Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Would you like weeds with that?


One of the elements that makes a neighborhood appear blighted or unsafe are poorly maintained or boarded up buildings. At the southeast corner of Wilson and Sheridan stands what used to be a Burger King restaurant, surrounded by 2 foot high weeds and a chainlink fence surrounding the property. This is the definition of blight. It is an eyesore for the neighborhood.

The area around Wilson and Broadway is the epicenter for crime on the northside of Chicago. This vacant property is just a block from that intersection. Clearly, crime is a problem in this area as the Chicago Police blue light camera was moved to the intersection of Wilson and Sheridan. Why has this property become abandoned and more importantly, why has it become neglected? The real estate agent listed on the sign who is selling the property has been contacted, but clearly nothing happened out of that call.

At a minimum, this property should be properly maintained. I would hope that the Chamber and the Alderman's office is actively seeking uses for this otherwise discarded property.

3 comments:

  1. It's my understanding the property is not for sale. It's a ground lease that means you own the building but not the property under it. That is probably why no one has bought it. It needs to be condemded and torn down by the City that is something Shiller could do but I doubt she will. She likes the look of it now.

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  2. "epicenter for crime" is a little overblown and purposely incendiary.

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  3. Actually, based on crime statistics, the location with the most crimes on the northside is the area around Wilson and Broadway.

    Incendiary? Only if you think there is no need to reduce crime in Uptown.

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