Wilson Yard Developer Peter Holsten must be hearing two things in his head: "Tick, tock" (the sound of our Wilson Yard countdown meter), and his own voice telling the Sun-Times: "Now, construction is scheduled to start by June 1."How else to explain the addition of not one, but two, new signs at the corner of Montrose and Broadway?
First, let's take a look at the newest sign: "Future Site." When, Mr Holsten? June 1st of what year? Do you just pull dates out of the air while you plot ways to get more money out of the city for what is, and has been for a very long time, a big vacant lot whose original plan crumbled long ago?
This is what the "under construction" site looked like at 5:00 today:
Second, the number on the sign for more information about this "Mixed Use Development" is listed to the Industrial Street and Alley Vacation Program at the Department of Planning and Development. (Granted, the phone number may have more than one program using it as a contact number, and we're willing to stand corrected. When we called it tonight, the DPD was already closed.)Wouldn't a program that encompasses retail, or mixed-use housing, or any other "vibrant development" be more appropriate than a program that's for "the owner of an operating industrial firm"?
Third, where's the Target sign? After all, Montrose and Broadway is now sign-happy. A year ago, Mr Holsten said: "(Target's) policies on this side are absurd. We'll put up a rendering and to hell with them." So where's the rendering that Macho Peter Holsten said he'd put up to prove Target was on board?
Now, onto the Baum Realty sign, which appeared nearly two months ago. All fine to the casual observer. But when a search is done on Baum's website for any properties for lease in the 60640 area code, this is what comes up:
UPDATE: Thanks to a commenter, we found out there actually is a listing for "Wilson Yards" [sic] under zip code 60613. Status: "Under Construction/Proposed." Promising delivery by "3/1/2010." Check out the flyer, which mentions the new housing, but neglects to mention it's 100% low-income and very low-income. Oh, and it shows a Target store. Dream big!
So we have real signs ... promoting promised-for-years-and-still-unstarted construction, and non-existent properties for lease.
We guess that's what Peter Holsten and Helen Shiller call "progress." We guess they qualify posting signs as "construction."
We just call it "deceptive."
Don't forget those li'l gems on the big new sign: the "Chicago Works" logo (when it obviously is far from it on this one); "Chicago Department of Planning and Development" (where there is a total lack of planning and absolutely no real development); and my favorite--"Wilson Yard MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT", where a new Cabrini-Green-style set of towers and a relocated grocery store don't really count as 'mixed-use' and are a far cry from 'development'.
ReplyDeleteHow about if we get it renamed from "Wilson Yards" to "Shillerville" and design a new logo in the shape of a huge toilet?
ReplyDeleteI think it is time to set up a squatters village here until the clock runs out on Shiller's term in office. Then we can revisit the space with a new plan. I am only half-kidding.
ReplyDeleteWell if you read the Imperial Towers Tower Topic newsletter article from Alderman Helen Shiller you would believe that this NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION PROJECT has a TARGET whose CONSTRUCTION BEGAN MAY 1 and which HAS A BIG UNDERGROUND GARAGE.
ReplyDeleteAnd, it has already has ANOTHER 25,0000 sq ft. RETAIL STORE ready to go in and OTHER SMALL BUSINESSES.
There is a this RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT WITH BIG 2&3 BEDROOM APARTMENTS (no mention of low, very low, and very-very low income requirements to live there) and SENIOR RENTAL UNITS (no mention of low, very low, and very-very low income requirements to live there.
They are GREEN and have the LARGEST RECYCLING OF IT's KIND!!!!!!!
THE WILSON EL WILL BE DEVELOPED TOO! (Didn't we hear that campaign promise 2 elections ago also?)
AND ALL WILL BE COMPLETED IN JUST 2 YEARS-- BY 2010-(no mention that for the past 8 years and $52 million nothing has been accomplished but bare dirt!)
It's Ald. Helen "PT BARNHAM" SHILLER promoting herself again!!!!
It is PT Barnum...but Helen "PT BARN-HAM" sure made me laugh!
ReplyDeleteShiller is the Wilson Yard Shill.
ReplyDeleteShiller, derived from the word "Shill". Wikpedia definition of "shill":
Gambling industries often use shills to make winning at games appear more likely than it actually is. For example, illegal Three-card Monte peddlers are notorious employers of shills. These shills also often aid in cheating, disrupting the game if the mark is likely to win.
In marketing, shills are often employed to assume the air of satisfied customers and give testimonials to the merits of a given product. This type of shilling is illegal in some jurisdictions and almost impossible to detect. It may be considered a form of unjust enrichment or unfair competition, as in California's Business & Professions Code § 17200, which prohibits "unfair or fraudulent business act[s] or practice[s] and unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising.
Shiller is the Wilson Yard Shill.
it will probably be tagged by Monday
ReplyDeleteHere's the real estate listing for Wilson Yard
ReplyDeleteWhile 4400 N Broadway is 60640, 1036 W Montrose is in zipcode 60613 (I live a block away, and my zip is 60613, so it struck me to try it...)
But yeah, I'm with ya on the rest...
P.S. I'm almost tempted to tag the sign myself :-p
ReplyDeleteCandilicious,
ReplyDeleteGraffiti bad. MS paint will have to do. We're both too pretty to be in prison. Although if it were a coed prison........
I hope everyone commenting on this board plans to attend the rally NEXT WEEK ON JUNE 7 at 10AM in front of Shillers office. BRING SIGNS, etc....
ReplyDeleteThe rendering does clearly show a Target but people checking with corporate still say that there is no store planned. Have you checked with the parent company? No matter what the rendering must be very old because the entrance to Aldi is shown in the front rather than its current location in the back. Other items to note: it says the average household income within .25 miles is $42,263. That will certainly change with the addition of the planned housing. There is no way that the median household income for that census tract will be able to remain the same after the housing is built. They should really advertise more accurately even if it is likely that the household incomes within .5 miles and especially 1.0 miles will probably increase over time.
ReplyDeleteAnd $37 a sq foot for retail? What a bargain! I thought the going rate was closer to $95 a sq foot here.
Oh, I should have said "average" household income rather than median. They are advertising $42,263 as the average household income. You would think that wise business developers would be able to see that the number actually hides a very wide variation in household incomes but you never know how much people paid attention in high school statistics!
ReplyDeleteWhen reviewing a smaller area, most researchers report on an area's census tract for accurate information because it's based on the U.S. Census. If a non-standard calculation is used, we have no way of validating the accuracy of the facts given.
ReplyDeletePer the Clear Map which uses census data, WY is within Census Tract 031600. Around 30% of the household income within this tract is under $10,000. This percentage meets the guidelines of HUD to be labeled an area with high concentrated poverty.
While this data is 8 years old, it's the most accurate way of obtaining unbiased data and it's what researchers use to provide an unbiased report of an area's demographics.
The rendering on Baum's website is the old rendering. Notice Aldi still has WINDOWS? Looks like they put alot of effort in that listing!
ReplyDeleteAny bets on how long it's going to take for one of the Dearborn Grocer or CTA bus shelter or Methadone Clinic loiterers to walk over and take a piss on that sign? I'll give it less than a week.
ReplyDeletethe ICSC conference trip Holsten took to drum up retail prospects must not have been as productive as he expected. none of the retail space has been leased yet on this flyer. none. the entire space can still be combined, if you are interested.
ReplyDeleteoh well at least Holsten got a free trip to Vegas at our expense. with any luck so did Shiller. (read sarcasm) as long as they're gambling away our future might as well do it in style.
FOR THOSE THAT GO TO CHURCH on Sunday, if you could share with your respective congregations about the Anti-Crime Rally, that would be great! Handing out flyers after service would be ideal!
ReplyDeleteTo the editors of Uptown Update, your question "They Call This ... Construction?" is answered on the flyer. They actually call this "Construction Status: Under Construction/Proposed"
ReplyDeleteMy theory is that the recent funding collapse is making this more difficult than ever to put this proposed project together. I fully expect an announcement soon that the City Council has approved another increase in the TIF to cover "unforseen construction expenses." (aka Can't lease the thing)
Holsten probably has a non binding commitment letter from Target Corp.
ReplyDeleteWhich means that they have a letter of intent but can pull out at any time with out any $$ changing hands and no $$ money has been committed.
My partner and I live on Sunnyside. We use the Red Line Wilson Stop about every day. They JUST put artist renderings of the development in the display case / poster case back-lit signs outside of Aldi! And it DOES show the Target store.
ReplyDeleteThese just went up!
Check it out!
You mean the cases that were supposed to display artwork from Arai Students but instead are covered in gang tags?
ReplyDeleteSomeone with more time than myself can google around for it, but recently I read in an article that Target Corp was reviewing a "letter of intent" sent from Holsten to Target. In other words, Holsten is telling Target of their intentions. I had to read it a few times, because I thought that either that article did not have the facts straight, or it was a way to weasel out of the problem that Holsten caused when he told the press that they had a letter of intent.
ReplyDeleteI do M&A and transactional work. A letter of intent is just a contract that says that we are serious about wanting to do a deal and will cease talking to others while we attempt to work one out with you. We will sign a Confidentiality Agreement in which both parties will lay all their facts and figures on the table and the other party can conduct investigations into the other business partner. At the end of the Confidentiality period, the parties can hammer out a deal or walk away but cannot reveal any private info that they had revealed to them.
ReplyDeleteSo, there is no deal. There is only an intention to seriously enter into preparation for final negotiations. At this stage of the deal the economics to make the deal work are generally in the ballpark and each party is looking for dealbreaker financial problems that can kill any potential final deal or require financial guarantees.
This does not mean that any of the the financing is in place.
I'm sure the Pink Elephant in the room on this deal is that Peter Holsten is attempting to sell or lease a toxic waste site.
ReplyDeleteI don't care how much remediation he did to Wilson Yards, no environmental lawyer worth his/her billables is going to to ok a deal in which a client a becomes exposed to the horrendous Environmental Protection Agency penalties associated with this site.
The problem is that unlike most risks, which can be contractually settled on the seller or lessor, EPA penalties flow to the buyer. So no one in their right mind is going to buy or lease on that land no matter how many contigent guarantees are put up in the deal because Holsten might not be solvent to pay them years from now when they hit.
Putting money in escrow to fund potential problems would be huge and Holsten can't even get funding to build the place.
For a buyer or lessee it is simply easier to go down the street and buy or lease somewhere else. Sortof like the movie theatres.
How sure are you about EPA problems at Wilson Yard? Wouldn't the government be required to take soil samples to test for that? If toxic waste is still in the soil at Wilson Yard (it is a former train repair depot, so toxic chemicals are probably more likely than not to have been in the soil at some point) then wouldn't it be very unhealthy for the residents of the housing? I understand being less concerned about Target customers, but those people who would work at a Target and live in the housing would have much more exposure to those chemicals than the average customer. Are you suggesting this is being "overlooked" by the government?
ReplyDeleteanonymous 1:18PM said:
ReplyDeleteHow sure are you about EPA problems at Wilson Yard? Wouldn't the government be required to take soil samples to test for that?
check out buenaparkneighbors.org. do a search for "environmental" under the Wilson Yard discussion topic, and you find a couple of old threads on the subject.
THE WILSON YARD COUNTDOWN CLOCK NOW SAYS "COMPLETE"! LOL
ReplyDeleteSo, we've got lots and lots of signs that somethings coming. Shiller and the Mayor must have all of that TIF money burning a hole in their pocket. I would too. I can imagine it would be hard to sit on millions of dollars and not be able to spend it!! Does anyone think there is any chance that any reporters will find this additional delay newsworthy? How binding was that new breaking ground date to getting the most recent cash influx? And if it is all about replacing CHA housing stock, then why not just make it ALL low-income housing and get it over with instead of pretending that this is actually economic revitalization or something.
I have been following the Wilson Yard fiasco since I moved here a few years ago. It is shocking to see how mis-managed this has been, and disgusting to see more money being thrown at it without even asking basic questions like - why haven't you begun building? Where are the contracts from the stores that you promised would be going there? Wasn't low income high rise housing tried and proven to be a dismal failure?
ReplyDeleteTo Anon 10:36 PM: I have not seen the rendering, but it most likely the original one showing a street and pedestrian friendly set of buildings with a Target and an Aldi where people are entering doors to the store on the Broadway side. Sadly, the doors for the new Aldi are facing the parking lot and are distinctly pedestrian unfriendly. In fact, the rendering is probably posted where it shows there should have been windows...
To Anon 3:21 AM: It is going to be all low income - all of it. The "mixed" income piece is low income, very low income, and very, very low income, with no possibility for ownership. Nice mix, huh?
I just saying that the Wilson Yard land was determined to have toxic waste. It had to go through an environmental cleanup and did go through an environmental cleanup. The problem is that even after an environmental cleanup private owners still don't like to buy these properties.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Because the consultant that says the land is officially cleaned up could be wrong and the buyer could be sued years in the future when the consultant is dead and gone. Who is on the hook? The buyer. The seller can make reps and warranties that the land is cleaned up. But years later the some problem is found under some stricter testing. Who is on the hook? The Buyer because the seller is dead and gone, or doesn't have deep enough pockets to reimburese the buyer, or the warranties expired, or the lawsuit against the seller fails for definative proof, or buyer's a corporation that limited it's liability, etc. So the buyer still gets stuck with the problems the seller sold to him.
It's usually just not worth getting involved with remediated toxic waste properties unless you absolutely need that site for some reason. Why not just avoid the problem and locate up the street like the movie theatres did?
This is probably why the city is pumping in more TIF cash to support the deal because it can't get financed.
We should sit out on the sidewalk @ Montrose and Broadway with signs that say "Wilson Yard TIF - 8 yrs. $52,000,000. Look at the amazing progress courtesy of Helen."
ReplyDelete11:48, not too long! I just love the methadone clinic loiterers that stand out in front of it....drinking.
ReplyDelete11:19- you're way off on that. there are thousands of examples of brownfield developments in the city. also, if you clean it up you get a letter that says "No Further Remediation" which releases your liability
ReplyDeleteThat no further remediation letter only applies to already discovered problems that have been subject to remediation. It does not release for undiscovered problems.
ReplyDelete