JenThomasWilsonYardStory

8/14/2019 JenThomasWilsonYardStory

1/5

Uptown is poised to become Chicagos next great neighborhood, with one

of the citys best entertainment districts, an expanse of lakefront, and a

supply of condominiums and luxury apartments at still-affordable prices.

But a number of factors threaten to destroy the progress that Uptown hasmade, not the least of which is the proposed construction of 178 affordable

housing units in two towers on a 6-acre tract of prime real estate in the

center of the neighborhood. Couple that with a summer of extraordinarily

high gang violence and a still-unsuccessful battle with clearing the streets

of longtime resident, the homeless and mentally ill, and Uptown is watching

its dreams come crashing down.

Wilson Yard, called the latest renaissance of the Uptown neighborhood by

developer Holsten Management Company, lies in the heart of Uptown,bounded by Broadway Street, Wilson and Montrose avenues and the CTA

red line tracks. Originally slated to become an economic engine for a bleak

commercial district, the project was touted as a mixed-use development

that included a movie theater, an 180,000-square-foot Target store and

30,000 square feet of other retail, in addition to housing.

The project now includes just the two towers of housing, an Aldi store and,

maybe, a Target.

The plan has been so drastically changed that people in this community

became so concerned that this project was going off the track, said

Katharine Boyda, the president of the Uptown Neighborhood Council.

What happened to the vibrant retail? This was supposed to revitalize the

community and bring in investment, said Boyda, who lives no more than

50 feet from the construction site.

Because Wilson Yard is part of a larger tax increment financing district, $52

million of the projects cost is subsidized by the city, about a third of the

projects $150-million price tag.

More than 2,000 residents signed a petition to halt construction at the site,

where the Aldi already sits. Fix Wilson Yard, a citizens group created to

protest the development, launched a campaign to put pressure on Holsten


2/5

and Ald. Helen Shiller (46th). Through neighborhood presentations, protests

and letter-writing campaigns, the group called for a reconsideration of the

development plan and a competitive process to identify the highest and

best use for the TIF property.

Officials ignored the public outcry, Boyda said, and last week Fix Wilson

Yard filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming TIF abuses and violations of

the Open Meeting Law.

Initially, the community was promised a vibrant mixed-use development

which included movie theaters, a variety of retail, restaurants and mixed-

income residential, said Molly Phelan, president of Fix Wilson Yard and

property tax attorney, in a press release. Now, despite huge public outcry,

the Wilson Yard development has morphed into a financial black holepumping millions of taxpayers dollars into a development that lacks key

elements.

Thomas Ramsdell, the attorney representing Fix Wilson Yard, said the

case could lead to more accountability for the use of TIFs, what he called

the mayors slush fund.

This is the first of its kind in that citizens are taking on the City of Chicago

over TIFs, Ramsdell said. This is a landmark challenge and its coming ata time when TIFs are under serious review.

The lawsuit claims the 2001 creation of the Wilson Yard TIF district violates

the Illinois TIF Acts but for test.

Without the TIF money, would economic resurgence take place? Basically,

but for the TIF funds, would development happen? said Boyda.

Further, TIF districts must be blighted or conservation areas, titles that do

not apply to the Wilson Yard district, the lawsuit claims.

Tom Tresser, a Lincoln Park resident and activist for TIF reform, signed

the Fix Wilson Yard petition because he supports standing up against

rampant TIF abuses.


3/5

Theyve got to do it. Theres no other way. The city isnt reviewing this and

the planning commission is appointed by Mayor Daley, the City Council

doesnt say boo to Mayor Daley. Its up to the citizen groups to do it,

Tresser said.

In 2007, Chicago had 155 TIF districts, totaling more almost $560 million in

TIF revenue, according to the Cook County Clerks 2007 Taxpayers TIF

Revenue Summary.

It takes a lot of work to go into the community and explain this financing to

people but it needs to be done. Its a challenge. It makes peoples eyes

glaze over but its their money and people care about their money, Tresser

said.

But on the ground in Uptown, the real problem is fear of what mid-rise

towers of low-income housing will do to the community.

Uptown stands to be one of the best neighborhoods in Chicago, said Ari

Bendersky, a three-year resident of the area. We love the neighborhood,

the diversity, were right by the lake and the park but I echo the opinion of

thousands of residents when I say Helen Shiller is the sole reason that

Uptown continues to have the lack of turnaround, the high rates of crime,

drugs, murders, shootings, gangs.

Wilson Yard is the pinnacle of her inappropriate use of power, Bendersky

added. Its modeled after Cabrini-Green and Robert Taylor Homes, where

its proven not to work. Instead of the progress Uptown was seeing, its

going to turn into a ghetto.

Jason Goulah, a new resident to the neighborhood and an assistant

professor at DePaul University, believes restructuring the plan could mean

a revitalized Broadway commercial corridor.

The mixed use Wilson Yard project is, I strongly believe, a linchpin to

revitalizing the Uptown area, particularly in this strapped economy. I think

the area would greatly benefit in manifold ways from a Target, theaters,

shops and integrated housing. Adding only low income housing is limiting


4/5

and suggests, I'm afraid, further crime in that area, Goulah said in an

email.

But affordable housing activists argue that the glut of condo conversions

left a need for housing available to low-income residents. Foreclosures bylandlords have only exacerbated a problem that was already becoming a

crisis.

Across the North Side, thousands of rental units were converted to

condos, at least 15,000 people displaced in recent years. Ironically, many

of those condo conversions now stand vacant. Wages have not kept pace

with housing costs, said Fran Tobin, the chairman of the steering

committee of Northside Action for Justice. A full-time worker needs to earn

$18.10 and hour to afford an average two-bedroom apartment in Chicago.Huge numbers of people and families, long-time residents and neighbors,

are already paying far more than an affordable burden for rent.

Tobin said communities must increase the supply of housing that is

affordable to households below the median income and use what leverage

us available to increase wages on the lower end, which he said will make

housing more affordable.

The kind of privately-owned, publicly-assisted housing that I understand isbeing developed for the Wilson Yard is a model with a long history of

working well, all across the city and country. Experts know that the key to

well-managed housing is good management, and has little to do with

income levels of the residents, he said.

Shiller prefers the term affordable to describe the housing, not low-income.

The [Chicago Housing Authority] wont rent to people who earn more than

30 percent of median [Chicago area] income. This project will rent to

people with 30 percent, 50 percent and 80 percent of median income, she

told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2006.

Calls to Peter Holsten, the president of Holsten Management Corporation,

and Helen Shillers office were not returned.


5/5

Media outlets reported last month that Target was definitely coming to the

site but theres been no official confirmation. With only the housing officially

on the docket, some Uptown residents arent willing to wait around and see

what the developer decides.

We are at this point not because we wanted to do it but because the city at

every turn refused to do anything. We had no choice, said Boyda. No

matter what we did, the city was going to say, We dont care about you or

your community. What this has become is completely contrary to what was

supposed to happen and I have to assume the vibrant, thriving retail will

never happen. Someone had to take the lead and say, This cant keep

going on.

Bendersky is convinced the Wilson Yard project can be fixed, putting thecommunity back on track to becoming the next must-be place for Chicago.

I made an investment in this neighborhood because I can believe in this

neighborhood. This is not just for rich white people because thats not what

Uptown is about. We need to have an advisory board of both residents and

a diverse group of developers who can create a plan that works for

everyone, he said.

Documents

JenThomasWilsonYardStory