Quote:
Originally Posted by bhawk66
Not sure it's obvious or not but throwing a half billion dollars of free money towards the site is indicative of the sites appeal. It's a questionable site and the city/state know it. McCaskey's probably don't want another Comiskey.
In my best Jagger voice: "Tracks on the east side, bed bugs next door..."
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I get it... trying to be clever^ with the "bed bugs" thing. I would rather chalk that up to a somewhat ill advised attempt to be clever, as opposed to you stereotyping the people who live in that community. I write this with the caveat that I travel a lot and have been away from Chicago on work, so I may have missed news regarding a bed bug infestation of sorts, but short of that, I will just chalk it up to an attempt at being clever with nothing nefarious lying underneath. Why is this a bit of a sensitive area for me?
I know quite a few the people who live in that area.... and every time I have visited with them, I have never seen a bed bug in sight. Does not mean that just because I have never personally seen them, that there aren't some... but if you search hard enough, you can find a person or two who has that going on in just about every area of the city. Moreover, if such an infestation does exist, that should not, by definition, be a mark against their character as your remark intimates.
I own a home in area code 60615 - which is a stones throw to the South of 60616 - the area code for Michael Reese. Almost 10% of the households in 60615 make over $200,000 per year - with many making substantially more than that/there are mansions in the area/some U of C professors and administrators own homes there, etc. The average household income for 60615 is estimated at just under $100,000.
Directly abutting 60616 to the north lies 60605 where just over 24% of the household make $200,000 per year and the average household income is $154,000 per year.
Why am I saying that? This is no wasteland. There are upwardly mobile people and well established people and communities all within close to fairly close reach. Then you have the poor/working poor in some parts of that area too. Its called "city living" - with some in 60616/60653 - it comes with city life. There is no large city in the world that does not have some poorer communities. But here again, this does not have to be seen as a negative.
We have to move away from this notion that wealth means "good character" - if nothing else, the times we currently live in should dispel that notion on an almost daily basis.
I know solid people that live in 60616, people of great character who work hard every day and take good care of the home or apartment that they have. And keep in mind that the Prairie Shores development, etc. is close to MR site - filled with young professionals who recently graduated from college who are working their way up in the word... also housing middle to older citizens who are hard working and law abiding. This area, by definition, presents nothing to fear. It just needs more opportunity -- that is where the incentive money that the state may be offering comes into play -- to help bridge gaps in perception and in reality (infrastructure) with respect to many of the drawbacks that the site offers.
On the subject of wealth - South Loop, Motor Row, Hyde Park, Obama Center, Bronzeville - lots of change is going on in these areas - with most of it being positive. Certainly the Obama Center is proving to be quite a catalyst for that area. There is wealth already there as I have pointed out... and these areas are primed to attract more wealth with another catalyst joining the mix such as Bears or White Sox stadium.
I agree this site is not as prime as where the Bears' home currently sits... or the site they were proposing (parking lot) if they were to build in Chicago. Those sites are already pretty much built out around the location and give the impression of being directly adjacent to the lake... including being closer to the heart of downtown Chicago -- all of which present a tough act to follow. But here again, that is where the substantial incentive money is designed to bridge these gaps and make this a much more viable option.
If built out at MR, the decking over of LSD would be a huge boon for the stadium and that area. It would also help bring the lake closer to the fans and the action. It is quite nice. But if I were a betting man, I would wager they move to AH. That having been said, longshot though it may be, don't sleep all the way on MR - particularly with that bucket of cash the state
may be throwing at this.
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