A reader sends us this zoning change notice they received recently (click to enlarge on the left). According to this, Hamilton Consulting, LLC wishes to construct a 6-story senior living facility with 100 residential units. Check out the Google street view map below to see the proposed site, which now is a surface parking lot.
View Larger Map
I like the idea, but there is nothing 6 stories high in the area. If it could be designed to meet the 3 stories that most buildings are in teh area, I'd be all in favor of this development. But 6 stories would be an eye-sore.
ReplyDeleteIf they build it, it better have a parking area for the delivery trucks....and it better look really f-ing good. What ever happened to quality buildings.
ReplyDeleteI do not understand why we need so many senior living facilities in such a short distance. 5040 N. Kenmore is the CHA senior house slated to open in 2010. They are trying to build one at Marine and Foster. We have MidAmerica who wants to expand to their adjacent lot. The high rise in the 5100 block of Kenmore is senior only and there are many more tucked into the blocks on Kenmore down to Bryn Mawr. Not that I am opposed to helping out, but there seems to be a really high concentration of these facilities very close together.
ReplyDeleteI would submit that the developers have determined tax payers are the only only source of revenue for the near-intermediate future. Of course, this assumes the development is subsidized and getting tax credits. I guess it's possible that this could be a development which actually contributes to the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteDo any of these senior housing and low low income housing projects add anything to the tax base? How about some businesses!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNot that I am opposed to helping out, but there seems to be a really high concentration of these facilities very close together.
ReplyDeleteYeah, when all of those seniors get together all hell breaks loose...
Also, don't forget that an almost identical letter went out to residents a few weeks ago about a proposed senior facility at the corner of Kenmore and Ainsle...that would be right next door to an existing senior facility! I do not understand why everyone is trying to concentrate senior and low-income housing all in one area...not a smart idea.
ReplyDeleteSeniors are a more reliable voting base than low income folks.
ReplyDeleteRead into that what you will.
I don't have a problem with senior housing, but, I am interested in knowing if any other ward in the city has as much senior housing as there is in the 46/48th wards.
Is this in the 46th Ward or 48th? If it's in the 48th, Alderman Mary Ann Smith has a Zoning Committee that ultimately decides what happens with votes cast. If it's in Helen Shiller's 46th Ward, the campaign contribution amount might end up being the deciding factor.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Carol Marin on Channel 5 last night slammed Joe Moore for zoning changes & campaign contributions. Could Helen be next?
Any TIF $$ going to this project?
ReplyDeleteWhat a great place to stick seniors! Helen's pet coop project close by -- Better known as Gang Banga Arms.
I'm with Marcus on the aesthetics and KenCondoPres on the odd ballooning of senior housing plans in this 3 block radius.
ReplyDeleteThat block of Winthrop is not without problems. I hope the entrance of a vulnerable new group of neighbors puts more priority on curbing the thug and drug activity there.
We shouldn't overlook that the loss of one of the few (if not only) parking lots in close proximity to the shopping on Argyle would be detrimental to all of our neighborhood streets every Saturday and Sunday when it is already difficult to find a spot due to the extra traffic.
ReplyDeleteyeah, Resident, it's a real shame there's not any buses or trains that go by the Argyle shopping district. :(
ReplyDeleteIt is important for the Argyle shopping district to have adequate parking. On weekends, people from the greater Chicago area as well as Wisconsin and Indiana come in to shop at the specialty grocery stores. I once ran into an old co-worker of mine who drove an hour in from Carol Stream just to shop here; she can't get certain ingredients anywhere else. It's almost impossible to find street parking on a Saturday afternoon.
ReplyDeleteI, too, wonder what is the fascination with all the senior housing that springs up in Uptown. It's everywhere. As with all the low income housing I don't see how this is going to be any help in combating crime, especially gang activity, in the neighborhood. Now, don't go reading anything stupid into this. I'm not saying old people are participants in crime or gang activity any more than I am saying low income people are gang ridden and evil, but I do think they are more prone to attack and less prone to report activity out of fear of retribution. They become inadvertant silent allies. Why, oh why, must Uptown be so flush with the lowest common denominator?
ReplyDelete