{"id":23700,"date":"2016-01-13T16:29:23","date_gmt":"2016-01-13T22:29:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=23700"},"modified":"2016-01-13T16:29:23","modified_gmt":"2016-01-13T22:29:23","slug":"commission-approves-uptown-high-rise-project-despite-tif-tug-of-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/commission-approves-uptown-high-rise-project-despite-tif-tug-of-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Commission approves Uptown high-rise project despite TIF tug of war"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Thomas Vogel <\/strong><\/p>\n

The city\u2019s Community Development Commission approved Tuesday a development plan for a long-vacant property at Montrose and Clarendon avenues in Uptown, despite opposition from a coalition of neighborhood groups and dozens of residents. <\/p>\n

The objections come at a time of heightened scrutiny at City Hall, where Mayor Rahm Emanuel\u2019s administration has received criticism on many fronts including its law enforcement <\/a> and education policies<\/a>. Residents questioned the need for more high-end dwellings in Uptown and criticized the commissioners, who are appointed by the mayor, for aiding Emanuel\u2019s allies with Tax Increment Financing (TIF) at the expense of Chicagoans struggling to find affordable housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur city requires increased public service, increased public housing,\u201d said Tom Tresser, an Uptown resident and coordinator at the TIF Illumination Project<\/a>. \u201cThe TIF program is broken. Now we see TIFs hoarding dollars in wealthy communities and being used for rifle-shot, clout-driven projects of little or no public merit such as this one.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Other critics, including ONE Northside, the Chicago Teachers Union and the Gay Liberation Network, echoed Tresser saying the proposal, which includes about $16 million in TIF money, has insufficient affordable housing. TIFs, which set aside new property tax revenue from a specific geographical area over a 23-year period for a specific purpose, are designed to help reinvigorate development across the city.<\/p>\n

The roughly $125 million project will replace the vacant Frank Cuneo Memorial Hospital and calls for more than 500 residential units and about 30,000 square feet of retail space, according to Ald. James Cappleman (46th), who represents the area. \u00a0The plan, which includes 20 affordable housing units, does not meet a 2007 city ordinance requiring 10 percent of units to be affordable. JDL, the project\u2019s developer, will pay a $5.7 million fine as a result.<\/p>\n

Several Uptown residents argued the site\u2019s proximity to the lakefront should incentivize enough private investment to pay for the entire project. TIF money, some residents said, should only be used for projects that benefit the community at large.<\/p>\n

“The TIF program is broken,”
<\/strong> – Tom Tresser, TIF Illumination Project <\/div>\n

\u201cThe people who will be living in this project are economically well-off,\u201d said Beatrice Westrate, an Uptown resident since 1994. \u201cThey don\u2019t need the help of our public tax money. It is not a good way to spend the TIF money. It really isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s supporters, however, contend that TIF money is the only way to develop the long-vacant site and generating tax revenue from the currently unused site trumps other considerations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are taking a significant risk,\u201d said Jim Letchinger, JDL\u2019s president. \u201cWe\u2019ve been down this road now for three years, three and a half years. We have tried at numerous stages to get this deal approved with institutional investors. At this time it doesn\u2019t resonate as a truly high-end market rate location.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the commissioners voted to recommend the proposal to the City Council for final approval, many Uptown residents stood up and began chanting \u201cNo TIF for the rich!\u201d in unison. Security escorted several residents from the chambers.<\/p>\n

Despite the project clearing a bureaucratic hurdle, those opposed remained positive the project can be stopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can continue the fight,\u201d said Charlene Andreas, an organizer with ONE Northside. \u201cIf it was all affordable housing, I\u2019d be all for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey speaks out against an Uptown TIF proposal Tuesday at City Hall. (Thomas Vogel\/MEDILL) <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Thomas Vogel The city\u2019s Community Development Commission approved Tuesday a development plan for a long-vacant property at Montrose and Clarendon avenues in Uptown, despite opposition from a coalition of neighborhood groups and dozens of residents. 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