CHICAGO | General Developments

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Though I've often stayed in windowless rooms in Asia, they're almost unknown in the US.

would they even be legal here, from a building code perspective?

[Steely Dan]

logan square development

Here’s A First Look At The 100 Percent Affordable Housing Complex Coming Next To Logan Square’s Blue Line Station
The project would bring 100 units of affordable housing and 4,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space to a city-owned parking lot.

PUBLISHED ON APR 3, 2019 8:30AM CDT
Mina Bloom

LOGAN SQUARE — A long-discussed plan to build an 100 percent affordable housing complex on the city-owned parking lot directly north of the Logan Square Blue Line station is moving forward.

Nonprofit housing developer Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation has crafted a development proposal for the site at 2602-2638 N. Emmett St. that is expected to face its first regulatory hurdle in the coming months.

Bickerdike’s proposal calls for a two-to-seven-story tiered complex with 100 apartments, 4,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space — aimed at local small businesses and nonprofits — and 20 on-site parking spaces.

full article: https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/04...-line-station/



source: https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/04...-line-station/

[Hourstrooper]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

logan square development


full article: https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/04...-line-station/



source: https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/04...-line-station/

Horrible design

[Busy Bee]

Guhh. The only thing missing is some cell block numbers on the side. Where's the bull tower over the rooftop weightlifting area? Horrible.

[Hourstrooper]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Guhh. The only thing missing is some cell block numbers on the side. Where's the bull tower over the rooftop weightlifting area? Horrible.

Yup That's affordable housing for us...…. Never a good thing.

[moorhosj]

Originally Posted by Hourstrooper

Yup That's affordable housing for us...…. Never a good thing.

I get that costs are important, but just stick with one design. This looks like 4 ugly buildings that ran into each other.

[west-town-brad]

Originally Posted by moorhosj

I get that costs are important, but just stick with one design. This looks like 4 ugly buildings that ran into each other.

as someone who lives in a neighborhood blessed by affordable housing developers, this design is not as bad as I have seen.

[Hourstrooper]

Originally Posted by moorhosj

I get that costs are important, but just stick with one design. This looks like 4 ugly buildings that ran into each other.

I mean and we know this thing will be approved for sure due to the new alderman being aro pro...

[LouisVanDerWright]

Time to pop some popcorn and watch Logan Square Preservation and the affordable housing folks eat each other alive...

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

Time to pop some popcorn and watch Logan Square Preservation and the affordable housing folks eat each other alive...

LSP and LSNA have already approved this proposal, according to Block Club. But the project will need a zoning change, the approval of an $8M TIF subsidy from the Fullerton/Milwaukee TIF, and an RDA for the city-owned land to be sold to Bickerdike.

The design is okay. Reminds me of this one in the Bronx by Grimshaw:
https://www.archdaily.com/468660/via...chitects-photo

[Hourstrooper]

Originally Posted by ardecila

LSP and LSNA have already approved this proposal, according to Block Club. But the project will need a zoning change, the approval of an $8M TIF subsidy from the Fullerton/Milwaukee TIF, and an RDA for the city-owned land to be sold to Bickerdike.

The design is okay. Reminds me of this one in the Bronx by Grimshaw:
https://www.archdaily.com/468660/via...chitects-photo

I wish it was that dense and tall!

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by ardecila

LSP and LSNA have already approved this proposal, according to Block Club. But the project will need a zoning change, the approval of an $8M TIF subsidy from the Fullerton/Milwaukee TIF, and an RDA for the city-owned land to be sold to Bickerdike.

The design is okay. Reminds me of this one in the Bronx by Grimshaw:
https://www.archdaily.com/468660/via...chitects-photo

Evil TIF in action.

[Stockerzzz]

I'm no expert, but I thought subsidized housing was supposed to be sprinkled in lightly throughout a neighborhood instead of creating 100% subsidized buildings?

[aaron38]

It doesn’t look as bad from the other angle shown in the article.
Someone will just have to build something else to block off that back view.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Stockerzzz

I'm no expert, but I thought subsidized housing was supposed to be sprinkled in lightly throughout a neighborhood instead of creating 100% subsidized buildings?

Not sure what you mean by subsidized. From the article it sounds like a tax credit project, so renters will still pay 30% of their income, it's just that rents have to be restricted to be affordable to people making a certain percentage of the area median income. 100 units at this site surrounded by a lot of high income and middle income seems fine to me. The problem is the cost of course, if that is what you mean by subsidy. A piece of land worth $4.5million given away? And $8million in TIF? And the article alludes to other public grants being needed.

Also Bickerdike has a pretty bad reputation in terms of property management. There are much better affordable housing developers out there. Figures Ramirez Rosa is working with them.

[Stockerzzz]

^ Well the article states it's being financed by TIF, low income tax credits and other subsidies, so this is housing subsidized by public tax dollars bestowed on those that earn up to the limit.

And note the language "geared toward residents earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income. The cap is $35,580 per year for an individual and $50,760 per year for a family of four."

Applicants with no income will not have to pay a dime to live there. Applicants with an income will have the delta between what they can afford to pay and the market rent covered by taxpayers. How is this not subsidized housing?

[the urban politician]

It is definitely subsidized housing, but I think if we’re going to do this, this is the way to get it done.

1. Let the taxpayers pay for affordable housing instead of forcing it on private landlords vis a vis rent control, which is a taking of property (in my opinion)
2. Sprinkle affordable housing throughout the area instead of creating one giant swath of concentrated poverty
3. Affordable housing on commercial, high density corridors is more likely to get drowned out by other urban features, thus it doesn’t stand out, dominate, and hence create pushback from market rate households. It would be more problematic in a purely residential and low density area
4. Near transit, for job access.

[HomrQT]

Originally Posted by Hourstrooper

Horrible design

Is this really that much cheaper than just using brick and making somehing that looks simple but nice?

[LouisVanDerWright]

Plus this has the added benefit of likely creating a gaggle of pissed off NIMBYS who will blame the presence of any and all panhandlers in the area on Rosa and then vote him out.

But I agree with TUP, if you are going to build affordable housing then do it, just don't create a contrived system that drives up the price of non subsidized housing.


This is pretty ugly though and I'm surprised LSP is behind it. Just goes to show how little they actually care about the historic integrity of the area.

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Not sure what you mean by subsidized. From the article it sounds like a tax credit project, so renters will still pay 30% of their income, it's just that rents have to be restricted to be affordable to people making a certain percentage of the area median income. 100 units at this site surrounded by a lot of high income and middle income seems fine to me. The problem is the cost of course, if that is what you mean by subsidy. A piece of land worth $4.5million given away? And $8million in TIF? And the article alludes to other public grants being needed.

Also Bickerdike has a pretty bad reputation in terms of property management. There are much better affordable housing developers out there. Figures Ramirez Rosa is working with them.

Is there an affordability expiration on this? Like 30 years or so?

Does the city always surrender land outright for this type of arrangement or would it ever continue to own the underlying land with a long-term lease?

Thanks