Thursday, July 1, 2021

4600 Marine Drive Gets Aldermanic Approval, Heads to City Council

Alderman Cappleman has posted his letter to Lakeside Area Neighbors Association explaining his approval of the 4600 Marine Drive development on the lightly-used Weiss Hospital parking lot on Wilson between Clarendon and Marine.  

The letter, which we reproduced below, details the process that led up to the decision, Aldermen Cappleman's deliberation, and his ultimate determination to support the development.  

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

We reported about this development late last year, and public and private meetings in the subsequent 7 months were filled with arguments over the merits of the building. Opponents are primarily upset that the building will block their views and add more market rate housing, and the local block club argued (without proof) that it "did not trust" Pipeline Health, the owner of Weiss Hospital, to follow through on promises to put sales proceeds into hospital improvements as an additional basis to oppose the plan.  We hear that the developer made numerous changes to accommodate opponents and they voted against the building anyway.

As the letter describes, this development will have direct and positive impacts on Weiss Hospital, providing funds for necessary renovations and new programs, including Weiss' unique transgender clinic, and further strengthening Uptown's largest employer.  The ARO funds generated by the project will be directed to Sarah's Circle, a longtime provider of supportive services for abused and homeless women and their families, in lieu of going into the common city-wide fund.  Sarah's Circle is slated to use the funds directed to it to fund construction of a new building providing housing at Lakeside and Sheridan. 

With this, the development goes to the full City Council for approval.

Speaking for all of us here at UU, we believe this project is a true win-win-win, as Weiss and Sarah's Circle get immediate and important benefits, the community as a whole benefits from a stronger Weiss and additional housing for abused and homeless women, and this building adds new Uptowners while replacing an empty parking lot with a building subject to property taxes. 

2 comments:

  1. As a neighbor in this block club who was out voiced by the NIMBY's, thank you for your take on this decision. Not all of us are opposed to development.

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  2. I don't live within the boundaries of that block club, but letting neighbors decide what gets built will generally result in NOTHING getting built.

    Most people hate two things: change and the way things are and will generally vote for "inertia" over anything else.

    The development here will add people to the neighborhood and money for Sarah's Circle. If my memory is correct and it may not be the neighbors around Sarah's Circle's new building voted it down, but Cappleman supported it anyway.

    The opponents should be happy I'm not alderman. I'd have made the development larger and gotten Sarah's Circle more money just to spite them. That's how I roll. I'm naturally cantankerous.

    This exercise in representative democracy has partially just been an outlet for Marianne Lalonde to keep her name and anti development agenda out there before the next election. Frankly that's bad policy for the neighborhood, but good politics for her.

    After the recount last election Lalonde, in a faint echo of Trump, claimed that we'll never know who really won the election. Actually we do know--the guy named Cappleman.

    Uptown's own more Ginger version of Trump won't quit ever.

    Unlike Trump she's extremely bright and hard working and in her own way that makes her more locally dangerous than an actual Uptown Trump would be.

    As ridiculous as it may seem we're probably about two-three months away from people beginning to announce they're running for alderman in Feb 2023. If Cappleman doesn't run I'd expect a gaggle or flock of would be candidates to join the race. Think the double digit number of candidates from 2011.

    In any case the More Ginger Trump will be running whether Cappleman runs or not. I'd also guess Angela Clay will run if she has moved or moves back into the ward. Outside that if Capp doesn't run expect a double digit number of people to run and a runoff between me and the second place vote getter.

    I will be running as the candidate of the UCP--Uptown Curmudgeon Party.

    You've been warned. Move before my reign of error over the 46th Ward begins in 2023!









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