniture and drop it off at her place with plenty of time to spare. For those in love with hybrids or luxury cars, one might be in luck and even score a Prius (which I've seen around) or a BMW (which one of my friends was lucky enough to borrow along the east-coast recently). At a relatively great and affordable rate, all you have to do now is find a buyer for that SUV you no longer want or need.

For smaller trips, I've fallen in love with my motorscooter. I'd be the first to admit that I'm verging on a full-blown crush on Europe, but damned if they don't have city living down to an art. You could easily fit 6 motor scooters into a parking space for a single car, gas mileage is amazing (around 90 mpg). For small trips to the grocery store, or picking up a few small things that would fit in seat-storage and a backpack, it is ideal during the 9 months of the year that it is not winter.

At only $2,000 purchase price from Craigslist, I honestly doubt that I could have made a better purchase for city living mobility.

The best part of both is the ever present parking issue. Recently, street cleaning occured on 4 consecutive weekdays (with each sign signaling which streets would be cleaned delightfully put up the day *after* I had already moved the car I was babysitting for a friend while she was out of town). Receiving kindly calls from a neighbor or two telling me I was about to get ticketed, I had to hop in still wearing pajamas and frantically search for a parking space, which during the day...Surprise! There are none.

Mind you, this is the middle of the summer, when all of the privileged young folk with mal-informed notions of car ownership in the city have a vehicle to park. More people carless = More parking for people to come into Hyde Park = Outsiders to catalyze economic development? A distinct possibility (if more pipe-dream than anything).

Granted neither car sharing or motorscooters are an option for actually going into the city to do something, which still leaves us with cabs, Metra and CTA (and the necessity of developing Hyde Park). But for anything else, let it be known that there *are* options, and more and more people are taking them. There are quite a few shared cars on campus and more and more frequently, I see motorscooters taking up their tiny amount of curb space.

[Jason Finke's previous posts on HPP: Where Fun Comes to Die; and Hooked on Hookahs]

Dry Petition Challenged

posted by Peter Rossi

Residents of the 39th precinct filed a complaint in Circuit Court challenging the petition to vote that precinct dry. Opponents of development at the Doctor's Hospital site gathered signatures to place a measure on the Nov 4th ballot which would make the precinct dry. This measure would effectively halt all mixed development in that Precinct and, quite possibly, in Hyde Park in general.

Under the law, a valid petition must gather signatures from at least 25 per cent of the registered voters in the precinct. The 39th which is bounded by Stony Island and Blackstone Avenues on the East and West and 56th and 59th Streets on the North and South has some 609 registered voters. This means that any valid petition must contain at least 152 valid signatures.

The complaint includes an exhaustive analysis of all signatures on the petition and alleges that over one half of the signatures are invalid, specifically that there are:

1. Signatures of non-registered voters
2. Signatures of Persons who reside outside of the 39th precinct.
3. Duplicate Signatures
4. Illegible signatures that do not appear to be signed by the appropriate registered voter
5. Improper signatures (initialed or printed entries)
6. Signature entries filled out by the circulator

In total, the complaint alleges that there are sufficient signatures to invalidate the petition and calls for the measure to be removed from the ballot.

In addition, the complaint alleges that there are "pervasive inconsistencies" in the petition and there is evidence that the some circulators perjured themselves by submitting incorrect addresses and incorrect affidavits. On these grounds, the complaint asks the court to strike the entire petition as invalid.

The legal support for this complaint was provided by the University.

This concludes the news aspects of this post and now for the "news analysis."

Sometime ago, I posted a spoof about Hyde Park NIMBYs exploding a neutron bomb at the Doctor's Hospital site. As per usual, fact is stranger than fiction in Hyde Park.

Planned by long time anti-development NIMBYs, this dry petition is a very nasty spot of blackmail that will do just that. If this measure passes, Doctor's Hospital will remain abandoned for the foreseeable future. But it is much worse that this, these irresponsible folks know that they are plowing salt into all future development in HP. Why would you open a restaurant or a hotel or a shopping area in HP when you know there are dedicated fanatics who will yank the carpet out from under your profits?

These people don't really care about preservation (Jim Peters: haven't they made a fool of you?). They exploit the concerns of Vista Homes residents to the end of personal power. That's right, folks. This is all about one or two people who want to have personal veto power on plans for Doctor's Hospital and other future development in Hyde Park.

We must defeat this petition soundly. Hats off to those residents willing to oppose this dirty trick and to the U for taking this seriously. This is not the way to resolve concerns about development. It is time to stop people who seek to destroy our neighborhood for their own personal political gain.

Pat Dowell Hates on U of C for Buying Empty Buildings and Vacant Lots

posted by chicago pop

Stop #1 on the Pat Dowell Anti-Development Tour

Chicago 3rd Ward Alderman Pat Dowell just had a NIMBY coming-out party.

Or at least it looks like she is trying to get in the Club. And nothing helps score some NIMBY street cred better than hating on the University of Chicago.

But it's not just hating on the U of C that makes you a NIMBY -- if that were the case, we'd have to include hundreds of College students -- it's how you hate on the U of C that makes you a NIMBY.

To really get street cred as a NIMBY, you have to be stuck in the 60s, the way Pat Dowell accused her 3rd Ward Aldermanic predecessor Dorothy Tillman of being "stuck in the 80s" before walloping her in the 2007 city council elections.

You have to believe, like the greatest Hyde Park NIMBYs, that what happened in the period of Urban Renewal, racial turnover, Civil Rights, and inner city decay formed a template that will forever govern the operation of Chicago politics.

You have to think that the grass-roots organizations that were formed then, over 2 generations ago, if not before (whether the Hyde Park Co-Op, the Harper Court Foundation or The Woodlawn Organization), are still relevant and effective, and that the stories these organizations tell about themselves are accurate interpretations of history.

Most importantly, when you get a chance to build something useful on a vacant lot or empty building, you say "No thanks," and make arguments about why you should be able to control and obstruct the buying and selling of private property.

Buy this land? How dare you!

Dowell makes it very clear what she wants in her letter, sent to U of C President Robert Zimmer, Mayor Daley, and, um, the Hyde Park Herald (August 13, 2008).

She doesn't want the University buying land in her ward.

She says as much, referring to her "expressed reservations about the university purchasing land in the Third Ward at this time."

Dowell claims that the University is being high-handed by not bringing her in on its real estate plans, even though she has made it clear that she doesn't want the University in her neighborhood to begin with.

So why is she surprised she's not in the loop?

Even though NIMBY-ism clearly comes in a variety of colors, it still operates according to the same conservative and self-serving logic, in which paranoid speculations are cooked up on the basis of skewed understandings of changes that happened before a lot of us were born.

The 3rd Ward version of NIMBY-ism -- like one of Dorothy Tillman's hats, it can be taken off a hook and worn by anyone -- comes in a standard package that includes ritual incantations about the "history of the university's relationship with its neighboring communities."

We're all supposed to know what this means, we read about "the history" in the papers, University officials work through their guilt by endlessly admitting that there is a "history", when what this history really boils down to is one incident in Woodlawn that happened 50 years ago in utterly different historical circumstances, and with negative unintended consequences that have left that neighborhood worse off than if it hadn't experienced "the history" in the first place.

The story is this: in the early 1960s, the University of Chicago wanted to use federal urban renewal funds, with the support of municipal condemnations, to bulldoze and redevelop Woodlawn the way it had bulldozed parts of Hyde Park, which would have resulted in the displacement of low-income households the way it already had in Hyde Park.

Big Sky Country in Pat Dowell's 3rd Ward

Local folks mobilized to prevent this. It never happened. Local folks were happy, and then their neighborhood went to hell. Somewhere along the line, at the instigation of The Woodlawn Organization and now-convicted felon and former 20th Ward Alderman Arenda Troutman, they tore down the 63rd Street spur of the El, something increasingly regarded as one of the dumbest decisions in the history of mass transit.

Fast forward half a century: urban-renewed Hyde Park is a diverse community on the upswing, with its fabric more or less intact, anchored by the University of Chicago.

After The Woodlawn Organization achieved its goal of blocking University-led renewal of its eponymous neighborhood, however, it was unable to keep the area from descending into the very death spiral that the University had sought to forestall, losing population, businesses, and tax base over the next 30 years, as middle class blacks followed their white predecessors out the door.

That's a victory? Maybe not, but it provides a useful scapegoat.

This is the myth that Pat Dowell uses to impute Original Sin to the University of Chicago, and to try to score points with 3rd Ward constituents. It's a myth because the times have completely changed, though the racially charged NIMBY rhetoric has not.

My bet is that today's 3rd Ward voters can tell the difference (see Postscript).

The University is not purchasing land with the financial assistance of federal programs, and is not exercising eminent domain, as was done at the time of Urban Renewal. These purchases are not taking place at the height of the Civil Rights movement, when such actions were charged with political meanings and seemed to embody power relations that they no longer have.

Most unfortunately for the Woodlawn Myth of the Predatory University, the 3rd Ward purchases are taking place at the moment of a historic watershed, when inner cities have regained the interest of markets, imaginations, and entrepreneurs, and when smart, equitable urban development is seen to be a key to future sustainable habitation of our planet.

Garfield Green Line CTA Station (rebuilt 2001)

Any major revitalization of the south side wards around the University of Chicago will probably require the capital and involvement of the latter, in some form of public-private partnership that brings jobs to the neighborhood and builds on the efficiencies of existing urban infrastructure.

So let's put away the canned resentment and take advantage of an historic opportunity to get things moving down King Drive.

Either that, or the vacant lots in the 3rd Ward may collect garbage for another few generations.


Postscript

I was standing in the parkway of Garfield Boulevard taking these pictures of shuttered buildings, empty parking lots, and vacant land, when I was approached by a African American man about my age.

"You going to buy it?" he asked, pointing to the lot between King and Prairie.

"No," I said, "someone else already has."

"I hope they do something with it," the guy told me. "What we need around here are more jobs. These people want jobs. That building's been empty for 10 years. Someone needs to do something with it."

So I told him that the University of Chicago bought it, and some other lots around here, but that his Alderman Pat Dowell doesn't want the University to own land in her ward.

The guy didn't have a response to that. What he did say was that "we need development that pushes out the people who don't care about the neighborhood, and keeps the people who do."

Mr. Obama's Neighborhood Redux

posted by Peter Rossi

Character assassination is the stock and trade of politically motivated writers.  In the presidential season, this reaches a fever pitch.  Backers of each candidate search far and wide for dirt.  Andrew Ferguson, desperate for something on Obama, has invented a new ploy- attack the candidate's neighborhood ("Mr. Obama's Neighborhood," The Weekly Standard, 6/16/08). 

I give Mr. Ferguson credit for creativity.  Usually, if you want to attack the candidate, you find some friends in dark shirts with yellow ties and fat envelopes. Or you look for philandering.  But most of those angles have been taken and Obama presents remarkably few personal foibles.   Let's take aim at Hyde Park -- it surely must be an easy mark.  We all know that university towns are a bit quirky.  We can always find some local talent to help ferret out the neighborhoods dirty past.

Mr. Ferguson's thesis is that Hyde Park is not really a neighborhood but a strange,  failed University of Chicago experiment.  An enclave of transients with no roots, just like Barack. Ironically, Mr. Ferguson's sources are all neighborhood residents who have lived in Hyde Park most of their adult lives and whose politics are about a mile to the left of the Weekly Standard.

It would be too easy to go through the article and point out the factual errors, inconsistencies, and misconceptions.  But the real problem is that Mr. Ferguson had the makings of an understanding of what makes Hyde Park special. He was blinded by the need to grind his political axe.

We can start with the University of Chicago.  The U of C is one of the world's best kept secrets; even Chicago cabbies don't know the difference between U of C and UIC. Other universities influence the world primarily via their alumni ("I went to Harvard, but I can't tell you what I learned there").  The U of C has had more than its fair share of influential alums, but has had the most impact on the rest of the world through the ideas of its scholars.  The U of C is fundamentally a modest place -- your ideas speak for you.   This presents some problems in developing neighborhood pride in the institution.

The University has also played a major role in the neighborhood.  It is popular to criticize the U for heavy-handed "urban renewal" that took place more than 40 years ago.  I  too wish that the U had left a few of the clubs and bars standing, but, without a major intervention, Hyde Park would be a bombed out non-neighborhood.   Street crime was a huge problem (even the alderman was shot) , housing prices were plummeting, students were afraid to walk on campus.  Today, street crime is at an all-time low and Hyde Park is one of the most stable neighborhoods in the city (too stable as we have been quick to point out here at HPP).

I'm not sure what is so bad about living in a neighborhood with "shade trees and lawns  and stately brick mansions and huge, tidied up apartment houses."  Mr. Ferguson alludes to the diversity of our housing stock.  There is a bit of something for everyone in Hyde Park from mid rise to the Prairie school.  I  really can't think of any urban university in the US that has it so good (Evanston might come the closest).

Mr. Ferguson fails to mention the lakefront.  We have the best part of what is truly a unique Chicago asset.  There is nothing like the Point elsewhere on the Chicago lakefront.

There are the delights of the rest of Chicago, certainly one of the most vibrant US cities.  

Mr. Ferguson takes Hyde Park to task for being elitist. Hyde Park is certainly more diverse in income and race than any other university town in the US.  But there are no slums or housing projects in Hyde Park.  Is there something wrong with that?

It is true that there are parts of Hyde Park that are solidly upper middle class.  But there is less interest in material goods and more interest in ideas  than in the standard affluent suburbs.  You can take your children to the neighborhood play lot and not worry about swathing them in the latest children's fashions or impressing the other parents with your knowledge of vacation spots and chic restaurants.  At the Lab School, learning is more than just a means to the ivy end.  Black and white kids are seen at the same lunch tables.

Hyde Park is home to a fascinating array of people who are NOT affiliated with the University of Chicago.  A friend is a great example.  She came to Hyde Park in the 50s as a stewardess for United Airlines and ended up marrying a Chicago attorney and raising a family in Hyde Park. Several of her grown children still live here.  Many of the people I know in Hyde Park are second or even third generation Hyde Parkers.  Claims of transiency help Ferguson paint a  picture of an alienated community but have no basis in fact.  The only true transients are the some 4 thousand undergrads; a drop in the bucket for a community of over 40,000.

One of the most heartening recent developments has been the influx of "new blood" to the neighborhood.  Families are attracted to Hyde Park by the unique suburban (for want of a better word)/urban aspects.  Wicker Park or Bucktown may be relentlessly hip, but try schooling your kids there or fighting your way to the lakefront.  Mr. Obama and his family are a part of this new crew.

Mr. Ferguson's parting shot is at black Hyde Park residents: "the blacks who moved here have the same sense of displacement ..."  I note that most of the quotes in Mr. Ferguson's article are from white Hyde Parkers.  He must have some hidden sources for the black ennui.

A recent Chicago Tribune featured an obituary that speaks volumes to this point.  This fellow graduated from Howard University medical school and got his start on the battlefields of the Korea.  The obituary goes on to cite this man's many achievements and grateful former patients.  Where did he make his home for more than 40 years? Hyde Park, of course.  

note: in the interest of full disclosure, I am a supporter of Mr. Obama. However, it is the distorted and incomplete view of Hyde Park that I object to in Mr. Ferguson's piece.

U of C: Guardian Angel, Despot, or Sucker?

posted by Peter Rossi

In recent years, our favorite (and only) neighborhood university has gone on a buying binge. First, Doctor's Hospital and the Hyde Park Theatre and related buildings at 53rd and Harper. Then a multi-million dollar bail-out of the Co-Op. This was followed by the purchase of the radioactive Harper Court. Most recently, another transfer payment to take over the Chicago Theological Seminary.

All told, these various purchases and subsidies are close to topping the $75 million mark. We haven't seen this kind of activity since the old Urban Renewal days. It mirrors work that other universities are doing.

The Guardian Angel

There has always been a sense in which the U has been the buyer of last resort for HP, somewhat like the Federal Reserve. If things get bad, we can always count on the U to bail out the neighborhood. The Hyde Park Theater building is a case in point. Neighborhood theaters are a thing of the past (why settle for one screen when you can have your choice of 15 at AMC with parking too!). It was clear no one would buy this abandoned building. So along comes the U, patiently plunking down its millions and engaging a top notch developer to make something of the old Cinema Paradiso.

The same story was played out with Doctor's Hospital. Who is going to spend $50,000 a year to send the kiddies to the U and feel good about it when you can't even stay near the campus? The various units of the U spend millions each year to feed and house visiting faculty and speakers in downtown hotels. It seems very logical to build a hotel on the site of this eyesore. An auction was held and guess who suffered from winner's curse? This whole deal has gone sour as local NIMBYs hid behind preservation and labor issues to stop the U dead in its tracks.

Harper Court has suffered from NIMBY attention. The HP-KCC (in the person of its "preservation task force") rushed in to control this development under the assumption that there would be a long list of suitors willing to develop under the most intrusive conditions. No one was stepping up to the plate, so again our white knight reached into his wallet.

We have been over the Co-Op many times here in this blog. But the bottom line is that the University forgave past due rent and satisfied the Co-Op's creditors with bushels of cash. Again, one could argue that this was absolutely critical for the neighborhood and the U. Who would live in a neighborhood without a functioning supermarket, however great Peapod is?

The latest and largest (more than $40 million) investment is the take-over of the Chicago Theological Seminary at 58th and University. These buildings will house the new Milton Friedman Institute (there is even a chapel to worship the free market!). It is easy to make the argument that this is a great deal for the university. The CTS buildings are right in the middle of the campus and are also very striking. The Milton Friedman Institute is a smart move to attract donors who want to honor Milton and the economic principles that, as the Wall Street Journal put it, let the University of Chicago win the Cold War.

The Despot

This flurry of activity and huge investment is sure to stir up our local conspiracy theorists. The U is an evil empire that reveals an arrogance that makes Bill Clinton look bashful. The U will only pay lip service to community input. The U and its wealthy donors will build academic temples inlaid with gold and tony shops to satisfy the temporary residents (students) and fussy faculty.

The problem with this theory is that it presupposes that the incentives of the University are different from that of the community. This is clearly false. It is very much in the interest of the University to have a vibrant neighborhood. Those who think that the University only wants luxury condos and expensive shops are woefully ignorant of the U payroll. Thousands of staff members and graduate students pull down modest pay and want to live in our neighborhood.

Never Give a Sucker An Even Break

My biggest worry about this latest spending spree is that the U won't pull it off. The U has an spotty track record in managing and developing commercial real estate.

A review of a few recent episodes is in order. A prime example is the Hyde Park Theater mess. As the Herald reported this week (yes, friends, once is a blue moon reporting can be found there), the U has just fired the developer for this parcel. This is worth thinking about as this developer (Brinshore and Baum) has an excellent reputation. However, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the whole idea of developing the Theater site is flawed. 53rd street is not Damen Ave. It can barely support a collection of marginal shops (HPP and Freehling Pot and Pan, notwithstanding). Where are the customers going to come from to browse the cute boutiques this development was to feature? The immediate central Hyde Park neighborhood doesn't have enough customers, with enough income to support specialty shops. Either you have to attract customers from elsewhere (but you need to provide parking) or you have to increase the number of residents.

Perhaps, the U fired the HP Theater developer in order to coordinate with the development of nearby HC. However, this does not explain why they chose to start this process with Brinshore and Baum in the first place. Local NIMBYs have been effusive in their praise of the HP Theater development "process." The fact that it proved to be another dead end keeps up their dismal track record.

The Co-Op fiasco is a lesson in commercial real estate management as well. In 1999, the Hyde Park Shopping Center (owned by U of C) was renovated and Co-Op signed to a long-term lease. The plans for renovation were singularly lacking in ambition and mass. There just aren't enough stores in the center to attract customers. The Co-Op footprint is way too small to attract the interest of major chains. Finally, we all know how Whole Foods was shown the door!

There are other examples. There have been all sorts of failures in attracting restaurants to the "golden rectangle." Any one can see the reason (even Hans Moresbach gets it) -- the precinct is dry. This needs changing before you start subsidizing restaurants.

There is also a real concern that the U is not very savvy in negotiating real estate deals. Harper Court and the Shoreland are cases in point. The U paid 6.6 million for HC and sold the Shoreland for a song. The 6.6 million is more than other developers have offered for HC. And these other offers were made in heady times of inflated real estate values. A search of Cook County records tells the tale of the Shoreland. The U sold the property to a developer in 12/04 for $3,750,000 (based on tax stamps). The developer flipped the Shoreland for $10,000,000 in 9/06.

In the end, the success of the U in bringing about a change in our neighborhood is critical for us all. I hope President Zimmer is thinking long and hard about bringing more expertise in commercial real estate to bear on these critical developments. But this is not all, there has to be a concerted effort to increase the density and population of Hyde Park. This means supporting large scale residential development in East Hyde Park and elsewhere.

We can't afford to develop the reputation as the only prime area in Chicago that actively discourages development. We all need to do a better job of selling our local officials on change and making the case that the 50 cranks who show up at "community meetings" don't speak for us all. The U needs to step up and be counted on this one.

U of C Buys Harper Court

posted by chicago pop

See both the internal University circular and the press release that follow:

____________________________________________________________________


To: Members of the University Community
From: David Greene, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives
Re: Harper Court announcement

I am pleased to report that the University has purchased Harper Court from the Harper Court Arts Council. The $6.5 million purchase is part of a joint project of the University and the City of Chicago to revitalize the retail environment on 53rd Street.

As President Zimmer indicated in his letter to the University community in March, at a time when the University is preparing for significant investments in academic programs and support for faculty and students, we also recognize the need to continue strengthening our surrounding communities. We are committed as part of this process to supporting economic development, including retail and commercial development in Hyde Park.

The Harper Court project, which was announced by Alderman Preckwinkle at yesterday’s meeting of the Advisory Council for the 53rd Street TIF (Tax-Increment Financing) District, will link Harper Court and the adjacent City Parking Lot as the site of a significant new commercial and retail development. We are grateful for Alderman Preckwinkle’s leadership in making this project a reality.

The University and the City have agreed that a comprehensive plan for this property represents a positive step toward creating a vibrant commercial corridor for Hyde Park that has been the subject of ongoing community discussions and surveys.

Going forward, we will pursue a City-mandated process designed to attract good ideas, high-quality developers, and active community input. The process will encourage developers to propose the best mix of uses for the site.

More information about the purchase and development of this property is available on the University’s website at http://news.uchicago.edu/news.php?asset_id=1363.

I look forward to updating you on the Harper Court project and encourage your engagement in the public input process.

____________________________________________________________________

May 13, 2008

The University of Chicago has purchased Harper Court from the Harper Court Arts Council for $6.5 million as part of a community planning process to revitalize the retail environment on 53rd Street.

Alderman Toni Preckwinkle (4th Ward) announced the joint project between the University and the City of Chicago at the May 12 meeting of the Advisory Council for the 53rd Street TIF (Tax-Increment Financing) District. It is the result of agreements between the City, Harper Court Arts Council and the University. The University of Chicago will lead the City-mandated development process, which will be designed to attract good ideas, high-quality developers and ongoing community input.

The first step of the development process will be to seek qualified development teams, who will submit detailed proposals for the best mix of uses for Harper Court and the City Parking Lot.

“I have brought together the parties—the City, the Harper Court Arts Council and the University—to facilitate this purchase and partnership. The project is part of an ongoing effort to explore redevelopment in the TIF district, which has already had much success, including bringing high-quality retail and entertainment businesses to the area,” Preckwinkle said.

University President Robert Zimmer described the University’s goals in the project: “The University has interest in fostering a lively and positive environment for residents and businesses in Hyde Park and beyond. Redeveloping 53rd Street is a priority identified by both campus and neighborhood communities. This project is representative of the University’s continuing efforts—in education, employment, health care and safety—to contribute to a vibrant and livable community.

“Ideally, this project will be reflective of the distinctive nature of Hyde Park and represent the best of Chicago’s mid-South Side.”

The Harper Court Arts Council will use funds from the purchase to continue its efforts in support of the arts and business development in Hyde Park and neighboring communities. The Harper Court Arts Council is the successor organization to the Harper Court Foundation, which opened the first shops in Harper Court in 1965. At the time, music and arts-related businesses dominated the commercial space, but a different mix of retailers gradually became tenants.

The shopping center now has 23 stores and restaurants, as well as a veterinary clinic. Current renters have received notification, and discussions have been held about timeline and available resources to help with relocation. Most Harper Court shops have month-to-month leases; these tenants have been assured that their leases will extend at least through 2008.

The University and the City have agreed that a comprehensive plan for developing Harper Court and the adjacent City Parking Lot represents a positive step toward creating the commercial corridor for Hyde Park, which has been the subject of ongoing community discussions and surveys.

Susan Campbell, the University’s Associate Vice President for Community and Government Affairs, described recent community efforts to re-imagine 53rd Street: “There has been a lot of good work done by a number of organizations. The 53rd Street Vision Workshop, the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, the TIF Council, the Hyde Park Kenwood Community Conference and others have all made valuable contributions. Surveys and discussions have helped to build a shared vision.

“Going forward, we seek a productive dialogue that helps to anticipate and address outstanding issues and potential community priorities and needs.”

The public will be engaged through the 53rd Street TIF Advisory Council. Prior to selection of a developer, the University and the City would present the preferred proposals to the public through the 53rd Street TIF Advisory Council.

“Community discussions and surveys have generated a set of broad guidelines for 53rd Street development,” said University Chief Financial Officer Nimalan Chinniah. “We want to encourage more outdoor activity, greater diversity in dining and retail, and an environment that has more trees and landscaping. Parking and easy access will also be important considerations, and the development should carry forward, in some manner, the original purpose of Harper Court.”

Who are the Real Preservationists?

posted by Peter Rossi

"Preservation" is a much used and much abused term. To my way of thinking, preservation of man-made objects such as buildings or engineering structures requires repair and/or restoration. One can preserve a river or forest simply by leaving it alone, but to abandon a man-made structure is not to preserve it.

The Faux Preservationists

Hyde Park is home to self-anointed "preservationists" who believe that it is only necessary to stop the bulldozers. After spooking local officials into halting change, these folks walk away to leave the structures abandoned and decaying. Examples of this breed include members of the preservation committees of the Hyde Park Historical Society and the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference.

Here are some prime examples of what these folks have "achieved."

Doctor's Hospital is an eyesore created by those who don't have any criteria as to constitutes a worthwhile building and who lack the perseverance and wherewithal to preserve the structure by finding another use for it.

Abandoned Doctor's Hospital

Shuttered Out Patient Entrance

Over several years, a major effort was made by a small group, the "Community Task Force," to stop all proposals for fixing the Point and restoring the Caldwell Landscaping. They boast of having raised more than $90,000 but have nothing to show for it.

Crumbling South Side of Point (photo by Beth Fama)

Local "preservationists" lobbied for the "preservation" of St. Stephens Church on Blackstone near 57th. They succeeded (with some help from an incompetent developer and intrusive neighbors) in creating another abandoned eyesore. Once a month or so, the dome gets daubed with a new coat of graffiti.

New Graffiti on St. Stephens

The First Unitarian Church of Hyde Park at 57th and University faced the problem of preserving the spire extending above its Gothic tower. Strapped for funds, the church was forced to tear it down which was cheaper than repairing it. Less than one half of the $90,000 raised to keep the Point from being fixed could have preserved a Hyde Park landmark.

Where's My Hat? Missing Spire on First Unitarian

The Accidental Preservationist

Hyde Park is home to one of the largest collection of theological seminaries in the nation. Seminary training is not a growth industry and many seminaries are struggling to maintain their historic quarters. Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) is one such institution. In 2006, a storm blew off limestone blocks from atop its beautiful brick and limestone tower. As luck would have it, this afforded the strapped institution the opportunity to fix their tower, thanks, in part, to an obliging insurance company.

CTS Tower Renovations

The Real Preservationist

The real preservationists in Hyde Park cannot be found in the empty street car station on Lake Park Avenue or in the back rooms of Cosimo's restaurant. The real preservationists are ensconced in the administration building at the University of Chicago.

We may all be aware of the major building program under way at the U, but few know about the huge set of preservation projects.

I provide a partial listing and some illustrations.

Rockefeller Chapel is undergoing a $21 million restoration. This sum does not include the new organ and restoration of the carillion.

Rockefeller Chapel Restoration

One of the oldest and most beautiful buildings at U of C is Ida Noyes Hall. The roof and tudor-like wooden details of this building had fallen into severe disrepair. The university is in the midst of a major effort to restore the building facade and roof.

Ida Noyes Roofing Restoration Detail

Construction of the Caesar Pelli-designed Ratner athletic center rendered the women's swimming pool at Ida Noyes obsolete. The Graduate School of Business just completed at $2.5 million reworking of this space to a study center. Preservation of buildings requires making changes in the use of the buildings without changing their character.

GSB Study Space in Old Ida Noyes Women's Swimming Pool

NIMBYs in our neighborhood frequently accuse the U of having designs on the old houses it owns along Woodlawn Avenue. Some would like to declare this an historical corridor, further frustrating any attempt to preserve these buildings.

The University has taken over 5710 S. Woodlawn and put on an addition to house the office of diversity. The NIMBYs would make this sort of change impossible and doom these houses to neglect.

Addition to 5710 S. Woodlawn Ave.

To compete against other top institutions, the Law School needed to upgrade student facilities. The Eero Saarinen Library tower posed a difficult problem - how to renovate in a manner consistent with the needs of the law school and the style of architecture? $25 million later, the Law School has created a gorgeous new space.

Law School Library Staircase

The fountain in front of the school is a distinctive landmark but also a barrier to pedestrians and contributes to a isolated feeling. The School is spending approximately $2 million to create a new zero-depth fountain that will convert into a pedestrian plaza in the winter months. In front of the fountain, a new winter garden is under construction on the Midway. Along with the new dorms at 61st and Ellis, this will go a long way to making a real South campus.

Law School Fountain Repair

This is only a partial list of the projects completed or planned by the University. The Mies van der Rohe designed SSA building will get all new windows in the summer of 2008. A $51 million gut rehab of the Searle (Chemistry) building will retain gothic symmetry on the quads but with a new interior. The University has poured over $27 million into renovations of International House. Burton-Judson is undergoing a multi-year facade and roof restoration at a cost of over $13 million.

Miesian SSA Facade

"You are being unfair, yet again," I can hear the NIMBYs chanting while carefully reading this post. The U of C is a wealthy institution, we can't possibly match the resources of a major university with a 6 billion+ endowment. The only thing we can do is scream "no."

You are wrong. First off, many local NIMBYs have the view that the University's interests are not aligned with the community, particularly on preservation. I think the facts speak otherwise. It is in the University's interest, perhaps more than any other institution in our neighborhood, to preserve their historical buildings and find ways of blending the new with the old.

Secondly, many NIMBYs actively discourage the University's preservation efforts by opposing all change and failing to recognize that there has to be a balance between preservation and change. We must be able to build great buildings, if only to have something that future generations fight to preserve.

Finally, some of our local NIMBYs have shown a remarkable commitment to the political process of opposing change. They are not much for the harder work of raising money and designing new structures to complement the old, though. Is this because they are naive and misguided or because the later is hard work that doesn't put you in the limelight?