Shiller on tightrope over development plan in Uptown
Shiller on tightrope over development plan in Uptown
April 12, 2006
BY DAVID ROEDER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST. COPYRIGHT BY THE CHICAGO SUN TIMES
Ald. Helen Shiller (46th) is a defiant warrior.
Elected in 1987 with the backing of Mayor Harold Washington, who needed another vote in the City Council, Shiller has proven herself as a political survivor, toning down her old leftist rhetoric as her ward has gentrified but without alienating her core support, lower-income voters for whom Uptown has been a refuge.
She's being put to the test now with Wilson Yard, a development site at Montrose and Broadway that is empty. The emptiness scares residents on either side of the gentrification issue. It's only about 5 acres, yet it contains 500 acres worth of neighborhood aspirations, jealousies, political agendas and developer calculations.
In an agreement larded with government subsidies, the city sold the former Chicago Transit Authority property to a partnership headed by Holsten Real Estate Development Corp. Or at least it once was a partnership; others have dropped out and now Holsten is pretty much all that's left.
A respected builder of mixed-income housing, Holsten has been unable to get a project started there, despite the grease of city- and state-backed loans. Work on the site has started for an Aldi grocery store, a separate land deal, but Holsten cannot begin construction on the housing because his part is all one big design. He's negotiating details of commercial space with Target, but no contracts have been signed.
Last week, a group organizing around the new wealth in the ward, the Uptown Neighborhood Council, drew about 300 people to a meeting about Wilson Yard, an impressive feat. Shiller and Holsten were invited but didn't show. The group's president, Randy Lehner, assailed the project for its reliance on subsidized rental housing, the lack of definition for its retail component and its dependence on public money to allegedly shove something down the public's throat.
Most in the crowd agreed. They were mostly young, educated and some spoke of being fairly new to the neighborhood. There was talk about writing protest letters and registering to vote for the aldermanic election next year.
Shiller's ears must have burned in absentia. She knows an aldermanic candidacy is lurking in the tweeds.
In an interview, she offered two reasons for not showing up: a family responsibility and certainty that it was a kangaroo court. She said council members adopted a bullying tone in trying to get the appointment with her staff. "I would have been at their meeting if they hadn't threatened me, if they had stopped their lying about this project," Shiller said.
Chief among her objections is their use of the term "low income," or close variations, to describe the housing. It's meant to conjure images of Chicago Housing Authority high-rises. "The CHA won't rent to people who earn more than 30 percent of median [Chicago area] income," she said. "This project will rent to people with 30 percent, 50 percent and 80 percent of median income."
She said a family of four can qualify for the apartments with an income of up to $54,000, twice as much as the upper limit for living in public housing.
Shiller also insisted that the retail aspect is financially secure, with the Target deal as good as cinched. Despite numerous alterations to the project, "Target is still at the table, spending money. Their commitment is there," she said.
The alterations took place because a movie complex was added to the mix, then it dropped out on rising costs. Critics of Wilson Yard wanted the theaters and also think they've been sold a bill of goods on the housing. Endless planning meetings and "charrettes," the favored term of those who confuse dialogue for decisiveness, produced agreement on "mixed income" housing for Wilson Yard.
That implies some market-rate homes. But Holsten's partner as a market-rate builder, Kenard Corp., exited the deal. Holsten said it was because the costs "didn't pencil out." With the level of subsidies in this deal, $35 million in tax-increment financing for a $115 million project, it's hard to imagine why.
Aldermen, with extraordinary power over zoning, can steer projects to their liking. And I've talked to developers who bypass Uptown because of the hazards of dealing with Shiller.
She insisted that she's true to her promises of giving Uptown's diverse groups something, but not all, that they want out of Wilson Yard.
Her goal, she said, is to foster "development without displacement."
Her critics will portray Shiller as showing tolerance for conditions many other neighborhoods would rise up against. The neighborhood group's meeting last week displayed the contrasts: privilege and property ownership inside the Wilson Avenue meeting space. Outside, vagrants and a transient hotel owned by a Shiller supporter that in past elections has been a convenient receptacle for suspicious voter registrations.
I asked Shiller if she will run again, as many residents I encountered were unsure of her plans. "Yes," she said. "I made the decision more than a year ago. I need another term to finish several important projects."
Crime is down, she said, and for those who complain about the panhandlers, "we have less of that than downtown does," she said.
Shiller will have to take that stance to voters who, like those in many Chicago neighborhoods, often feel there's no real alternative between pricing out the poor or living with drive-bys and board-ups.
Kathy E. Cook
Executive Assistant
Prudential Plaza
130 East Randolph Street
Suite 1250
Chicago, IL 60601
April 12, 2006
BY DAVID ROEDER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST. COPYRIGHT BY THE CHICAGO SUN TIMES
Ald. Helen Shiller (46th) is a defiant warrior.
Elected in 1987 with the backing of Mayor Harold Washington, who needed another vote in the City Council, Shiller has proven herself as a political survivor, toning down her old leftist rhetoric as her ward has gentrified but without alienating her core support, lower-income voters for whom Uptown has been a refuge.
She's being put to the test now with Wilson Yard, a development site at Montrose and Broadway that is empty. The emptiness scares residents on either side of the gentrification issue. It's only about 5 acres, yet it contains 500 acres worth of neighborhood aspirations, jealousies, political agendas and developer calculations.
In an agreement larded with government subsidies, the city sold the former Chicago Transit Authority property to a partnership headed by Holsten Real Estate Development Corp. Or at least it once was a partnership; others have dropped out and now Holsten is pretty much all that's left.
A respected builder of mixed-income housing, Holsten has been unable to get a project started there, despite the grease of city- and state-backed loans. Work on the site has started for an Aldi grocery store, a separate land deal, but Holsten cannot begin construction on the housing because his part is all one big design. He's negotiating details of commercial space with Target, but no contracts have been signed.
Last week, a group organizing around the new wealth in the ward, the Uptown Neighborhood Council, drew about 300 people to a meeting about Wilson Yard, an impressive feat. Shiller and Holsten were invited but didn't show. The group's president, Randy Lehner, assailed the project for its reliance on subsidized rental housing, the lack of definition for its retail component and its dependence on public money to allegedly shove something down the public's throat.
Most in the crowd agreed. They were mostly young, educated and some spoke of being fairly new to the neighborhood. There was talk about writing protest letters and registering to vote for the aldermanic election next year.
Shiller's ears must have burned in absentia. She knows an aldermanic candidacy is lurking in the tweeds.
In an interview, she offered two reasons for not showing up: a family responsibility and certainty that it was a kangaroo court. She said council members adopted a bullying tone in trying to get the appointment with her staff. "I would have been at their meeting if they hadn't threatened me, if they had stopped their lying about this project," Shiller said.
Chief among her objections is their use of the term "low income," or close variations, to describe the housing. It's meant to conjure images of Chicago Housing Authority high-rises. "The CHA won't rent to people who earn more than 30 percent of median [Chicago area] income," she said. "This project will rent to people with 30 percent, 50 percent and 80 percent of median income."
She said a family of four can qualify for the apartments with an income of up to $54,000, twice as much as the upper limit for living in public housing.
Shiller also insisted that the retail aspect is financially secure, with the Target deal as good as cinched. Despite numerous alterations to the project, "Target is still at the table, spending money. Their commitment is there," she said.
The alterations took place because a movie complex was added to the mix, then it dropped out on rising costs. Critics of Wilson Yard wanted the theaters and also think they've been sold a bill of goods on the housing. Endless planning meetings and "charrettes," the favored term of those who confuse dialogue for decisiveness, produced agreement on "mixed income" housing for Wilson Yard.
That implies some market-rate homes. But Holsten's partner as a market-rate builder, Kenard Corp., exited the deal. Holsten said it was because the costs "didn't pencil out." With the level of subsidies in this deal, $35 million in tax-increment financing for a $115 million project, it's hard to imagine why.
Aldermen, with extraordinary power over zoning, can steer projects to their liking. And I've talked to developers who bypass Uptown because of the hazards of dealing with Shiller.
She insisted that she's true to her promises of giving Uptown's diverse groups something, but not all, that they want out of Wilson Yard.
Her goal, she said, is to foster "development without displacement."
Her critics will portray Shiller as showing tolerance for conditions many other neighborhoods would rise up against. The neighborhood group's meeting last week displayed the contrasts: privilege and property ownership inside the Wilson Avenue meeting space. Outside, vagrants and a transient hotel owned by a Shiller supporter that in past elections has been a convenient receptacle for suspicious voter registrations.
I asked Shiller if she will run again, as many residents I encountered were unsure of her plans. "Yes," she said. "I made the decision more than a year ago. I need another term to finish several important projects."
Crime is down, she said, and for those who complain about the panhandlers, "we have less of that than downtown does," she said.
Shiller will have to take that stance to voters who, like those in many Chicago neighborhoods, often feel there's no real alternative between pricing out the poor or living with drive-bys and board-ups.
Kathy E. Cook
Executive Assistant
Prudential Plaza
130 East Randolph Street
Suite 1250
Chicago, IL 60601
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