* Howard/Ashland Site Set For Eminent Domain

City Takes Action to Force Development of Vacant Site
A 46,000 square foot parcel at Howard and Ashland in Rogers Park that once was home to the Lerner newspaper facility has sat vacant for more than 10 years. The City of Chicago, at the request of the community, has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for redevelopment of the site. Although the City does not own the site, they have authority through eminent domain to acquire it. The RFP will provide a much-needed push to get site development to occur.

New development on Howard Street couldn’t come at a better time. “New mixed-use development will really benefit the community,” said Amy Campbell, the Howard Street Special Service Area Manager. “Revitalization on Howard Street is linked to development on that site. The timing of the RFP also coincides with the release of the Commercial Corridor Plan for Howard Street,” said Campbell. “Developers now have a useful tool to guide their development, based on the community’s wants and needs.”

The site is within the boundaries of the Howard/Paulina Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district. TIF assistance is potentially available for proposals that demonstrate tangible public benefits, including affordable housing, new retail or environmentally sustainable features.

The aim of the RFP is to solicit proposals for commercial, residential and/or mixed-use development that comply with the new B2-3 zoning designation and are consistent with the surrounding area. Since the site is located in the Howard/Paulina TIF area, it is also subject to the vision of the TIF plan, which seeks to make the TIF redevelopment area “an important activity center contributing to the neighborhood and community focus of the Howard/Paulina Area.”

DevCorp North, the business, community and economic development organization in Rogers Park, provided the City of Chicago’s Dept. of Planning and Development with detailed information about other developments occurring on Howard Street for the RFP, including Bob Coe’s development at 1523-25 Howard and the new Gale Park Community Center being developed across the street from the site.

“The community has been waiting too long for something to happen with that site, it was time the city stepped in and took over,” said Kimberly Bares, Executive Director of DevCorp North. “That’s why DevCorp North submitted a letter of support for the City of Chicago to initially place the property on the City’s acquisition list, which was supposed to light a fire under the current owner to move forward with developing the property. When that didn’t happen, we supported the City in putting together a RFP for someone else to develop that site. Rogers Park and Howard Street deserve good development that enhances and serves the needs of the neighborhood, not vacant sites and inattentive property owners.”

A hard copy of the RFP is available at DevCorp North’s office, 1557 W Howard Street, or downtown at the Department of Planning and Development in City Hall. A pre-submittal conference will be held at 10am on January 8, 2007 in conference room 1003A of City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle. The due date for submittal to the city is February 5th.

Blognotes:
The DevCorp North Battle Cry
The community... it's for the community. Filling the community up with the propaganda that our community needs study says this - our community needs study says that.

The whole timing on this is very suspicious. 51 days until the Aldermanic elections. What's Alderman Moore have to say about all this? Where's his name on all these so-called new plans? Are you telling us it was all DevCorp North?

And another thing to the clueless wonders at DevCorp North. To tout Mr. Coe as a reason to move forward is nothing more than another one of the many reasons Ms. Kimberly Bares should be fired! Ms. Bares has no clue what the community needs. She is nothing more than a political 'hired gun' for Alderman Moore.