By Lorraine Swanson, EditorNews-Star
Truman College is set to host a community meeting starting at 6 p.m. Monday, March 24, to hear plans for its Student Services Center expansion and parking garage.
Plans call for expanded parking for students and faculty to relieve resident and street parking, additional green space and landscaping, new facilities for expanded continuing education programs, along with other facilities and outdoor space for hosting community events.
The school is also seeking LEEDS-certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for the new structure. Some residents living within 250 feet from the city community college began receiving letters informing them of a zoning change for the planned development last week.
According to a flyer announcing the community meeting, "Per City Council requirements, community meetings take place within two weeks of introduction, which is the reason for this short notice."
Truman is hosting the meeting to discuss these plans with the neighborhood, culminating from a community meeting that took place last summer.
"We're doing an update on the project and showing what the renderings will like," explained Meaghan Harte, vice president of Illinois Operations for Earth Tech, the full-service engineering firm that will be managing construction for the project.
Harte stated that residents will be able to ask questions at the meeting. Residents will also be able to submit written questions to 46th Ward Alderman Helen Shiller's office and City Colleges of Chicago if they cannot make Monday's meeting.
Funding for the project includes approximately $13 million to $14 million from the state of Illinois and $30 million from City Colleges of Chicago's capital budget. Truman has also applied for $10 million in funding from the Wilson Yard TIF District, CCC spokeswoman Elsa Tullos said.
I just read on the Truman website that the Wilson Yard site will be used as a "staging area" for this project. If that is the case, then they really must not plan on having anything started there anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteI hope Lorraine is able to question Shiller at this meeting. Kinda reminds me of how veteran reporter Helen Thomas let's ol' Bushy have it at press conferences and makes him look ignorant and doesn't fall for his double-speak.
ReplyDelete"Truman has also applied for $10 million in funding from the Wilson Yard TIF District, CCC spokeswoman Elsa Tullos said."
ReplyDeleteWhere exactly do you apply? What is the process for getting the money released?
To uureader, during the Uptown Development Meeting at Kinetic Playground, the CDOT representative mentioned Wilson Yard won't start until 2010. When asked for the source, she could only smile and say that is the talk around the office.
ReplyDeleteWhich is good, because the aldermanic elections are in early 2011. With any luck, the work won't have started, or can still be reversed, should we be fortunate enough to have an alderman without the name Shiller elected.
ReplyDeleteOh, you will. Your good friends in the 48th ward will help you. It will take some work, but together we can make it happen.
ReplyDeleteThis architectural rendering reminds me of those wide angle photos realtors use in the Sunday paper that make everything seem much more spaciously laid out than reality.
ReplyDeleteThere is no way that the setbacks are really that wide.
Does anyone know if Truman (main building) is really supposed to be that "rust" color it currently is? Was it originally black and then just faded and rusted with time?
ReplyDeleteHow does one apply for TIF money?
ReplyDeleteSue Ellen at Uptown United or Paul at Business Partners can help you cash in. They sure did. Call & ask.
ReplyDeleteThis seems is a rather bougie approach to community meetings for our Alderman Shiller. Is she trying to upscale her image?
ReplyDeleteWhat? No preparatory, clandestine meetings at the Uptown People’s Law Center to hand out flyers and discuss black lung disease? No Marc Kaplan let protests against condo owners? No Slim Coleman school math project marches to count the white people? No phony charrettes to garner the appearance of community input?
This neighborhood demands diversity in our community problem solving. To honor our Native American Heritage, I suggest a Vision Quest or Steam Lodge.
Smoke Dreams on Broadway can bring the pipes and Alderson Brendan can source the peyote.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe they are having this meeting out of the goodness of their hearts. Does this meeting fulfill an official requirement of some sort? I had presumed it was a zoning meeting but have not seen any required signs posted on lamppoles.
ReplyDelete