City Council kills Newman dorm plan

Newman Center plans to build an eight-story dormitory next to the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago received a final rejection July 20 when the Chicago City Council approved a zoning change that will prevent the dorm's construction.

            What Ald. Daniel Solis (25th) called a “downzoning” restricts any new construction to residential, two-flat, townhouse, and multi-use structures. Previous zoning allowed for buildings five or six stories high at the site of the Catholic chapel and parking lot.

            Hundreds of outraged area residents petitioned Solis to block the proposed 300-student dorm.

            “I am happy that I was able to address the community’s concerns by restricting the height and density of any future developments that may be planned for this location,” Solis said. “With this zoning change, residents may rest assured that any possible further development will be consistent with existing structures in the neighborhood.”

            Rev. Patrick Marshall of the Newman Center could not be reached for comment.

-- Susan S. Stevens

 

Alderman tries to down-zone X/O towers

An ordinance before the Chicago City Council would reduce the height of two towers in the X/O development at 1712 S. Prairie Ave.

            Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) sponsored a measure that would limit each tower to 225 feet. One tower had been planned at 445 feet, the other at 310; the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance (PDNA) had objected to those heights.

The development was planned to consist of 525 dwellings with 600 garage spaces. Two glass-clad towers, one 45 stories high and the other 35 stories, were to be built behind a row of townhouses designed to harmonize with Prairie Avenue structures such as the Glessner House across the street.

As for the towers’ design, some in the community oppose it and others like what Lucien Lagrange, the project’s architect, described as “dancing figures in the sky moving away from each other like tango dancers.”

Groundbreaking had been scheduled tentatively for winter 2008. Lagrange said earlier this summer that 75% of the condominiums in the first tower had been sold. Prices range from the high $200,000s to more than $1 million.

-- Susan S. Stevens

 

Park likely to be named for Black Partridge

The park at 18th Street and Calumet Avenue is closer to being named after Black Partridge, a Potawatomi chief who in 1812 came to the aid of some settlers in a fight between the settlers and local American Indians. The Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance (PDNA) has led the effort to name the park after Black Partridge and bring back a statue commemorating the chief that once stood near the site. Second Ward Alderman Bob Fioretti supports naming the park after the chief and will recommend the name once he has received the written opinion of the American Indian Center (AIC).

“Native American historical entities must be revered and honored,” he explained. Fioretti also said he would like to get feedback from the community to gauge what people think of the name.

AIC Executive Director Joseph Podlasek said the organization intends to send Fioretti a letter in favor of naming the park after the chief. “The honor and recognition of the park would be great,” Podlasek said.

After receiving Fioretti’s written endorsement of the name, the Park District’s Department of Intergovernmental and Community Affairs will recommend that the Park District’s Board of Commissioners approve the required 45-day public notice. If residents make no strong objection during that time, the name Black Partridge will go back to the Board of Commissioners for final approval.

The PDNA also hopes to bring back The Fort Dearborn Massacre: Black Partridge Saving Mrs. Helm, a statue depicting the Potawatomi chief saving a settler on one side and an American Indian driving a spear through a second settler on the other. In the 1970s, the Chicago Historical Society (since renamed the Chicago History Museum) stopped displaying the statue after area Indians lobbied for its removal; the Office of Public Art of the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs later put the piece in storage. Fioretti said the statue is a separate issue that will be dealt with after the park’s name has been approved.

Podlasek opposes putting the controversial statue back on public display, and the AIC will not support the statue “in any way, shape, or form,” he said. “That would be a major mistake from the Indian perspective.”

            --Miriam Cintron

 

Aldermen: Save Livingston Park

The City of Chicago is urging Illinois Medical District (IMD) officials to keep a Little League ballpark and find another site for a new building.

A resolution passed unanimously at the July 19 Chicago City Council meeting calls for letting community residents keep the two baseball diamonds at Livingston Park at Polk and Leavitt Streets. Ald. Daniel Solis (25th) promised to do whatever he can to make sure the park remains a park. Solis was joined by Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) and Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) in sponsoring the resolution.

The IMD 12 years ago let community residents create the field on an empty lot and name it for the late David Livingston, a former IMD commissioner. The largest Little League in the city, the Near West Little League attracts more than 600 children to 42 teams at Livingston Park as well as Altgeld Park at Harrison Street and Washtenaw Avenue.

The IMD, which owns the land constituting Livingston Park, had planned to build a $12 million life sciences and biotechnology research and development center at the site, where baseball has been played for a dozen years with single-year agreements signed annually.

IMD officials had planned to start construction in August, but plans begin going afoul when a petition to keep the field open gained 300 signatures on June 2, opening day. One of those signing was Mayor Richard M. Daley.

-- Susan S. Stevens

 

Neighbors mull Campus Green redevelopment

Members of the Campus Green Townhome Association (CGTA) have a new ally as they study a proposal for a building about 16 stories tall and other changes that would make more use of the land surrounding their two-story houses.

            CGTA President Dan Pattangi said he was sure the association would have the final say about the redevelopment. His confidence grew after Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) told the group he would honor its decision. As Alderman, Fioretti has a major say in anything requiring City approval.

            “It is up to the residents,” Fioretti said, adding, “I think the development has a long way to go.”

            “If the association says ‘no’ or ‘yes,’ he will follow, which is good for us,” Pattangi said.

            “Probably in the next 30 days we should have a better understanding about where the homeowners are,” said Ted Mazola in late July. Mazola is president of New West Realty, which would redevelop the property.

Pattangi said property owners would not be rushed, however. “We are going to work on our own timeline,” he noted. At press time, Pattangi said the homeowners' association had “just been absorbing all the information” and that vacations delayed reaching a decision.

            The mid-rise of about 16 stories and containing about 185 condominiums would replace a two-story parking garage on the northeast corner of Ashland Avenue and Taylor Street, Mazola said. An adjacent four-story structure would sit along Taylor, with businesses on the first two floors and parking behind the shops and on the third and fourth floors.

            Mazola made a presentation to the townhouse owners and Fioretti June 27. “We thought we were answering most of their concerns,” he said.

“It was very friendly, no screaming or shouting,” Mazola said. “We tried to make everybody comfortable with what we are planning to do. What is nice about it is a lot of people came out. Hopefully, we showed that the project will be an enhancement to the community.”

            --Susan S. Stevens