Dear Neighbor,
In keeping with my commitment to preserve affordable housing in the 49th Ward, I am pleased to report that the Broadmoor Hotel on Howard Street will soon have a new owner who will renovate the historic 90-unit building and maintain it as affordable rental housing.
Rogers Park developer, Lou Sopcic, recently was awarded the right to purchase the property in return for an agreement to keep the building affordable to people of low and moderate income for at least the next 25 years. Mr. Sopcic and his family enjoy an excellent reputation as quality housing developers, and I am confident he will be a good and responsible landlord. I am proud to have played a role in preserving the Boradmoor's affordability.
Built in 1923 and located at the northwest corner of Howard and Bosworth, the Broadmoor was once a luxury hotel and the site of a number of ballroom dances that were broadcast live on WBBM Radio. In fact, legend has it that WBBM's call letters stood for "We Broadcast from the BroadMoor!"
Unfortunately, the building began to fall in serious disrepair over the years, and became a serious source of criminal activity in the neighborhood. After the most recent ownership entity dissolved two years ago, the City of Chicago Department of Housing stepped in and included the Broadmoor in its Troubled Buildings Initiative. The City assigned the building to the Community Investment Corporation (CIC), a not-for-profit mortgage lender that provides financing to buy and repair buildings in distress.
CIC acted as a receiver on the building and promptly secured an experienced manager who hired on-site security guards and began making needed repairs. CIC, with the support of the Illinois Housing Development Authority and the Chicago's Department of Housing, issued a "Request for Proposal" from developers to acquire and renovate the buildings.
At my urging, the City of Chicago released its mortgage claim on the Broadmoor, helping to insure that the building could be maintained as an affordable rental building.
I am extremely pleased that CIC selected Lou Sopcic to be the Broadmoor's new owner. Mr. Sopcic shares my commitment to preserving affordable housing and will engage in a complete rehabilitation of the building's apartments and storefronts. As part of the purchase agreement, Mr. Sopcic and his successors must maintain the affordability of the building for the next 25 years and maintain on-site security guards. Mr. Sopcic also plans to have his building manger live in the Broadmoor.
Mr. Sopcic is expected to close on the building in the next three to four months and to begin rehabilitation of the building shortly thereafter. Only about 50 of the building's 90 units are currently occupied, thus enabling Mr. Sopcic to renovate the building without forcing any of the current residents to leave.
Hopefully within a year and a half, the Broadmoor will once again be the crown jewel of Howard Street!
Very truly yours,
Joe Moore
BLOGNOTES, by Hugh: Gold Coast Developer, Lou Sopcic, recently was awarded the right to purchase the Broadmoor in return for numerous, regular, generous campaign contributions.
Sopcic, Ljubomir
55 E Erie (home, 42nd Ward, Gold Coast)
Unit 1602
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 280-0015
Occupation: Owner
Employer: Sopcic, Inc.
(involuntarily dissolved by Illinois Secretary of State 1/2/03)
Sopcic, Ljubomir
515 N. Nobel (business; 27th ward, West Town)
Chicago, IL 60622
to Citizens for Joe Moore
$500.00 2/9/2007
$80.00 2/9/2007
$500.00 2/9/2006
$500.00 2/25/2005
$250.00 8/19/2004
$2,500.00 5/23/2002
$500.00 12/13/2001
$1,500.00 2/2/2001
$1,000.00 3/23/2000
to the Democratic Party of the 49th Ward - David Fagus, head stooge
$300.00 10/5/2004
$250.00 3/3/2004
$7,880.00 disclosed since 2000
Where was Lou in 2003? I really doubt his commitment to progressive politics!
IDM Constructors
515 N. Noble
Unit 402
Chicago, IL 60622
Ljubomir Sopcic, President, Secretary, and registered agent
to Citizens for Joe Moore
$2,500.00 1/23/2003
$500.00 12/14/2006
$500.00 12/14/2006
(yes, that's right Moore disclosed TWO seprate contributions of $500 each on the same day)
IDM Corporation
6312 N. Pulaski
Chicago, IL 60646
MARY SOPCIC, President
$1,500.00 11/30/1999 to Citizens for Joe Moore
$12,880.00 disclosed since 1999
BLOGNOTES, by Craig: Joe Moore did nothing to preserve this affordable dump to the poor, sap renters who live in it. This verbiage of the contract was drawn in the agreement well before he got his name attached to this so-called 'good news' sell.
Joe Moore, always on the take, and always there to take credit for something he had nothing to do with.
18 comments:
Joe Moore said....> "Hopefully within a year and a half, the Broadmoor will once again be the crown jewel of Howard Street!"
Didn't Joe say that about the Gateway Plaza a few years back?
Joe Moore said....> "Hopefully within a year and a half, the Broadmoor will once again be the crown jewel of Howard Street!"
DIdn't Joe say that about the still troubled Howard Theatre a few years back?
This is no surprise. This is the guy who developed the building at Jonquil and Sheridan. He didn't follow condo law, didn't hand over board at appropriate time, didn't pay assessments on unsold units. Also the building right across from the Starbucks on Sheridan. Hangs around bad real estate people, too. One hand washes the other and screw whoever we can. This will not be good for the neighborhood. He will reneg on his promises to the neighborhood - no doubt about it.
All right, you guys have me convinced. I'm usually not a conspiracy freak, but I'm starting to suspect that Joe Moore really IS systematically making the North of Howard area a poverty-stricken dumping ground. Another "affordable" building in the already most "affordable" area on the North Shore?! Outrageous!
I keep wondering if some of this has to do with the weakness of Howard Street as a border with Evanston. As far as I can tell, Evanston has little political clout with Chicago. What are we going to say -- "clean up your **** or else" ... what? We can't vote in Chicago elections, as far as I know we can't affect any funding for the 49th Ward. All we can do is ask Joe to play nice and not make our border such a hellhole.
And what does it hurt him to neglect the northern part of his ward? As many of you point out, he paradoxically receives many benefits from keeping this area a slum. He gets to tout his "liberal" record on affordable housing, paint himself as a champion for the little guy, pocket the contributions of the slumlords he allows to run wild ... All while creating a secluded pocket of filth that spills over into the next city but bothers comparatively few of his own supporters.
I don't see how we're supposed to turn Howard Street around if the "powers that be" keep forcing concentrations of poverty onto this area ...
And I understand that Joe had nothing to do directly with this transaction -- but he didn't seem to oppose it, and he's certainly not showing any public concern over the concentration of poverty in the NoH area. Instead, he's celebrating MORE affordable housing in an already economically depressed area!
sick of dem-
well put-
Take a look at the mess at Morse and Greenview-
Doesit look like four story construction???
Come to the 48th ward Zoning and Planning meeting tonight at MASmiths to see how community block clubs and associations vote on the new TIF. Whether you agree with TIFs or not, Smith is instituting a new concept in utlizing a community committee to laud over the distribution of money (after the senior home project). Unlike the 49th, there is a "measured amount" of community input. Is it the best no, but it does give the community an opportunity at least to be heard.
Joe Moore said....> "Hopefully within a year and a half, the Broadmoor will once again be the crown jewel of Howard Street!"
Craig Gernhardt said....> "Didn't Joe say that about the Gateway Plaza a few years back?"
Crown Jewel of Rogers Park ... He also called the condos on Sheridan and Juneway, the Crown Jewel of Rogers Park during a RP Biz-Arts meeting there during the buildings grand opening.
How many Crown Jewels can Rogers Park have anyway?
I hate the vague, politically correct verbiage that refers to low-income housing that houses, not the poor, but the most undesirable elements that couldn't be placed anywhere else as "affordable".
The same word is used to refer to housing targeted to low-wage workers, or to the teachers, firefighters, cops, clerical workers, social workers, admin assistants, salesmen, artists, tech workers, librarians, and other respectable folk in other moderate income occupations too numerous to list , that make $30K-$60K a year. These classes of people do NOT create crime and social problems, yet they are lumped in with ex-cons and welfare moms with 20 kids and prostitutes, because of this vague word.
Joe should state his platform openly, which is to stuff the neighborhood with as many criminal low-lifes and not-for-profits servicing dangerous, undesirable clients, as he can.
Dorthy, that would be wonderfull if joey would let the people who voted for him to represent them; to listen to what they want.
It's interesting that whenever joey release's a letter talking about a improvement (so he says) in housing for the ward , there is always Graig or someone who brings up all the dollars the developer gives our boy joe.
How sad that joey sells out the safety of the decent , honest people of the 49th ward,just to help those who donate to him and himself to become richer.
Bringing in so called affordable housing , just brings down home values. As the crime increase (I know joey says it down) shootings, muggings drive people away.
Let's hope the ward can survive 4 more years, and that we wake up and vote in someon who will listen to the voters.
> We can't vote in Chicago elections
well, not for lack of trying...
Observations On The Voting Process
> I keep wondering if some of this has to do with the weakness of Howard Street as a border with Evanston.
you can stop wondering anytime
Howard St is Chicago AND Evanston's poor step child
> This is the guy who developed the building at Jonquil and Sheridan.
> Also the building right across from the Starbucks on Sheridan.
thanks for the post
I would like to learn more about Sopcic buildings
could you pls post addresses?
thanks again!
"Howard St is Chicago AND Evanston's poor step child"
Yes, but not because our alderman sits on her bum and collects as much affordable housing in the area as possible. She's working hard to try to change the area around -- unfortunately, a combination of economic inertia, greedy property owners on Howard, a City Council that cares only about downtown Evanston, and a weak judicial system that makes it hard to go after slumlords is mitigating her effectiveness on Howard. Evanston is so in love with its liberal ideals that it refuses to get tough on anybody -- and ends up allowing the gangbangers and drug dealers to roam free in certain, neglected parts of town where the millionaires don't live.
toni's blog post re- voting
while you are pointing out other people's misunderstanding of the voting process, you, yourself, are ignorant on one extremely important rule- photo id. unless a voters application for ballot is either; pink, meaning that mail was returned from that address, or gray, meaning that they had registered by mail, or otherwise not face to face with the registrar,
or the signature does not match the judge is NOT ALLOWED TO ASK FOR ID. a citizen in the polling place needs only their signature. this is a legal principle that has be adjudicated, legislated, and many today are attempting to subvert it. the intent of the founding fathers is spelled out clearly. there is to me no nibbling around the edges of the right to vote. you have citizen judges so that they will recognize their neighbors. you sign the book. that is it.
anyone who says we need otherwise is trying a tired old vote suppression tactic.
and this all goes double for putting up a sign, as toni suggested, that voters need photo id. this would be a violation of federal election law. and a serious one at that.
voters should not only not be asked for id, they should be reminded of their rights by refusing to accept id, unless there is a problem.
What about voters who can't remember their addresses, and then try to vote listing a known vacant building as an adress? Shouldn't they be made to prove where they live?
problem building in 49th Ward
+
campaign contributions to Moore
=
status quo
Read the post and the comment from Anne Sullivan The post suggests ‘could state’ … have your photo ID. Sullivan wrote: “Some judges are misinformed though and it'a better to have an ID just in case.” (especially when you give a vacant building as your address)
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