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Reader Elle T., who describes herself as a 5+ year Bronzeville homeowner who's "cautiously optimistic" about the future of the 3rd ward thinks Mayor Daly's had plans on the table regarding Bronzeville for some time...and that the Olympics are just the capstone.
What do you think?
In a detailed, conspiratorial comment left on the site today, she laid out what she calls a "fairly likely Olympic scenario" for the south side that takes into account recent CTA developments, Pat Dowell's recent aldermanic upset victory over Dorothy Tillman and escalating gentrification throughout the neighborhood:
"So, the Olympics.
Now that we are officially building a lakefront spire making the Chicago skyline a beacon to the world, my mind has invented a fairly likely Olympics scenario. It is my belief that this scenario would be possible no matter who the Aldermen were, so we don't EVEN need to go there. Daley isn't going to let anything or anyone stand in the way of his Olympic dream. And our Olympic nightmare.
Comment if you please.
1. The city actively endorses bringing in real estate developers from outside the state to rapidly build-out Bronzeville, Kenwood, and Woodlawn, and Englewood with modern retail and residential buildings and attractive amenities.
2. The CTA finds the money to begin modernizing all Green Line stops south of the Loop.
3. The city approves a secret petition to re-zone the city land Ida B. Wells sits on and lets the highest bidder win! In exchange and as a concession to the 3rd ward residents, they agree to subsidize an apartment complex on some city land that backs up to the el.
4. The city passes a resolution to fine owners of vacant lots if they do not meet certain criteria- fenced and secured, clean, mowed regularly, etc. OR, the city will seize it for being a neighborhood nuisance. Same with vacant buildings and any building where people are arrested for buying or selling drugs.
5. 39th Street beach is finally completed after 12 years, and opens to much fanfare.
6. Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Starbucks, expensive early childhood learning centers, medical buildings, doggie daycares, day spas, and several sit down restaurants open in the area in 2008/2009.
7. In 2008, developers will begin construction, and leave their projects 80-90% compelete until they receive the signal"
8. Go! The Tribune runs a 5-part series on the "new" South Side highlighting safety, affordability, amenities, proxmity to the lakefront, ease of parking, several direct public routes to the loop, and the Olympics.
9. The stampede begins! People buy up the available real estate, the builders finish their projects and by the end of 2009, demographic of the 3rd and 4th wards more closely approximates Wicker Park. Property taxes increase by 100%. Some residents sell, take the money, and run to Tennessee to build a home in the woods to get away from the Olympic frenzy (me).
10. The IOC awards the Olympics to Chicago. Long-time residents complain, but since they are outnumbered, nobody listens. The organize a sit-in in Washington Park to draw attention to their cause. The night before the protest, the city, in a carefully choreographed dance, dispatches 50 tow trucks to the park at midnight to relocate any vehicles, sends in 150 men to chop down all of the trees by torchlight, and the whole thing is over by 2 AM. The protesters arrive, make a statement, and go home.
I haven't thought about what might happen from this point, but I think it will involve people having to sell their homes to the city, no-bid contracts, budget overruns, and a ghost payroll or two. Don't get me wrong, I love the City of Chicago, but we all know how things work.
What do you guys think? Am I way off base? Just a little off base?
Elle"
So how about it? Is she on target? Does the Mayor have a plan this elaborate on the drawing board?
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Comments
Sun, 05/13/2007 - 18:59
I think these are all questions that need answering. And what about the city's Southwest side?
Mon, 05/21/2007 - 16:55
I believe Elle has a very valid perspective. If one could assume that quality of life issues were being addressed, and NOT financial issues, by this 'redevelopment,' I'd be heading the charge. But, Elle reminds me to be realistic; this City won't do anything if the big dogs at the top don't get the lion's share!
Thu, 05/24/2007 - 00:07
[...] Elle’s view on Chicago’s Olympics is eerily accurate. Why is it that, and I do not say this lightly, Chicago’s interest in the South-Side, as a city, did not gain momentum until the Olypics were on the horizon? I understand capitalizing on lucrative ideas, but a lucrative idea shouldn’t have a byproduct of making ‘things better.’ (The sad part is that I only searched Dogpile.com for: ‘things better’ chicago Olympics and this is what I got!) The ‘goal’ should be to make things better and the lucrative opportunity should come from that! [...]
Mon, 11/19/2007 - 01:09
I think Elle T. is right on. But as a Bronzeville resident, I say BRING IT ON!!! It's high time this area received its share of amenities and I, like my neighbors, believe that building on vacant, unused lots is so much better than letting them - and the neighborhood - stagnate in their current state.
Regarding public housing residents, Bronzeville has borne a disproportionate share of Chicago's desperately poor for decades. That is part of the reason why there's such a shameful lack of amenities or substantive tax base in the area. Let's redistribute public housing residents so that several Chicago neighborhoods share their presence.
So, property taxes will increase. FINE. Right now, I pay for neighborhood schools that I'd *never* send my child to, infrastructure improvements that seem to miss my neighborhood and city services (e.g. trash pickup, snow removal) that don't stand up to those of my friends across town. It's my right to have all of those amenities regardless of my tax rate, but the fact is, I don't have it. And yes, I'd be willing to pay more to get it. And paying more means either (1) moving across town and paying three times what I paid for the same type of house I have in Bronzeville and (2) paying higher property taxes once I get there. I might as well stay put and pay higher taxes. That the way is is, folks.
I'm sure I'll be skewered as evil for saying what I have. But I ask: what's wrong with having a built-out, walkable, attractive neighborhood with viable commercial options that will draw people to the neighborhood? Since when is that a WORSE option than vacant lots, abandoned homes, litter-strewn streets and a non-existent retail center? And if it takes the 2016 Olympics to make that happen, then BRING IT ON.
Wed, 02/13/2008 - 03:02
I fully agree with jfav. Well said.
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