All 16 District Summaries

Transcription

Chicago
Neighborhoods
2015
Summary of Assets
in 16 Planning Districts
February 2015
Contents
Overview: Chicago Neighborhoods 2015
CN2015 Project Background
Maps and Boundaries
3
4
5
1. Bronzeville South Lakefront
2. Stony Island
3. Calumet
4. Far Southwest Side
5. South Side
6. Midway
7. Stockyards
8. Pilsen Little Village
9. Near West Side
10. West Side
11. Milwaukee Avenue
12. Northwest Side
13. North Central
14. North Lakefront
15. Lincoln Park Lakeview
16. Central Area
6
18
29
40
50
61
71
82
93
105
118
129
140
152
163
174
Appendices
Focus Group Meetings
Participants
Notes on Data and other Sources
Credits
187
188
191
194
Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – February 2015 – Page 2 Overview: Chicago Neighborhoods 2015
BUILDING A STRONGER CITY
All across Chicago, in every section of this city, there are opportunities.
Spinning out from the Loop, in every direction, huge investments have already been made in housing,
business headquarters, hospitals, universities, and the transportation infrastructure needed to move
millions of people around the city each day.
Across the scores of neighborhoods that make up this vast city there are nodes of reinvestment and
spines of activity that point the way to Chicago’s future. In built-up neighborhoods, where demand is
strong but uneven, underutilized parcels beckon for higher uses. In older areas where factories and
homes have disappeared over time, new uses can be found to reactivate, repopulate, and renew.
This book is a snapshot of Chicago’s opportunities and assets as of early 2015. It tells the story of each
of this city’s neighborhoods, identifying major recent investments, providing maps of assets, and
summarizing ideas from recent plans and studies that might inform future development.
The opportunities are not simply to build something new or to seek a return on investment, but to
create a stronger and better city. Around renewed transit infrastructure, there is land that can become
workplaces or housing. Along the lakefront and Chicago River, and around parks receiving millions in
investment, new recreational programs and environmental spaces can be activated. Closed schools and
obsolete factories can be repurposed to meet other civic goals, and vacant land can become urban
farms, greenspace, residential sideyards, business centers, or public gathering spots.
Chicago’s assets are embedded in its neighborhoods. To develop them fully and fairly, they must be
discussed in the context of those communities, and then developed with respect for what is around
them. Time and effort will be needed for neighborhood discussions, civic choices, and development of
the needed resources. That work should be ongoing, and can begin now.
Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – February 2015 – Page 3
A note on sources
The narratives and maps are based on the CN2015 focus groups, historical research, multiple data sets,
news reports, press releases, and experience in the neighborhoods by LISC Chicago staff, consultants,
and partners. Learn more about sources in the Appendix of this document and on the Chicago
Community Trust CN2015 web pages.
Maps and Boundaries
The material in this report is organized within 16 “planning
districts” defined by the City of Chicago and based on a
2013 retail market study by the Goodman Williams Group.
The boundaries generally reflect natural boundaries or
barriers such as expressways, railroad viaducts, and historic
land uses.
Each planning district is roughly, but not completely,
aligned with one to eight Chicago Community Areas, which
are the official boundaries used by the U.S. Census and most
socio-economic and journalistic presentations about the
city’s neighborhoods. The map at right shows the planning
districts and the underlying Chicago Community Areas.
To be consistent with other reports and studies about
Chicago, the data in this report are compiled by community
area or a grouping of community areas. Narratives generally
follow the boundaries of the CN2015 planning districts, but
in cases where a section of the city is split across districts, it
is more fully described in one section and referenced in the
other. For instance, Chinatown is grouped with the
Stockyards Planning District but also referenced in Central
Area. Goose Island is featured in Central Area, but is
technically also part of Milwaukee Avenue and Lincoln Park
Lakeview.
1. BRONZEVILLE SOUTH LAKEFRONT
Historic Black Metropolis is also home to universities, arts, parks
Chicago’s South Lakefront neighborhoods have been drivers
of the city’s evolution for more than 150 years. Greystone
mansions and magnificent parks built in the late 19th Century,
followed by the 1893 Columbian Exposition at Jackson Park,
attracted huge waves of development and population growth,
marking the South Side as the city’s most powerful area
beyond the central core. By 1920, the Great Black Migration
had brought some 100,000 African-Americans to Chicago from
the southern states, creating an economically diverse, though
racially segregated, area called the Black Metropolis or black
belt. It was and still is the center of African-American life in
Chicago.
Today the South Lakefront is undergoing massive and
widespread redevelopment. Five Chicago Housing Authority
(CHA) developments are being completely rebuilt as mixedincome neighborhoods. In and around Hyde Park, the
University of Chicago has invested more than $1 billion in
new facilities and partnered with private developers on offcampus housing and retail projects. With a new Tax Increment Financing District in place, the
Washington Park neighborhood is in line for more investment along Garfield Boulevard. And
Woodlawn’s 63rd Street spine has new housing at Cottage Grove and two new specialized schools at
Ellis Avenue: the Hyde Park Day School and Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School.
Source: Calculations by Institute for
Housing Studies at DePaul University using
2010 Decennial Census.
Supporting these investments are the area’s numerous locational advantages, which include diverse
transportation choices, five miles of lakefront parks and beaches, and a long history of civic activism
among residents, community organizations, and local institutions. Jackson Park and Washington Park
remain major attractions – home to the Museum of Science and Industry and DuSable Museum of
African American History, respectively – while Burnham Park boasts natural prairies along the lake
and a new harbor at 31st Street.
Bronzeville rebirth
At the core of the South Lakefront’s identity is its history as the Black Metropolis, the vibrant group of
neighborhoods that housed most of Chicago’s African-American population into the 1950s. Hemmed in
by racial covenants and often-vicious bigotry, the Black Metropolis became an economically integrated
and severely overcrowded center of black-owned businesses, church life, and social organizations,
creating the rich social and architectural legacy that continues in today’s Bronzeville.
A new era began in 1940, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck
down the covenants that restricted sales or rental of housing to
African-American families outside of the black belt. This
prompted massive outmigration into other South and West
Side neighborhoods. Over the decades that followed, as highrise public housing was built and later demolished, the South
Lakefront grew to a 1960 population peak of 369,000 residents
– many of them poor – and then declined to 127,300 by 2010.
BRONZEVILLE S. LAKEFRONT OVER TIME
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Population
309,167 230,346 171,085 152,749 127,307
Share of population in poverty
31.3%
43.0%
45.0%
36.3%
28.3%
Percent owner-occupied/renter occupied
9/92
12/88
15/85
20/80
27/73
Sources: Calculations by Institute for Housing Studies at
DePaul University using U.S. Census data from US2010
Project at Brown University.
Today, the South Lakefront is becoming more economically
and racially diverse, driven by market forces as well as conscious policies of the City of Chicago and
Chicago Housing Authority. Over the last 20 years, the Chicago Housing Authority has demolished all
36 of the 16-story high-rise towers that once stood alongside the Dan Ryan Expressway – the Robert
Taylor Homes and Stateway Gardens developments, being redeveloped as Park Boulevard and
Legends South – plus about 3,200 units at the Ida B. Wells, Madden Park, and Clarence Darrow
developments, where the new buildings are called Oakwood Shores. New mixed-income
developments – one-third market rate, one-third affordable, and one-third low-income – are under
construction at scattered sites throughout Douglas, Oakland, Grand Boulevard, and Kenwood,
including Lake Park Crescent and Jazz on the Boulevard.
Nodes of renewal
With thousands of housing units coming on line and many acres of vacant land still available, the area
is experiencing renewal across a wide geography. New construction and rehabilitation projects include:

Historic structures: On the 3600 block of South State Street, the landmarked terracotta
headquarters of the black-owned Overton Hygienic company has been rehabbed; two doors
down, the Bronzeville Bee newspaper building has become the Chicago Public Library’s “Bee
Branch.” In between and across the street, mixed-income housing is under construction as part
of the 1,300-unit Park Boulevard. Farther south at 47th and Michigan, the 1929 Rosenwald
Apartments are undergoing a $110 million rehab. Built by Sears magnate Julius Rosenwald, and
vacant since 2000, the complex will return to its roots as quality, affordable apartments, with
retail and office space planned.

Mixed-use developments: Shops and Lofts at 47 opened in late 2014 at 47th and Cottage Grove,
with 96 units of mixed-income rental housing above ground-floor retail that includes a Walmart
Neighborhood Market. The $45 million project resulted from eight years of effort by the
nonprofit Quad Communities Development Corp., with three development partners.

Grocery store: A full-service Mariano’s will be built at 39th and King Drive, bringing 400 jobs to
land vacated by the Chicago Housing Authority.

Athletic facilities: XS Tennis is partnering with the City of Chicago to build a $9.8 million
tennis complex at 51st and State Streets, with eight indoor and 19 outdoor courts. At 61st Street
and Cottage Grove in Woodlawn, Metrosquash has signed a ground lease with the POAH
housing group and is building indoor squash courts adjacent to the new Woodlawn Park
affordable housing development. Both XS and Metrosquash specialize in youth programming.

Recreation: The City Council in November 2014 approved Tax Increment Financing assistance
for the $16.2 million Quad Communities Art and Rec Center to be developed in Ellis Park, 35th
Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, by the Chicago Park District and The Community Builders.
A $1.2 million investment will expand Buckthorn Park at 44th and Calumet.
These developments build on other long-standing anchors. North of 35th Street, the Prairie Shores and
Lake Meadows high-rise developments have been racially and economically mixed since they were
built in the 1950s and 1960s; in recent years, the area has seen an influx of more than 2,300 Asian
residents. Nearby are the Illinois Institute of Technology, which has invested heavily in its modernist
campus and its University Technology Park, and the Illinois College of Optometry at 3241 S. Michigan.
Farther south, scores of well-preserved greystones and decorative brick houses are part of the
Kenwood-Oakland Conservation District, which grew out of a resident-driven 1988 planning process.
Streets in this area, close to the lakefront, have seen major reinvestment and new construction that is
compatible with the historic homes nearby.
All of the South Lakefront will soon gain improved access to beaches and the Lakefront Trail. An $18
million pedestrian bridge is under construction at 35th Street, and at 41st and 43rd Streets the City of
Chicago will build, in 2016, a pair of new pedestrian bridges with curving ramps to provide views of
the lake and Chicago skyline. The neighborhood also has new protected or buffered bike lanes on
major arteries including King Drive and Drexel Boulevard.
Hyde Park and the University of Chicago
A consistent driver of change and stability is the Hyde Park neighborhood, home to the University of
Chicago and related institutions. With 15,000 students and more than 18,000 non-faculty staff jobs –
one-third of which are held by South Lakefront residents – the university and its medical facilities have
anchored the South Lakefront since the 1890s. The university became an aggressive driver of urban
renewal in the 1950s, partnering with the City of Chicago on slum clearance and redevelopment
intended to combat rapid racial and economic change.
The university’s actions were controversial in that era, with many organizations in Hyde Park and
surrounding neighborhoods perceiving the changes as driving out the poor and creating barriers
around the campus. Community organizations today are just as active – and sometimes critical of the
university – but relations have improved thanks to better communications and continued investment
by the university in community partnerships, facilities, and job training.
For instance, along 61st and 63rd Streets in Woodlawn, south of the Midway Plaisance, new buildings
and streetscapes present welcoming faces to the community, rather than the fences and parking lots of
previous decades. The university’s Urban Education Institute works closely with four charter schools in
neighborhoods north and south of the campus. And the Arts + Public Life program, under the
leadership of renowned artist Theaster Gates, has opened an arts incubator next to the Garfield Green
Line station in the Washington Park neighborhood.
Within Hyde Park itself, the university led the redevelopment of Harper Court on 53rd Street, adding a
hotel, restaurants, and 12-story office tower; is a partner on the modernistic, 267-unit Vue 53
development on the site of a former gas station; and on 55th Street is building a $148 million dormitory
designed by architect Jeanne Gang. University of Chicago Medicine opened its $700 million
replacement hospital, the Center for Care and Discovery, in 2013.
Source: Easy Analytic Software, Inc., updated January 2014, as displayed on Woodstock Institute Data Portal.
Challenges and opportunities
Despite the heavy investment across the South Lakefront, the communities continue to face challenges
of income inequality, poor performance at many local schools, and large differences in the street
environment from one neighborhood to the next. The share of the population living in poverty has
declined in recent decades, but remains high, at 28 percent in 2010.
The demolition of CHA properties – and the decades-long attrition of housing in Washington Park,
West Woodlawn, and central Bronzeville – have left far more empty land than is likely to be filled, even
by a rebounding housing market. None of the seven community areas showed population gains
between 2000 and 2010, contributing to the 2013 closing of seven school buildings because of
enrollment declines (see Development Opportunities table). The previously announced phased closure
of Dyett High School, 555 E. 51st Street, was met with strong community protest, in part because of the
area’s limited choices of high-quality high schools. The community pressure resulted in a 2014 decision
by Chicago Public Schools to reopen Dyett in 2016 as an open enrollment neighborhood high school.
The smaller population has also affected retail
corridors. Once lined solidly with storefronts,
today the arterial streets have many vacancies,
even at major intersections and near CTA stations,
as shoppers travel by car to big-box retailers on
Roosevelt Road and in Chatham. In an effort to
bring pedestrians back to 43rd Street, the City of
Chicago in October 2014 issued a Request for
Proposals for seven parcels near the Green Line
station, which now serves about 1,100 passengers a
day.
EMPLOYMENT – BRONZEVILLE SOUTH LAKEFRONT
Top six employment sectors (# jobs)
Public Administration
Educational Services
Health Care and Social Assistance
Accommodation and Food Services
Retail Trade
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
Total # private-sector jobs in district
2005
19,547
14,715
12,415
1,908
1,802
1,365
58,479
2011
17,277
16,331
11,452
2,692
2,070
1,834
57,242
Unemployment rate 2012
District
18.8%
Citywide
12.9%
Sources: Calculations by Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University
using Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics data (top sectors) and
2012 Five-Year American Community Survey (unemployment).
Parts of the district were affected by the foreclosure
crisis, resulting in 8 percent of all sales of non-condo residential properties at values below $20,000. The
City of Chicago Micro Market Recovery Program targeted two areas in the district, resulting in reoccupation of 257 vacant units in Woodlawn and 44 in Grand Boulevard. Some areas continue to have
board-ups and vacancies.
These longstanding challenges have been widely referenced in recent plans by neighborhood and civic
organizations, and some counter-strategies are being implemented.
Reusing vacant land. Many plans seek ways to fill vacant land, the most recent being the 2014 Green
Healthy Neighborhoods plan. Urban agriculture zones and community gardens are a preferred use
where market forces are weak. The two-acre Legends Farm at 35th and Federal is a collaboration of
Chicago Botanic Gardens and Brinshore Michaels, which is developing housing nearby. The Sacred
Keepers Sustainability Lab garden at 41st and King Drive includes a butterfly garden, composting, and
raised beds. In Washington Park, the City of Chicago leased a site at 57th and Lafayette to the Sweet
Water Foundation for use as an urban education farm.
The City of Chicago Large Lots program is spurring reuse of vacant lots by selling them for $1 to
homeowners or nonprofit groups on the same block. A pilot sale in 2014, covering Washington Park,
Woodlawn, and Englewood, resulted in 414 applications and the conveyance of 322 lots to nearby
property owners. The Green Healthy plan also recommends use of vacant lots as natural drainage
systems to reduce strain on overloaded sewers.
A larger piece of vacant land, owned by the City of Chicago, is the former site of Michael Reese
Hospital, just west of the Metra tracks between 26th and 31st Streets. Purchased as part of the city’s
2016 Olympics proposal, the 48-acre site is mostly cleared but there are no plans for development.
Reviving retail districts. The 2012 Developing Vibrant Retail in Bronzeville study calls for
concentrated retail nodes near the Green Line transit stations and on the north-south corridor of
Cottage Grove Avenue. The 2005 Quad Communities quality-of-life plan recommends cleanups, street
activities, and branding to “banish the grey” along local streets. Many such activities have since been
mounted – including regular street cleaning, a farmers market, murals, and Bronzeville Nights that
feature food and music. Three new Special Service Areas, which tax local property owners to pay for
agreed-upon services, will provide resources to continue this work on Cottage Grove, 47th Street, and
53rd Street.
Private investment is also picking up, with new restaurants, coffee shops, and other businesses opening
in recent years. A restaurant owner has restored a stretch of storefronts on 43rd Street at Ellis, and the
development firm Urban Juncture is building the Bronzeville Cookin’ development adjacent to the 51st
Street Green Line station, alongside two “pop-up” activities on vacant lots: a community garden filled
with art (and people) and the Bike Box bike shop, housed in a shipping container, sponsored by
Bronzeville Bikes and the South East Chicago Commission. Urban Juncture also owns the empty but
historic Forum dance hall at the 43rd Street Green Line stop.
Leveraging transit assets. Despite being criss-crossed with transportation infrastructure and serving
26,000 passengers each weekday on the Red and Green Lines, Bronzeville’s transit assets are
underutilized. Red Line stations in the middle of the Dan Ryan Expressway are not pedestrian friendly
and make it difficult to create retail developments. Vacant land and storefronts are available near
Green Line stations, but ridership is lower than on the Red Line. The 2009 Reconnecting
Neighborhoods – Mid-South Study Area plan recommends pedestrian improvements, bicycle parking,
and clustering of businesses at transit stops. Developing Vibrant Retail in Bronzeville, published in
2012, identifies 47th Street as the corridor with the greatest potential to build synergy around existing
retail assets.
CTA Red and Green Line Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2012)*
Red Line
Green Line
Sox
35th
47th
2009
4,668
3,163
4,081
3,636
35th-IITBronzeville
2,035
2012
5,218
3,254
3,819
3,463
2,301
Garfield
63rd
860
970
1,319
1,070
1,334
579
63rd –
Cottage
Grove
1,220
967
1,074
1,380
1,176
1,347
650
1,346
Indiana
43rd
47th
51st
Garfield
63rd –
King Dr.
Source: Chicago Transit Authority Annual Ridership Reports. * Red Line South was closed for reconstruction in 2013, so 2012 numbers are used.
Honoring Bronzeville’s history. The most consistent theme in existing plans is to build on the district’s
historical and cultural assets, in particular the area’s African-American history, cultural institutions,
and landmarks. The citywide 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan recommends creation of appropriate spaces
for art activities (such as the Gallery Guichard and Bronzeville Artists Lofts, opened in 2014); enhanced
transportation to and between cultural venues (as piloted in 2014 by the Museum Campus South
trolley route serving seven locations including DuSable Museum, Oriental Institute, Robie House, and
Museum of Science and Industry); and tours of neighborhood cultural assets (such as those offered by
the Bronzeville Visitor Information Center, in the landmark Supreme Liberty Life Building). Centers for
New Horizons installed murals of journalist Ida B. Wells, musician Louis Armstrong, and others as
part of its Bronzeville Legends campaign.
By pursuing these opportunities and other larger challenges, such as improving local schools and
enhancing safety, Bronzeville South Lakefront can attract new residents while building on the historic
legacies that make it one of the most important districts in all of Chicago.
Examples of development opportunities
Place
CHA properties
Location
Numerous
Status
Vacant after demolition of previous
properties
Michael Reese
Hospital site
26th to 31st Street east of
Vernon Avenue and west of
Metra tracks.
City of Chicago paid $91 million for
the 48-acre site as part of failed
proposal for 2016 Olympics; is
cleared except for one building.
Architecturally
significant buildings
Attucks School (closed
2013)
Drake School (closed
2013)
Fiske School
(closed 2013)
Numerous
Vacant structures are prominent on
retail strips
3.6-acre site; needs mechanical
repair
3.48 acre site; needs mechanical and
building envelope repairs
2.74-acre site; needs mechanical
repairs
Canter School (closed
2013)
4959 S. Blackstone Ave.
2.71 acre site; needs mechanical
repairs
Overton School (closed
2013)
221 E. 49th St.
2.35-acre side; needs mechanical
repairs
Pershing East School
(closed 2013)
3113 S. Rhodes Ave.
.57-acre side; no repairs needed
Ross School
(closed 2013)
6059 S. Wabash Ave.
2.72-acre site; mechanical repairs
needed
5055 S. State St.
2722 S. Martin Luther King
Dr.
6145 S. Ingleside Ave.
Notes
Many acres are available on former public housing
“superblocks” along Federal Avenue and State
Street, and on scattered sites at other
developments.
Numerous ideas have been presented but there are
no firm plans.
Early 20th Century buildings have elaborate terracotta and brick facades.
Served public housing students at now-demolished
Robert Taylor Homes.
Building is adjacent to Prairie Shores and South
Commons high-rise developments.
School is in West Woodlawn, just south of
University of Chicago developments along 60th and
61st Streets.
CPS announced in July 2014 that Kenwood
Academy’s 7th and 8th grade special academic
program will move into Canter in fall 2015.
School previously served students from Robert
Taylor Homes, now demolished, and surrounding
blocks.
Building is across 31st Street from vacant 48-acre
Michael Reese Hospital site.
Building is in Washington Park near site recently
conveyed by the City of Chicago to Norfolk
Southern Railroad, for yard expansion.
Data note: Unless otherwise stated, demographic and other information is provided by Chicago Community Area, which may differ slightly
from the boundaries of the CN2015 Planning Districts. Community Areas included in this profile are Douglas, Grand Boulevard, Hyde Park,
Kenwood, Oakland, Washington Park, and Woodlawn.
Research support for Chicago Neighborhoods 2015: Assets, Plans and Trends was provided by a team convened by The Chicago Community
Trust. The summary of assets for this planning district was created by LISC Chicago and Teska Associates with materials from Metropolitan
Planning Council, Place Consulting, Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University, and many other sources. Author: Patrick Barry.
Learn more about Bronzeville South Lakefront and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/BronzevilleSouthLakefront. Learn more
about data and sources at cct.org/CN2015/DataSources.
BRONZEVILLE SOUTH LAKEFRONT PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOODS 2015
See Central Planning District
Mercy
26TH
NEAR SOUTH SIDE
Former Drake School
Young Women’s
Leadership
Drake ES
27th St.
DOUGLAS
YCCS Charter McKinley
See Stockyards
Planning District
94
Former Michael Reese Campus
Truck Marshalling
ELLIS
Prairie Shores
41
Dunbar HS
Former Pershing East School
Olivet Baptist Church
31st Street Harbor
Calumet-Giles-Prairie
Lake
Meadows
Historic District IL College of Optometry
King Dr. Walk of Fame
Burnham Park
Pilgrim Baptist Church
35th Street Corridor
PICB, Inc.
Catechesis & Youth Ministry
King
Illinois Institute of Technology
Lou Jones Bronzeville Station
New Pedestrian Crossing
35TH
Youth Connections Charter HS
Sox-35th
CPD HQ
Park Boulevard Apartments
Overton Hygienic Building
Perspectives Charter
Lindblom Math & Science
Chicago Bee
Donoghue Charter School
Wells Prep
Unity Hall
Pershing East
OAKLAND
Genesis Housing Dev. Corp.
Wabash YMCA
Renaissance Collaborative
South Side Comm. Art Center
Attucks ES
Walmart
Wells
Prep ES
Oakwood Shores
Mandrake Park
Mariano's
Lake Parc Place
Phillips
Academy HS
Indiana
St. Elizabeth ES
NEIU- CCICS
Jazz on the
Boulevard
Metro Apostolic Church
Bronzeville Lighthouse Charter
Greater Grand/Mid-South
Mental Health Ctr
Mollison ES
Woodson
KOCO
43rd
Mccorkle ES
Artist Lofts
Guichard Art Gallery
Harold Washington Cltrl Ctr.
YCCS Charter Houston
Lugenia Burns Hope Center
47th
Rosenwald Apartments
47th
Beethoven ES
Grand Blvd MMRP
Hall
47th St.
Quad Communities CWF
The Cara Program
ELLIS
XS Tennis
Beasley ES
Ace Tech Charter HS
Burke ES
Garfield
Garfield
Church of the Good Shepherd
Washington Park Chamber Comr.
Raber House
MICHIGAN
Carter ES
See South Side
Planning District
63rd
63RD
Metra Englewood Flyover
St. Thomas the Apostle School
Promontory Point
55TH
Harte ES
DuSable Museum
WASHINGTON PARK
University of Chicago
Ray ES
HYDE PARK
Oriental Institute
Ctr for Care & Discovery
Fiske ES
Metrosquash
West Woodlawn MMRP
Woodlawn
Park
Former Fiske School
Excel Academy Woodlawn
Dumas ES
55th-56th-57th St.
Museum Science and Industry
Robie House
U of Chicago Medical Center
Harris Park
Cottage Grove
Preservation of
Affordable
King Drive
Coleman
Dulles ES
Housing (CWF)
WOODLAWN Washington Park
Consortium
Parkway
Gardens
McCosh ES
See Stony Island
Planning District
South East Chicago Commision
Murray ES
Midway Plaisance
St. Edmund's
Episcopal Church
CICS Washinton Park
Hyde Park/Kenwood Historic District
53rd St.
Harper Court
Friend Family
Health Center
Arts + Public Life
KLEO Center
Hyde Park Art Center
Kenwood Academy HS
KENWOOD
Kozminski ES
Washington
Park
Life Center COGIC
Blackstone
Former Canter School
Reavis ES (Elev8 School)
51st St Business Association
90
The Ancona School
Liberty Baptist Church
Hales Franciscan HS
Shoesmith ES
Former
Corpus Christi Church
Overton School
Provident
Attucks ES
51st
Dyett HS
2ND
Quad Communities Dev Corp.
Shops + Lofts at 47th
Little Black Pearl
Little Black Pearl HS
Masjid Al-Faatir
41
Ariel ES
N. Kenwood ES
47TH
GRAND BOULEVARD
Bronzeville HS
Dusable HS
Williams ES
King HS
U of C Charter
Woodson
Chicago Urban League
Legends
Farm
Price ES
South ES
Blanc Art Gallery
LAKE MICHIGAN
New Pedestrian Crossing
Lake Park Crescent
Robinson ES
New Pedestrian Bridge
Komed Health Center
Center for New Horizons
Fuller ES
Legend South
Bronzeville Visitor Info. Center
Bronzeville Comm. Dev. Partners
Sunset Cafe
Eighth Regiment Armory
Victory Monument
Supreme Life Center
Chicago Defender Building
Chicago Military Academy HS
Lake Meadow Shopping Center
Urban Prep Academies
Urban Prep Charter Bronzeville
Doolittle ES
59th St.
Hyde Park Day School
Orthogenic School
Carnegie ES
62nd Street Farmer's Market
Jackson Park
63rd St.
Statue of the Republic
JACKSON PARK
63rd Street Corridor
Apostolic Church of God
Network of Woodlawn
Hyde Park HS
Woodlawn Health Center
U of C Woodlawn Charter
Mount Carmel HS
La Rabida
Woodlawn ES
DATE | 01.16.2015
See Central
Planning District
26th/King
Bronzeville
See Stockyards
Planning District
LAKE MICHIGAN
4th Ward
35th/State
Madden/Wells
The Renaissance Collaborative, Inc
PERSHIN G
Pershing/King
40th/State
Lakefront
41st/King
Drexel Boulevard
3rd Ward
47th/Halsted
43rd/Cottage Grove
47th/King
VINCENNES
Quad Communities Development Corp
47TH
SSA#47
49th/St Lawrence
51st Business Asssociation
47th/State
South East Chicago Commission
5th Ward
ELLIS
See South Side
Planning District
Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce
STON Y ISLAN D
DR MARTIN LUTHE R KING JR
53rd Street
STATE
or
BRONZEVILLE SOUTH LAKEFRONT PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
20th Ward
West Woodlawn
63RD
Woodlawn
67th/Wentworth
71st/Stony Island
(NBDC) serves this district but main office may be located off the map
*This planning area is located within the North Business & Industrial Council and the Calumet Area Industrial Council (LIRI)
DATE | 01.16.2015
2. STONY ISLAND
Solid housing, transit shape bedrock South Side neighborhoods
As an industrial powerhouse and the
nation’s most diverse inland economy,
Chicago attracted hundreds of thousands
of new residents in the early 20th
Century. Many followed the jobs to the
Stony Island district, where developers
built vast residential communities down
the lakefront, around the factories, and
along the freight and passenger railroads.
That housing stock today remains the core
asset of the Stony Island neighborhoods,
from South Shore and Greater Grand
Crossing on the north, to the factory
districts of South Chicago and Burnside, and to the bungalow-heavy communities of Chatham, Avalon
Park, and Calumet Heights.
Home to 171,000 people, the district contains housing of every configuration, with large courtyard
buildings and high-rises in South Shore, wood boarding houses in South Chicago, elegant manor
homes in Jackson Park Highlands, and modernistic bungalows in Pill Hill. Though some metal
fabricators and warehouses remain, Stony Island today is mostly residential, with the vast majority of
residents commuting to jobs elsewhere via expressways or public transit.
The district has undergone complete racial turnover from the previous all-white communities to almost
entirely African American, with only South Chicago having a significant Latino population (22
Source: Calculations by Institute for Housing
Studies at DePaul University using 2010
Decennial Census.
percent). The district has become progressively more distressed since the 1970s, and steadily declining
population has resulted in some areas of vacant lots and boarded or abandoned buildings. But there
remains a great deal of community pride across the entire area.
African-American stronghold
For the last 50 years, most residents of the Stony Island
neighborhoods have been middle- and working-class African
Americans, whose careful stewardship of the housing stock is
evident on hundreds of residential blocks. The district is
Chicago’s strongest center of African-American-owned
businesses, with hundreds of independent shops along 79th
Street, 87th Street, Cottage Grove Avenue, and other corridors.
The district also is home base for many African-American civic
and political leaders, downtown professionals, academics, and
artists.
STONY ISLAND DISTRICT OVER TIME
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Population
262,312 245,096 207,556 203,813 171,508
11.1%
18.9%
22.5%
24.0%
28.0%
36/64
36/64
40/60
40/60
38/62
Sources: Calculations by Institute for Housing Studies
at DePaul University using U.S. Census data from
US2010 Project at Brown University.
Best-known of the Stony Island neighborhoods is Chatham, famous for its well-kept bungalows, tight
neighborhood organizations, and fierce pride of place. That reputation is being strained by an aging
population and a perception of higher crime, which together have spurred a 17 percent population
drop since 2000. South Shore is equally well-known as a neighborhood that aggressively resisted urban
decline thanks to active community groups, committed landlords, and a mission-oriented local bank.
Most prosperous and with the lowest proportion of low-income households are Avalon Park and
Calumet Heights. Curving streets and well-kept brick cottages characterize the blocks around the
Chicago Park District’s Avalon Park at 83rd and Kimbark; the housing market was strong enough there
in the mid-1990s to support new-construction single-family homes in the gated Heritage Place
development on 83rd Street. Housing demand has also remained relatively strong in Calumet Heights,
where a mix of 1920s bungalows and sleek 1950s homes attracted doctors and nurses to Pill Hill, near
South Chicago Community Hospital (now part of Advocate Health Care). Pill Hill was built on the
hump of limestone at 92nd Street, called Stony Island Ridge, that once protruded from post-glacial
marshes and gave Stony Island its name.
The South Chicago and Burnside communities have a different character, reflecting their histories
alongside steel mills and other factories. The smallest community area in Chicago, triangular Burnside
is surrounded by railroads and home to just 2,900
EMPLOYMENT – STONY ISLAND
residents. A modern, rail-served industrial park,
the Calumet Business Center, is just south of 95th
2005
2011
Health
Care
and
Social
Assistance
7,428
8,012
Street, and Finkl Steel has invested $150 million to
Retail Trade
3,606
3,984
relocate its North Side factory into the former
857
2,590
Verson Steel facility at 93rd Street. By contrast,
1,543
1,570
Finance
and
Insurance
1,000
1,040
there is almost no heavy industry left in South
Construction
815
993
Chicago, where the U.S. Steel South Works once
22,210
23,597
employed 20,000 and supported scores of related
District Citywide
businesses. South Chicago today, with 31,000
16.7%
12.9%
residents, is on the cusp of a new era as the former
steel site is redeveloped along the Lake Michigan
shoreline.
Drivers of change
Major investments have been made or are underway across the district, at a scale that is likely to cause
ripples of related investment.

Lakeside development: The former steel site between 79th and 87th Streets, vacant for 20 years,
is targeted for a $4 billion redevelopment called Lakeside. The state has extended the green
ribbon of South Lake Shore Drive through the site; the Chicago Park District plans a continuous
park along the lakefront, plus new parks in the existing Bush neighborhood; and Mariano’s will
build a grocery store at 87th Street. The 40-year plan calls for 13,500 new housing units and 17
million square feet of commercial space.

Grand Crossing institutions: This area is in transition from an industrial corridor to a civic
thoroughfare. Gary Comer, founder of Land’s End, was raised in the Pocket Town
neighborhood and before his death invested heavily in Revere Elementary School, the Gary
Comer Youth Center, and Gary Comer College Prep charter school. Colorful buildings now
mark the 7100 and 7200 blocks of South Chicago Avenue, with an urban farm across the street
and new Greater Grand Crossing Library at 73rd Street. To the east, artist Theaster Gates has
converted buildings on Dorchester Avenue into art spaces, and on Stony Island Avenue is
turning a vacant bank into an archive for Johnson Publishing’s Ebony and Jet magazines. On
Greenwood Avenue, New Life Covenant Church is building a 4,000-seat church and performing
arts center, plus a 350-child daycare center.

95th Street transit: Construction has begun on the Chicago Transit Authority’s $240 million
95th Street Terminal Improvement Project, which will transform one of the system’s most
heavily used transit nodes. With dual platforms and new bays for the station’s 1,000 daily bus
trips, the terminal will anchor a busy 95th Street corridor that already includes the Chicago
State University campus, shopping centers, and major industrial employers.

Chatham shopping: Two large auto-oriented shopping centers have opened in the past five
years, the Target-anchored Chatham Village Square at 87th and Cottage Grove, and the 50-acre
Chatham Market at 83rd and Stewart, anchored by a WalMart Supercenter and Lowes. These
regional attractions address previous gaps in local shopping choices, but also increase the
competitive pressures on smaller, more traditional retailers.
Other institutional anchors include Chicago State University (CSU), the Bronzeville Children’s
Museum, and the South Shore Cultural Center. CSU attracts 7,000 students and 470 faculty to its 161acre campus, and while known best for its teacher training programs, offers 36 undergraduate and 20
graduate degree programs. It is a regular partner with community organizations and attracts neighbors
with its Wednesday night Jazz in the Grazz programs. The Bronzeville Children’s Museum was
founded in 1993 and moved in 2000 to its Calumet Heights facility at 93rd and Stony Island; it is the
nation’s only children’s museum focused on African-American culture and history. The South Shore
Cultural Center and adjoining golf course and beach were a private club until purchased and restored
by the Chicago Park District in 1975. Today the landmark fieldhouse hosts numerous community
programs as well as banquets and weddings.
Neighborhood organizations
One of the strongest assets of the Stony Island district is its long history of activism by residents,
businesses, local leaders, and civic groups. These community networks are particularly prominent in
South Shore, Chatham, and South Chicago.
Chatham since the 1960s has a tradition of regular meetings of community councils, associations, and
chambers of commerce, often focusing on pending development proposals, homeowner interests, and
safety issues. Social networks and block clubs have enforced high standards of care to homes, lawns,
and curbs, contributing to the neighborhood’s reputation. Business corridors have also been well
organized. The Chatham Business Association, for instance, uses the Special Service Area 51 taxing
district to support marketing, small-business development trainings, and a private security patrol that
tracks and reports crime data and hotspots.
South Shore mounted a sophisticated campaign to stem decline starting in the 1960s, when the
community followed the Chicago pattern of rapid white flight as black families moved in. Single-family
areas organized block clubs and associations and worked closely with elected officials on
improvements, even creating cul-de-sacs and dead-ends to isolate the upper-class homes in Jackson
Park Highlands. More important in this predominantly rental community was the commitment of
hundreds of landlords, many of them ma-and-pa operations or small businesses started by former
janitors. They had a willing partner in ShoreBank (now Urban Partnership Bank), which built an
international reputation by getting to know its local borrowers and providing loans for purchases and
renovations. Along with strong management of the buildings and complementary work by community
organizations, the neighborhood was able to maintain solid housing stock even as income levels slowly
declined.
South Chicago also fought back, facing the wrenching collapse of not just the U.S. Steel factory, but
other nearby mills, machine shops, and shipping firms. Despite the loss of tens of thousands of jobs,
South Chicago retooled as a mixed economy and took advantage of existing assets, including its Metra
Electric connection to downtown and the City College’s South Chicago Learning Center on 91st Street.
The Commercial Avenue business corridor is less crowded than before, but still serves as “downtown”
for much of the Southeast Side. It has an active chamber of commerce and boasts five blocks of
restaurants, banks, drugstores, and grocery stores, including some that offer Latin American and
Caribbean specialties. The perpendicular 91st Street corridor is busy with non-profit organizations
including a YMCA, child care center, new affordable housing, and the South Chicago Art Center,
which is converting a former dry cleaner to expand its free youth programming. Claretian Associates,
which led the neighborhood’s 2007 quality-of-life and arts planning process, has built 130 units of
energy-efficient and affordable housing and facilitates multi-partner efforts around safety, business
development, and education. A small community of artists is taking advantage of the area’s affordable
housing and workspaces.
Unlike other parts of the city, very few plans and studies have covered the Stony Island district.
Claretian’s quality-of-life plan, South Chicago: Change on the Horizon, focuses on strategies that will
stabilize the post-industrial community and prepare it for integration with the massive Lakeside
development to the east. Several elements of that plan, such as the addition of arts activities on
Commercial Avenue and expansion of community gardens and green space, have been accomplished.
The 2013 Green Healthy Neighborhoods plan covers only a small portion of Greater Grand Crossing,
though many of its recommendations for enhanced green space and reuse of vacant land have
application across the Stony Island district.
Primary challenges for the district are increasing poverty levels and the aftershocks of the foreclosure
crisis, which caused a dramatic increase in vacancies and “distressed” low-value sales of homes across
most of the planning district. The City of Chicago Micro Market Recovery Program has successfully reoccupied 222 once-vacant units in the Chatham target area, in partnership with Community Investment
Corporation, but South Shore, South Chicago, and other areas still suffer from board-ups and
vacancies. In 2013, 18 percent of non-condo residential transactions were for less than $20,000.
The district has only a few high-performance neighborhoods schools, among them Dixon
Math/Science Elementary in Chatham. There is one selective enrollment elementary school, McDade
Classical in Chatham, and one selective enrollment high school, South Shore International College
Prep, which opened its $94 million building at 1955 E. 75th Street in 2011. Two schools were closed in
2013, reflecting a declining school-age population and an aging population overall.
A structural challenge is that the district’s traditional organizational strengths are rooted mostly in
informal resident-driven organizations without the staffing and expertise to acquire land, manage
construction, and otherwise guide private and nonprofit development. Building up local development
capacity may be necessary for the neighborhoods to take advantage of opportunities and build on other
private and public investments.
Metra Electric District Ridership (weekday average boardings 2006 and 2014)
2006
Stony
Island
197
Bryn
Mawr
184
South
Shore
278
2014
161
88
179
75th St.
Grand Crossing
2006
52
2014
79th St.
Chatham
15
Windsor
79th St.
Park
Cheltenham
192
114
100
83rd St.
87th St.
S. Chicago
S. Chicago
217
189
79
113
117
93rd St.
S. Chicago
974
652
119
83rd St.
Avalon Park
103
87th St.
Woodruff
64
91st St.
Chesterfield
66
95th St. Chicago
State University
49
57
50
56
26
43
Source: Metra Commuter Rail System Station Alighting/Boarding Count, Summary Results, Spring 2014. Note: 2014 ridership
was counted in the spring, versus fall counts in 2006, and thus reflects a roughly 5 percent lower, seasonal ridership level. Any
greater variance than -5% is likely reflective of changes in population, employment, usage, and other factors.
CTA Red Line Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2012)*
2009
63rd
3,636
69th
5,688
79th
7,747
87th
5,024
95th
12,936
2012
3,463
5,703
7,538
4,861
12,550
Source: Chicago Transit Authority Annual Ridership Reports. * Red Line South was closed for reconstruction in 2013 so 2012 numbers are used.
One of the most immediate opportunities for the district is to improve utilization of its transit
resources. The 2014 City of Chicago & Metra Station Areas Typology Study makes general
recommendations that would apply to most of Stony Island’s 14 Metra stations, many of which have
very low and declining ridership, despite their locations near activity centers or residential areas. The
study recommends wayfinding signage, unified landscaping, and pedestrian improvements that would
make the stations more visible and inviting, especially when their current entrances are under viaducts
or have poor access on busy streets.
Similar improvements would be appropriate around the Red Line stations, which are below grade on
the Dan Ryan Expressway. The CTA has modeled such improvements with its Jeffrey Jump express
bus service to downtown, which uses bus-only lanes, attractive signage and branding, and
“commercial showcase stations” on 71st Street. The Jump and Jeffrey local routes serve about 20,000
boarding passengers each weekday. The new 95th Street terminal will also have many pedestrian
improvements.
Other opportunities are to further develop the community gardens, urban farms, and greenspaces that
add color and activity to the streets, and to build on the existing base of arts activities for both children
and adults.
With major new investments underway and continued strength in the areas of activism and innovation,
the Stony Island district is well positioned to enter a new phase of development, building around new
anchors and existing assets.
Place
Chicago Lakeside
Infill housing
Buckingham School
(closed 2013)
Burnham School
(closed 2013)
Location
584-acre site of former
U.S. Steel plant on
lakefront, 83rd to 91st St.
Various locations in South
Chicago, elsewhere
9207 S. Phillips Ave.
Status
Planned for 40-year buildout;
Mariano’s grocery has
announced for 2015 opening.
1903 E. 96th St.
3.09-acre site; mechanical and
building envelope repairs
needed
1.53-acre site; no repairs
needed
Notes
Development outline includes large residential
and commercial component, plus new lakefront
park space.
Most residential areas have little vacant land
but scattered opportunites exist.
Buckingham was a therapeutic day school
serving children with special needs. It had only
35 students in its final year.
School served the adjacent Jeffrey Manor public
housing development; the one-story building is
not a priority for historic preservation.
Data note: Unless otherwise stated, demographic and other information is provided by Chicago Community Area, which may differ
slightly from the boundaries of the CN2015 Planning Districts. Community Areas included in this profile are South Shore, Chatham, Avalon
Park, South Chicago, Burnside, Calumet Heights, and Greater Grand Crossing.
Learn more about the Stony Island district and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/StonyIsland. Learn more about data and
sources at cct.org/CN2015/DataSources.
STONY ISLAND PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
Brownell ES
Oak Woods
Cemetery
90
69th
3RD
Deneen ES
Gary Comer HS
Gary Comer Youth Center
Nation of Islam
Neil ES
87th
CICS Avalon South Shore
Chatham Plaza
McDowell ES
91st St.
Caldwell ES
Developing Communities
Project
95th St.
ROSELAND
Shedd ES
94
Chicago Vocational Career Acad HS
Black Magnet ES
Chicago State
University
Mireles ES
Earhart ES
Davis Developmental Center
Chicago Family Health Clinic
Warren ES
Advocate Trinity Hospital
93rd St.
91st Street Corridor
South Chicago WIC Clinic
Learn Charter South Chicago
Thorp, J N ES
Metropolitan Family Services
Our Lady of Guadalupe School
South Chicago Art Center
Villa Guadalupe Senior Services
Olive Harvey Learning Center
Claretian Associates
Chicago South Library
YMCA
Clear Center Association
95TH
Burnside
Industrial
Corridor
Former Burnham ES
Schmid ES
Roseland Heights Prairie
Velodrome Campus
Bowen HS
Trinity
BURNSIDE
87th St.
Baker College Prep
Hoyne ES
Finkl Steel
Harlan HS
Future Lakeside Development
Pill Hill
Washington, H ES
Bronzeville Children's Museum
Gillespie ES
Epic Academy HS
83rd St.
Ninos Heroes ES
Sullivan ES
Great Lakes Charter
90
CALUMET HEIGHTS
YCCS Charter Chatham
Burnside ES
95th/Dan Ryan
87TH
87th St.
McDade ES
Garden Homes
Historic District
91ST
Coles ES
AVALON PARK
Ashe ES
41
H The Bush
SOUTH CHICAGO
83RD
83rd St.
Dixon ES
Rainbow Beach Community Garden
Cheltenham
YCCS Charter Sullivan
Avalon
Southwater Plant
Bradwell ES
Camelot Safe Academy
South Shore
Mann ES
Avalon Park ES
Community Garden
Pirie ES
Windsor Park
79th St.
Chatham MMRP
CHATHAM
Winnie Mandela HS
Third World Press
LAKE MICHIGAN
Powell ES
South Shore HS South Shore
Jackson Pk
South Shore Bungalow
ETA Creative Arts Foundation
Historic District
ELLIS
79th
94
71st Street Corridor
Former Urban Partnership Bank
Former Dominick's
Black United Fund of IL
Gallery 71
South Shore
Madison ES
75th St.
Hirsch Metro HS
St. Dorothy's Catholic School
Shabazz ES
Ruggles ES
79TH
Whitney M. Young, Jr.
Chicago
St. Philip Neri
Catholic School
Bouchet ES
Greater Grand Crossing
Woodshop Art Gallery
See South Side
Planning District
South Shore Cultural Ctr
South Shore Golf Course
South Shore
Bryn
Mawr
Revere ES
Gary Comer ES
GREATER GRAND CROSSING
South Park Manor
Historic District
O'Keeffe ES
Stony Island
Park Manor Christian Church
Tanner ES
75TH
Jackson Park Highlands
Historic District
41
The Dorchester
Project
Parkside ES
Fermi ES
Park Manor ES
71ST
St. Columbanus School
Stony Island
Arts Bank
STONY ISLAND
MICHIGAN
See Bronzeville South Lakefront
Planning District
PULLMAN
Lawrence ES
Jeffery Manor
See Calumet
Planning District
SOUTH DEERING
North Pullman MMRP
DATE | 01.16.2015
STONY ISLAND PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
67th/Wentworth
20th Ward
DAN RYAN
West Woodlawn
See Bronzeville South Lakefront Planning District
71st/Stony Island
South Shore Chamber, Inc.
SSA#42
71ST
5th Ward
LAKE MICHIGAN
73rd & University
6th Ward
See South Side
Planning District
79TH
SSA#49
SSA#51
8th Ward
83RD
Avalon Park/South Shore
Chicago Lakeside Development (USX)
7th Ward
Southeast Chicago Chamber
South Chicago
87th/Cottage
10th Ward
SSA#50
87TH
South Works Industrial
South Chicago Chamber of Commerce
89th/State
SSA# 5
Commercial Avenue
9th Ward
Stony Island/Burnside
95TH
95th/Stony Island
BISHOP FORD
See Calumet
Planning District
Lake Calumet Industrial Corridor
*This planning area is located within the Calumet Area Industrial Council (LIRI)
DATE | 01.16.2015
3. CALUMET
Vast district combines industry, natural areas, and housing
The Calumet River basin on the southern tip
of Lake Michigan was the industrial heart of
Chicago’s steel industry for more than 80
years, supporting generations of families
across multiple neighborhoods and retail
districts.
But with steel no longer driving the local
economy, the district is redefining itself
around historic neighborhoods, natural areas,
and clean industry. Still an unparalleled
transportation nexus – served by multiple
railroads, Interstate highways, and water
routes – Calumet offers enormous
opportunities for infill housing as well as
mixed-use or industrial development.
Home to 135,600 people in distinctive neighborhoods like Slag Valley, Irondale, and Altgeld Gardens,
the Calumet district contains a mix of African-American, Latino, and white communities, many with
well-kept brick bungalows, historic rowhouses, and small apartment buildings. Almost 60 percent of
the area’s 46,000 households are owner-occupied.
A major driver for investment in coming decades is the availability of large tracts of land once used for
industry. Though some land remains contaminated by previous uses, the area boasts Chicago’s most
Decennial Census.
diverse and expansive natural habitats, including roughly 6,000 acres in Chicago and adjacent suburbs
catalogued by the Illinois Natural Area Inventory.
East of Lake Calumet are the neighborhoods of South Deering,
Hegewisch, and East Side, which grew up alongside the
former Wisconsin Steel and Republic Steel plants. Despite the
loss of local jobs, Hegewisch and East Side have seen only a 3
percent decline in population since 2000, to about 32,500
residents in 2010. South Deering lost about 11 percent, to
15,109 in 2010.
CALUMET DISTRICT OVER TIME
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Population
184,007 185,318 164,845 158,526 135,643
9.3%
16.5%
20.4%
20.3%
24.6%
66/34
65/35
66/34
64/36
59/41
Land uses around Lake Calumet are non-residential, including
wetlands and natural areas as well as heavy industry, tank
farms, closed landfills, sewage treatment, and composting.
Much of this area is controlled by the Illinois International Port District, Metropolitan Water
Reclamation District, Chicago Park District, and Forest Preserves of Cook County.
West of the lake are four square miles of mostly residential communities, including the historic
Pullman area where George Pullman built a model town around his railroad-car factory, as well as
Riverdale, West Pullman, and Roseland. Population in these communities has fallen 10 to 20 percent
since 2000, to about 88,000, driven by high rates of foreclosure and an exodus of African-American
families. Because of enrollment declines, four local public schools were closed in 2013.
Changing land uses
Calumet’s unique ecology and its industrial heritage have allowed for transformative redevelopments
in recent years, suggesting the neighborhood’s future:

Pullman Park is a Walmart-anchored shopping center built by Chicago Neighborhood
Initiatives on the former Ryerson Steel site near 111th Street and Doty Avenue. The developer
plans smaller stores and a sit-down restaurant in future phases.

The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center on 119th Street in West
Pullman is a $160 million facility that attracts 1,500 people a day on weekends with educational,
sports, arts, and supportive programming. Opened in 2012, the 33-acre campus employs 200
people and has become an activity anchor for surrounding neighborhoods.

Marshfield Plaza, also built on former industrial land, is a 461,000-square-foot retail destination
with 30 stores including Target, Marshalls, Jewel-Osco, and Anna’s Linens. It is directly
accessible from Interstate 57 at 117th Street, just west of the Calumet planning district.

The Harborside International Golf Center was built by the Illinois International Port District on
a 57-acre closed landfill at 110th Street and Doty Avenue. Two 18-hole courses, a practice
facility, and clubhouse offer views of Lake Calumet and downtown.
The redeveloped parcels coexist alongside
EMPLOYMENT – CALUMET
industrial, warehousing, retail, and transportation
2005
2011
sectors that employ about 10,400 people. Two pipe
Manufacturing
6,345
5,478
1,627
1,657
mills, a cement plant, scrap yards, paint company,
Retail Trade
1,871
1,578
and food plants are clustered along the industrial
Transportation and Warehousing
1,967
1,393
waterfronts and on Stony Island Avenue. The 113Wholesale Trade
1,308
1,335
1,112
1,046
acre Ford Chicago Assembly Plant at 130th and
19,711
16,424
Torrence employs 4,100 people on three shifts – the
most in its 90-year history – using components
District Citywide
18.0%
12.9%
from 1,000 additional workers at the nearby Ford
Supplier Park and other factories in Chicago
Heights and Indiana. Olive Harvey College is
building a $45 million facility to serve as the
transportation, distribution, and logistics hub of the City Colleges system, to open in fall 2015.
A greener future
Calumet has had an active environmental movement since the 1970s. Irondalers Against the Chemical
Threat, People for Community Recovery, and the Southeast Environmental Task Force organized
residents and environmentalists to close illegal dumps and raise awareness of the impact of pollution,
waste incineration, and heavy truck traffic.
Many of those hazards have been reduced in recent years, but the region continues to host scrap yards,
waste-processing plants, and cement facilities. Along the Calumet River, mounds of the refinery
byproduct petcoke have provoked neighborhood protests and new regulations, causing one of two
storage-yard operators to close operations.
Recent investments suggest a greener future. On a 41-acre brownfield at 1201 W. 120th Street, the
utility Exelon built a photovoltaic solar farm that generates power for 1,500 homes. At Pullman Park,
the green-cleaner company Method is constructing a 150,000-square-foot factory that will seek LEED
Platinum certification; it will employ 100, feature a 250-foot wind turbine, and grow vegetables in a
rooftop greenhouse.
More than 10 years of work by the City of Chicago, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Calumet
Area Industrial Commission, Openlands Project, and others have resulted in a series of land-use and
open-space plans that outline a major initiative, now being implemented, called the Millennium
Reserve.

Government agencies will create a Conservation Compact to protect and manage 23
ecologically important sites.

The Chicago Park District is developing the 278-acre Big Marsh Park near 116th Street and
Stony Island Avenue; the $4.5 million first phase will open in 2016 for biking, fishing, canoeing,
hiking, and bird-watching.

The Millenium Reserve Steering Committee recommends development of connecting trails to
link shorelines, woods, marshes, prairies, and other features. The trails would connect to
existing resources including the Burnham Greenway, Major Taylor Trail, and Wolf Lake trail
system.
Integral to the Millennium plan is the proposed designation of a Pullman National Historic Park – now
under review by the Department of the Interior – which would elevate the Pullman district from its
current status as a National Historic Landmark. Built in the 1880s as a “model town” by railroad
visionary George Pullman, the neighborhood features two districts of simple brick rowhouses – north
and south of the factory complex – plus the Pullman Wheelworks at 104th and Maryland, whose 210
affordable units were recently renovated by Mercy Housing. The 1881 Hotel Florence, a Queen Anne
structure at 111th Street and Forrestville Avenue, is being renovated with state funds to become a
visitor center. A detailed assessment of the district is provided in The Urban Land Institute’s 2011
report, The Pullman State Historic Site, which identifies reuse options and recommends unified signage
and design to cohesively define the district. The National Parks Conservation Association will work
with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning to develop recommendations on transportation
access, parking, signage, and streetscaping.
Transportation improvements, tourism, and execution of the Millennium Reserve plan will be powerful
investment drivers that help the region address long-standing weaknesses in its housing and retail
sectors.
Much of the area west of Lake Calumet has experienced severe housing deterioration, with more than
8,000 housing units lost since 1990. More than five percent of housing units have been vacant for more
than 24 months in Pullman, Roseland, and West Pullman; in some areas more than 30 percent of noncondominium property transactions are for $20,000 or less (map on following page), signaling very
weak demand.
The City of Chicago’s Micro Market Recovery Program is
targeting two areas, in North Pullman and West Pullman. With
partners Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, Neighborhood
Housing Services Chicago, and Far South Side Community
Development Corporation, the program has rehabbed and
reoccupied 78 units since program inception. Also in West
Pullman, Habitat for Humanity is helping families rebuild an
entire block between 119th and 120th Streets at Union, just east of
the Halsted commercial corridor.
Likely to invigorate both residential and retail markets is the
CTA’s planned Red Line Extension. Now in the second phase of
Environmental Impact planning, the estimated $2.3 billion project
will add 5.3 miles of new service with new stations likely at 103rd
Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue/116th Street, and 130th
Street. The project will bring frequent rail service to an area that
has been poorly served for decades, cutting up to 20 minutes from
the trip to downtown.
Studies at DePaul University using data from Cook
County Recorder of Deeds via Property Insights,
Cook County Assessor.
The Red Line extension will run through Roseland, West Pullman, and Riverdale, creating
opportunities for retail and housing development around the stations and along the neighborhood’s
traditional spine, Michigan Avenue. The CTA has worked closely with the Developing Communities
Project and other organizations to identify opportunities and partners. At the extended Red Line
terminus is the geographically isolated Chicago Housing Authority Altgeld Gardens-Phillip Murray
Homes and adjacent Golden Gates neighborhood, whose more than 6,800 residents will benefit from
better access to jobs and commercial districts. The 2013 Altgeld Gardens-Phillip Murray Homes Master
Plan calls for renovation of more than 500 homes, better interim connections to transit, a sidewalk and
bike trail on 130th Street, and development of a small commercial district, library, and childcare
facilities.
Farther west along Halsted Street, the Far South Side Community Development Corp. has worked with
the city and private developers on recent new investments. A visioning exercise identified Halsted at
119th Street as a promising crossroads, dubbed Halsted Crossing, near the new LEED-certified West
Pullman Library and other anchors. In 2015, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning will
conduct a Local Technical Assistance project along 119th Street from I-57 to Union Avenue.
Transportation upgrades
The Red Line Extension is one of several transportation improvements underway. The CTA instituted
enhanced service on the J14 Jeffrey JUMP route in 2013 to speed travel from 103rd Street to downtown.
Bus-only lanes along part of the route and a “queue jump” allow the bus to get ahead of traffic; it
carries about 13,000 riders a day.
The other major passenger carrier is Metra, which serves Millennium Station downtown and the south
suburbs. Most commuters travel to the 115th Street (Kensington) station for its more frequent service
and parking, creating 1,081 boardings there on weekdays. The Northern Indiana Commuter
Transportation District’s station at Hegewisch has 1,449 boardings per day. Other Metra stations have
very low and declining ridership and infrequent or “flag-stop” service, primarily serving residents who
can walk to the train from their homes. These stations are typically in poor condition, but have the
potential for higher ridership if conditions are improved, new housing is built nearby, and more
frequent service is offered.
Metra Electric District Ridership (weekday average morning boardings 2006 and 2014)
103rd St.
(Rosemoor) 107th St.
2006
70
34
2014
43
31
111th St.
115th St.
(Pullman) (Kensington)
27
1,577
19
State St.
85
Stewart
Ridge
61
West
Pullman
24
Racine
53
Ashland
165
54
37
21
33
98
1,081
Source: Metra Commuter Rail System Station Alighting/Boarding Count, Summary Results, Spring 2014. Note: 2014 ridership was counted in the
spring, versus fall counts in 2006, and thus reflects a roughly 5 percent lower, seasonal ridership level. Any greater variance than -5% is likely
reflective of changes in population, employment, usage, and other factors.
The Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) program has several
projects that affect the district, most notably the $101 million underpass and rail bridge at 130th Street
and Torrence Avenue. The project will reduce both train and auto tie-ups while improving efficiency
for the adjacent Ford Assembly Plant.
Finally, the Chicago International Port District offers opportunities for investment in water- and railoriented freight businesses. The 2012 report, Illinois International Port District, A Strategic & Capital
Needs Study, provides a detailed assessment of the district’s aging infrastructure and identifies
substantial development opportunities, though major capital investment will be required.
Place
Illinois International
Port District
Pullman Park
Location
Around Lake Calumet and at Iriquois
Landing in South Chicago
107th Street at I-57
Major industrial sites
Various including former Wisconsin
Steel, Republic/Acme Steel
Numerous locations
Infill housing
Ford Calumet
Environmental Center
Status
Much of the land is vacant or underutilized.
100 acres available
Micro Market Recovery Program is active in
North, West Pullman; Habitat in West Pullman
Identified for further study in Millennium
Reserve plan; design commissioned by Chicago
Building Commission, 2008
Opportunity for retail development near CTA
Red Line extension
4.3 acre site; needs mechanical and building
envelope repairs
Altgeld Gardens
520 units being renovated
Kohn School (closed
2013)
10414 S. State St.
Owens School (closed
2013)
Songhai School (closed
2013
12450 S. State St.
2.35 acre site; mechanical repairs needed
11725 S. Perry Ave.
3.61 acre site; needs building envelope repairs
West Pullman School
(closed 2013)
11941 S. Parnell Ave.
4.29 acre site; mechanical and building envelope
in good shape
Notes
2012 study recommends consolidation, improvement
to industrial sites to improve efficiencies.
Development of outlot for Advocate Medical Group
and retail stores planned as of October 2014.
Design by Jeanne Gang for 27,000 sq. ft. center has
won awards, critical acclaim; funding is not in place.
Includes two WPA-era murals; building may be
eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
Reuse could have positive impact in challenged
Roseland neighborhood.
Building is not a priority for historic preservation.
Building may be eligible for the National Register of
Historic Places. Reuse could have positive impact on
surrounding West Pullman neighborhood.
Building may be eligible for the National Register of
Historic Places. Reuse could have positive impact on
surrounding West Pullman neighborhood.
Data note: Demographic and other data is compiled by Chicago Community Area, which may differ slightly from the boundaries of the CN2015 Planning Districts. Community
Areas included in this profile are East Side, Hegewisch, South Deering, Riverdale, Pullman, West Pullman, and Roseland.
Research support for Chicago Neighborhoods 2015: Assets, Plans and Trends was provided by a team convened by The Chicago Community Trust. The summary of assets for
this planning district was created by LISC Chicago and Teska Associates with materials from Metropolitan Planning Council, Place Consulting, Institute for Housing Studies at
DePaul University, and many other sources. Author: Patrick Barry.
Learn more about Calumet and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/Calumet. Learn more about data and sources at cct.org/CN2015/DataSources.
CALUMET PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
Iroquois Landing
95th
See South Side
Planning District
See Stony Island
Planning District
Far South Community
Development Corp.
YCCS Charter Olive Harvey
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS
Hughes L ES
57
Mount Vernon ES
Corliss HS
Poe ES
ROSELAND
Nkrumah Charter
MORGAN PARK
Olive-Harvey College
Bennett ES
Noble Charter Butler
Smith, W ES
103rd St.
North Pullman MMRP
Former Kohn ES
Garvey ES
Julian HS
Calumet Beach
90
Dunne ES
Roseland HS
Cullen ES
EAST SIDE
Method
94
Harborside Int’l Golf Course
St. Augustine College
TORRENCE
STONY ISLAND
STATE
HALSTED
ASHLAND
Magic Johnson Bridgescape
Chicago Excel
Shoop ES
Burnham Greenway
Addams ES
Bright ES
Pullman Park
Lavizzo ES
US Bank Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives
Pullman
NHS Roseland
111th St. 5th
Calumet Area
111th
Brooks
HS
Roseland
Industrial Commission
Pullman Park
Hotel Florence
Fenger HS
Harborside
Pullman ES
Marsh
Cooperation Operation
Haley ES
Kensington
115th
Curtis ES
Roseland Nbrd Health Ctr.
IL International Port District
CICS Prairie
Whistler ES
WEST PULLMAN
Pullman
West Pullman
Higgins ES
Former Songhai ES Industrial Corridor
Marshfield Plaza
MMRP
SOUTH DEERING
West Pullman
119th Collegiate Charter
Kroc Center
Lake Calumet
Habitat for Humanity
Colemon ES
Former W. Pullman ES
MiFab, Inc.
W. Pullman
Halsted Crossing
Industrial Corridor
Stewart Ridge State St.
Racine Ave. Exelon City
West Pullman
Solar
White ES
Gompers ES
Metcalfe ES
Major Taylor Trail
MWRD
Former Owens ES
Foundations Charter
Vodak-East Side
Pullman Wheelworks
107th St.
PULLMAN
Gallistel ES
4th
Washington, G HS
Washington, G ES
AVENUE O
MICHIGAN
Fernwood ES
Washington Heights
LAKE MICHIGAN
Taylor ES
Evergreen Park
103rd
Former CPS Building
Marsh ES
Calumet
Industrial Corridor
Ford Supplier Park
Calumet Park
Brown ES
127th
RIVERDALE
People for Community Recovery
Aldridge ES
Blue Island
Joe Louis Golf Course
Dubois ES
Riverdale
Ford Chicago Assembly Plant
MWRD
CICS
Lloyd
Bond
Altgeld
Gardens
Altgeld
INDIANA
Grissom ES
Hegewisch
Wolf Lake Trail
The Clinic at Altgeld
Carver HS
Hegewisch Marsh
Altgeld Murray Clinic
Carver ES
CICS
Hawkins
Marina
Beaubien Forest Preserve
Clay ES
Southeast Environmental Task Force
HEGEWISCH
MWRD
138TH
Dolton
Calumet City
Burnham
DATE | 01.16.2015
CALUMET PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
See Stony Island Planning District
See South Side Planning District
South Chicago
95TH
Commercial Avenue
LAKE MICHIGAN
Roseland/Michigan
SSA#41
AVENUE O
103RD
East Side Chamber of Commerce
TORRENCE
North Pullman
STEWART
Far South CDC
MICHIGAN
STATE
See Far Southwest Side
Planning District
Ewing Avenue
105th/Vincennes
119th & I-57
Redevelopment
SSA#45
SSA#40
115TH
119th/Halsted
STON Y ISLAN D
Western Avenue/
Rock Island
Greater Roseland
Chamber of Commerce
Lake Calumet Ind. Cord.
10th Ward
ASHLAND
West Pullman
9th Ward
126 TH
Calumet
Park
Calumet
Park
126th/Torrence
127TH
Blue Island
ELLIS
Blue Island
134th Street and Avenue K
134TH
Riverdale
Calumet River
138TH
Dolton
Posen
Calumet City
Burnham
Dixmoor
DATE | 01.16.2015
4. FAR SOUTHWEST SIDE
Housing choices, village atmosphere create stability, demand
Tucked away on the far corner of Chicago in a unique
topography that includes hills, alley-less streets, and a
small-town feel, the neighborhoods of Beverly, Morgan
Park, and Mount Greenwood have been stable and indemand neighborhoods since their inceptions in the
early 20th Century.
The mostly residential communities have an
exceptionally broad mix of housing types from modest
brick bungalows to elaborate, historic mansions along
the curving Longwood Drive. Those housing choices,
combined with good transportation and a City of
Chicago residency requirement for city workers, have created an economically and racially diverse
district with a “village in the city” atmosphere.
That village feeling is a century-old tradition for the Far Southwest Side, but was threatened in the
1970s when rapid racial change was sweeping across other South and West Side neighborhoods, often
shifting the population from all-white to all-African American in as little as a decade. Beverly and
Morgan Park got organized to change that dynamic, promoting the area’s high-quality housing choices
and encouraging long-term investment in housing, retail stores, and community institutions.
Though this effort began as a defensive and protective move, it has evolved over ensuing decades into
a way of life, and today the racial mix is a point of pride for many residents. The area overall is 56
percent white, 37 percent African American, and 5 percent Latino, though the mix differs among
Decennial Census.
community areas. In 2010, Beverly was 59 percent white, 34 percent African-American, and 5 percent
Latino; Morgan Park’s split was 29/67/3; and Mount Greenwood’s was 86/5/7.
The pro-active approach to neighborhood development was
spearheaded in the 1970s by the Beverly Area Planning
Association (BAPA), which is still active today and working
with a dozen civic associations, two business associations, arts
groups, and block clubs. The work has paid off in the form of
relatively high housing values, low crime rates, and a strong
sense of community.
FAR SOUTHWEST SIDE OVER TIME
1970
1980
Population
80,969 72,757
1990
2000
2010
68,302
66,036
61,657
5.3%
6.6%
6.7%
6.8%
7.2%
80/20
80/20
81/19
82/18
80/20
Beverly Hills, as it is often called, stretches south from 87th
Street and the Dan Ryan Woods Forest Preserves, and is known
for its large early-20th-Century houses on wide and deep lots with mature trees. The neighborhood
centers on the Metra Rock Island commuter tracks and adjacent Longwood Drive, which meanders
along the base of Blue Island Ridge, a six-mile-long hill left behind by Ice Age glaciers.
West of the slanting Vincennes Avenue at 107th Street, Beverly merges into Morgan Park, which has an
equal collection of impressive houses as well as the Walker Branch Library at 111th and Hoyne, built in
1890 with grand limestone towers flanking the entrance. The two neighborhoods share borders with
suburbs: Evergreen Park across Western Avenue from Beverly, and Calumet Park south of Morgan
Park. Residents shop at small businesses and restaurants along Western Avenue, on 95th Street, and at
clusters around the Metra stations. For big-box stores, they travel east to Marshfield Plaza along
Interstate 57, to the nearby Walmart, Meier, and Menard’s stores on Western in Evergreen Park, and to
larger malls farther west.
Mount Greenwood is connected to the rest of Chicago only by 103rd and 107th Streets, on either side of
the Ridge Country Club. With large cemeteries on the east and south, the neighborhood is cloistered
and mostly residential, with a small retail cluster at 103rd and Kedzie and a retail corridor along 111th
Street. The neighborhood includes a large educational campus north and west of 103rd and Central
Park, including St. Xavier University, which has 4,200 undergraduate and graduate students, Mother
McAuley Liberal Arts High School, and Brother Rice High School.
Investment drivers
The Far Southwest Side is built up almost completely, with little vacant land and only a single large
plot of former industrial space at 107th Street east of Vincennes, where the Beverly Ridge housing
development stalled out after about a dozen homes were completed. Unlike other parts of Chicago
where major developments might anchor new investments, these neighborhoods rely mostly on assets
that have been in place for decades:

Metra stations. The area is served by 10 closely spaced stations on two branches of the Metra
Rock Island line, providing convenient walk-up, drop-off, and parking options for more than
4,000 riders each weekday. The frequent service to downtown supports high housing values as
well as small retail clusters around the stations. Several stations have extensive flower gardens
tended by volunteers.

Landmark districts. The Ridge Historic District was added to the National Register in 1976,
followed by designation of three Chicago landmark districts covering Longwood Drive, Walter
Burley Griffin Place, and the Beverly Hills/Morgan Park Railroad Stations District. There are 60
houses and commercial structures on a local self-guided tour, five of them official landmarks.

Cultural traditions. Annual events that attract thousands of neighbors and visitors include the
Ridge Run and Memorial Day Parade, Beverly Breast Cancer Walk, St. Patrick’s Day South Side
Parade, and the Beverly Hills Cycling Classic men’s and women’s races.

Education choices. The area has strong choices among public and private schools, including
neighborhood and selective enrollment schools as well as Catholic schools in Chicago and
nearby suburbs. There are fewer options, however, at the high school level.

Arts. Strong arts programming began in the 1980s with the founding of the Beverly Arts Center,
which today offers classes in dance, visual arts, theater, music, and ceramics. There are also art
galleries, the Beverly Theater Guild at Morgan Park Academy, and the Vanderpoel Art Museum
at Ridge Park.
A major new investment is the $16 million Beverly/Morgan Park Sports Center and Ice Arena, now
under construction at 115th Street and Western Avenue. Operated by the Chicago Park District, it will
open in 2015 with skate rentals, gymnastics center, and meeting and party rooms.
Solid housing conditions
Home to about 62,000 people, the three neighborhoods are unique in Chicago for their broad mix of
housing styles. Beverly and Morgan Park were first developed in the late 19th Century with elaborate
large homes along the ridge. Local streets feature the work of architects Frank Lloyd Wright, George
Washington Maher, Howard Van Doren Shaw, and Walter Burley Griffin. Their designs are joined by
scores of other unique homes in eclectic styles, including Queen Annes, Tudor Revivals, Late Prairie
School, Spanish Colonial, and Italian Renaissance.
On 103rd and Longwood Drive is the city’s only castle, the crenellated limestone Robert C. Givens
house, now the home of Beverly Unitarian Church. The commercial buildings near the Metra stations
retain their century-old details, and six of the stations themselves were grouped into a city historic
district because they reflect the architectural styles of nearby homes.
Mount Greenwood is unique in a different way, featuring miles of suburban-style ranch homes and
modern bungalows, mostly built after World War II. Newer than most other Chicago neighborhoods,
Mount Greenwood was the only Chicago community area with a working farm until 1985, when the
farm became part of the selective-enrollment Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences.
All three community areas are predominantly owner-occupied – 80 percent across the district – and all
show stable or appreciating home-sale values. Though some areas were affected by the foreclosure
crisis, most properties were quickly returned to the market and there are very few vacant units.
Opportunities for new housing are limited by the lack of available vacant land, but the 2006 Residential
Market Analysis for Morgan Park, Beverly, and Mount Greenwood identified potential market
opportunities for rental, senior, and for-sale units.
The study identified several locations for infill development near the Metra stations – suggesting
townhouses or two- to two-and-a-half-story buildings – where some new construction has already
taken place. The stations are among Metra’s strongest in-city stations with heavy pedestrian and dropoff traffic at rush hours, though ridership has declined at almost all area stations since 2006.
Metra Rock Island District Ridership (weekday average boardings 2006 and 2014)
2006
2014
91st St. 95th St.
Beverly Beverly
437
604
359
527
99th St. 103rd St. 107th St. 111th St.
115th St.
119th St.
95th St.
103rd St.
Beverly
Beverly Beverly Morgan Pk. Morgan Pk.
Longwood Wash. Hts.
679
931
617
820
279
326
147
219
621
767
413
601
173
327
85
168
Source: Metra Commuter Rail System Station Alighting/Boarding Count, Summary Results, Spring 2014. Note: 2014 ridership was counted in the spring,
versus fall counts in 2006, and thus reflects a roughly 5 percent lower, seasonal ridership level. Any greater variance than -5% is likely reflective of
changes in population, employment, usage, and other factors.
The study also suggested that infill housing could be viable on available sites, though the market has
not yet absorbed the available land at and near the Beverly Ridge development, just east of Vincennes
Avenue and the railroad tracks at 107th Street. This land is technically in the Washington Heights
community east of Morgan Park and represents a weaker housing market. In stronger areas, the plan
suggested that lower-quality houses could be candidates for teardown and redevelopment, such as in
parts of Mount Greenwood.
Retail in transition
Retail development has been more challenging. Though relatively strong compared to other South Side
communities, the commercial districts struggle to fill vacant storefronts and face strong competition
from suburban retailers on larger auto-oriented sites, such as the recently developed Evergreen
Marketplace on the west side of Western at 92nd Place, anchored by a Meier grocery store.
The 95th Street retail district in Beverly remains one of the area’s most important retail centers. The
mile-long corridor between Ashland and Western supports a broad assortment of retailers including a
hardware store, beauty salons, clothing stores, banks, and professional offices. More than a dozen
restaurants include fast-casual chains such as Chipotle plus unique businesses including Jimmy Jamm
Sweet Potato Pies and Top Notch Beefburgers. The street, however, has had multiple vacancies for
years, including the former Border’s bookstore space. Panera Bread, 2314 W. 95th Street, closed in
December 2014.
The vacated fire station at 1700 W. 95th was bought by Optimo Fine Hats, which has a retail outlet on
Western Avenue, to expand the company’s manufacturing capacity. The corridor is supported by the
95th Street Business Association, which manages the Special Service Area taxing district and provides
group marketing, beautification, and snow plowing.
Nearby, Western Avenue includes the 50-year-old County Fair independent grocery store at 108th
Street; DiCola’s Seafood market next door; and the Rainbow Cone shop at 92nd Street, an institution
since 1926. The street is also home to Irish taverns, restaurants, and the Horse Thief Hollow brewpub.
The maternity boutique Belle Up is moving to 103rd Street near the Metra station, from its smaller
111th Street location in Mount Greenwood, while Cakewalk Chicago attracts bakers from around the
region to 99th Street.
Though the area is home to about 400 small businesses, all three of the main shopping corridors – 95th
Street, Western Avenue, and 111th Street – have empty storefronts. The City of Chicago’s 2005 Beverly
Morgan Park and Mount Greenwood Corridor Opportunity Study found that the corridors had
functionally obsolete buildings, lack of unified design and signage, and deteriorated parking areas.
Lots on 95th Street are relatively shallow and cannot accommodate larger store layouts, which is why
larger developments have been sited in Evergreen Park, such as the Mariano’s grocery being built on a
former auto dealer’s lot.
The corridor study notes that new development has taken place at several locations, including the 2300
block of 95th Street; 111th and Kedzie, anchored by a Walgreen store; and several sites along Western
Avenue. These new-construction strip centers have filled some gaps and could provide the stimulus for
further development, especially in light of the $650 million in spending by local residents that is
currently done outside of the market area, according to the 2013 City of Chicago Citywide Retail
Market Analysis.
Maintaining diversity, demand
The Far Southwest Side has maintained a high
level of demand for its housing through a
combination of marketing, strong community
traditions, welcome kits for new arrivals, and
continued investment in both housing and
retail by current residents. In the process, the
neighborhoods have become increasingly
diverse in racial, ethnic, and economic mix,
while maintaining a solid base of middle-class
homeowners.
EMPLOYMENT – FAR SOUTHWEST SIDE
Retail Trade
Admin, Support, Waste Mgmt, Remediation
Professional, Scientific, Technical Services
2005
1,179
1,706
2,043
766
897
355
9,363
2011
1,962
1,890
1,871
1,295
951
554
10,470
District
10.7%
Citywide
12.9%
The small local job base and lack of available land mean that transportation to and from jobs
downtown and elsewhere will remain important. But with good schools and a continued reputation for
safe and friendly streets, the Far Southwest Side has every opportunity to maintain its diversity and
strong housing markets, and to attract new residents. Its biggest challenge is likely to be the continued
need for renewal of the retail environment so that the “village in the city” can maintain its small-town
feel and long-term stability.
Place
Beverly Ridge
subdivision area
Infill housing sites
Commercial districts
Location
107th Street at Vincennes
Avenue
Only a few vacant lots
available but some lowervalue houses could offer
teardown opportunities.
95th Street, 111th Street,
Western Avenue, and
around the Metra
stations.
Status
Various parcels on either side of 107th, east and
west of the rail tracks, remain undeveloped.
Notes
Multiple vacancies or underutilized parcels
represent opportunities for business attraction,
rehab, or new construction.
Data note: Demographic and other data is compiled by Chicago Community Area, which may differ slightly from the boundaries of the
CN2015 Planning Districts. Community Areas included in this profile are Beverly, Mount Greenwood, and Morgan Park.
Learn more about the Far Southwest Side and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/FarSouthwestSide. Learn more about
data and sources at cct.org/CN2015/DataSources.
FAR SOUTHWEST SIDE PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
WESTERN
Dan Ryan Woods
Hometown
DAMEN
Beverly Hills
91ST
91st St.
Beverly Hills Tennis Club
Kellogg ES
Evergreen Marketplace
Kellogg Community Garden
Christ the King Catholic School
Original Rainbow Cone
Evergreen Park
St. Paul's Bible Church
Evergreen Park
95th St.
Beverly
95TH
Vanderpoel ES
Optimo Hats
Endeleo
Institute
Vanderpoel Art Collection
Advocate
Health Center
99TH
Mother McAuley HS
Ridge Park
Trinity United Methodist
99th St.
Beverly Montessori
Ridge Historic District
BEVERLY
Sisters of Mercy
St. Barnabas School
Sutherland ES
Brother Rice HS
St. Barnabas Church
Oak Lawn
Optimo Hats
St. John Fisher School
St. Xavier University
Oak Lawn
Beverly Unitarian Church
Ridge Academy
St. John Fisher Parish
103RD
Multi-Family Residential
KEDZIE
PULASKI
103rd St.
Barnard ES
Longwood Drive
Historic District
Horse Thief Hollow
Munroe Park Theater Guild
Ridge Country
Club
MOUNT GREENWOOD
Ridge Historical Society
Beacon Therapeutic Center
County Fair Foods
DiCola's Seafood
Keller ES
Mount Greenwood ES
Morgan Park Academy
Beverly Theatre Guild
Walker Library
Council Oaks Montessori
Morgan Park United
Methodist
Former Morgan Park HS
Beverly Area Planning
Association
Catholic Youth Ministry
Center
Morgan Park Health
Services
MORGAN PARK
Mount Greenwood
St. Christina Catholic School
Chicago HS for Agricult Sciences
Mt. Greenwood Hardware
111TH
Mt. Greenwood C&B Association
Mt. Greenwood Park
111th St.
Clissold ES
22ND
Beverly Arts Center
St. Cajetan School
Vick Early Childhood & Family Center
Cassell ES
St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery
Beverly Ridge
Development
107th St.
107TH
Esmond ES
Smith Village Retirement Comm
Mt. Olivet
Catholic Cemetery
115th St.
115TH
Morgan Park
Sports Center
Mercy Home for Girls
St. Walter Catholic Church
57
Marshfield
Plaza
Merrionette Park
119TH
See Calumet
Planning District
Alsip
Blue Island
Calumet Park
DATE | 01.16.2015
FAR SOUTHWEST SIDE PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
See South Side
Planning District
Hometown
91ST
Evergreen Park
SSA# 4
95th Street Business Association
Evergreen Park
95th/Western
Oak Lawn
KEDZIE
Oak Lawn
SACRAMENTO
105th/Vincennes
103RD
SSA#44
19th Ward
107TH
Morgan Park/ Beverly Hills Association
Beverly Area Planning Association
Mount Greenwood LRC
111th/Kedzie
111TH
SSA#20
Alsip
WESTERN
115 TH
Merrionette Park
ASHLAND
Western Avenue/
Rock Island
See Calumet
Planning District
34th Ward
SSA#46
119TH
Merrionette Park
119th & I-57 Redevelopment
Blue Island
DATE | 01.16.2015
5. SOUTH SIDE
New investments paint brighter future for Englewood, neighbors
The heart of Chicago’s South Side is 20 minutes from the Loop, just west of the Dan Ryan Expressway
and the CTA Red Line. About 141,000 people live in the Greater
Englewood, Auburn Gresham, and Washington Heights
communities, where new public and private construction projects are
reversing a long period of disinvestment.
Shaped by nearby transportation and industrial job centers, the South
Side planning area once had the second-largest shopping district in
the city at 63rd Street and Halsted Avenue, where the new KennedyKing College now attracts a different kind of traffic.
The college, which opened on the site in 2007, is one of many land-use
changes that have taken place in recent years or are underway. A new
shopping center anchored by Whole Foods is under construction
across from the college campus. Between Garfield Boulevard and 61st
Street, Norfolk Southern Railroad is adding an 84-acre intermodal
freight facility that will create 400 jobs. Two farms are growing food
and training workers in an “urban agriculture zone” north of 59th
Street. Farther south at 83rd and the Dan Ryan, a vacant steel mill has
been redeveloped as a Walmart-anchored shopping center. And
construction has begun on a $240 million rebuild of the 95th Street
CTA Red Line transit hub.
About 700 acres of Englewood and West Englewood are vacant today after years of housing loss and
economic decline, but the larger area is still defined by hundreds of blocks lined with brick bungalows,
wood-frame houses, two-flats, and small apartment buildings. The housing stock in Washington
Heights is 60 percent owner-occupied and in generally good condition; in Auburn Gresham, about 40
percent of homes are owner-occupied and a series of “Model Blocks” include rehabbed bungalows,
two-flats, and other housing styles. Englewood and West Englewood are primarily rental communities,
with 23 percent and 36 percent of units owner-occupied, respectively.
Turning a corner
Today’s South Side neighborhoods have been influenced by 40
years of active neighbors, faith-based organizations, and
community groups, who laid the groundwork for the changes
now underway. Englewood in particular has experienced
many decades of community revitalization effort, including
the City of Chicago’s 1960s reconfiguration of the 63rd and
Halsted commercial district and nearby development of 849
units of affordable housing by Antioch Missionary Baptist
Church. Much more has happened in the last 10 years as both
Auburn Gresham and Englewood have produced quality-oflife plans and made progress on many of their goals.
SOUTH SIDE AREA OVER TIME
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Population
257,026 222,735 193,134 171,275 141,395
15.5%
25.4%
26.7%
27.6%
33.4%
46/54
49/51
52/48
52/48
47/53

Shopping areas: Englewood’s 2005 quality-of-life plan, Making A Difference, called for a new
“Englewood Center” around 63rd and Halsted to complement the then-planned Kennedy-King
campus. Since then, a new retail strip was built on 63rd Street, ground was broken for the retail
center to be anchored by Whole Foods, and two new housing developments became reality: a
99-unit supportive housing building at 63rd and Peoria, built by Mercy Housing Lakefront, and
the 73-unit Hope Manor II veteran’s housing complex at 61st and Halsted, built by Volunteers
of America.

Education: The Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation and Chicago Public
Schools over the last eight years have developed a network of “Gold” schools that provide
expanded academic and cultural programming, health services, and neighborhood
involvement. The schools have achieved higher immunization and attendance rates and
stronger paths to college; the work is being expanded thanks to $1.9 million in new support for
literacy programs from the Kellogg Foundation. Englewood has two standout high schools,
Lindblom College Prep, a Level 1-rated selective enrollment school in West Englewood, and the
charter Englewood Urban Prep Academy, whose senior classes have achieved 100 percent
acceptance at four-year colleges for the last five years.

Reuse of vacant land: With far more vacant land than can be absorbed by normal market forces,
Englewood and the City of Chicago have actively sought alternate uses. Two small farms have
been established by Growing Home, Inc. along the 59th Street viaduct, where a linear park and
“urban agriculture zone” are planned. In 2014, the City of Chicago developed the Large Lots
program, which resulted in 322 city-owned vacant lots being conveyed to local property owners
and non-profits, for $1 each. The non-profit Teamwork Englewood has been a key supporter of
both of these programs.

Transportation: The CTA in 2013 spent $425 million to completely rebuild the South Red Line,
cutting 10 minutes from the trip to downtown Chicago. In 2014, the Chicago Department of
Transportation broke ground on the 95th Street terminal project, which will create a modern
station and improved facilities for riders on 1,000 feeder buses each day. In Auburn Gresham,
the long-sought development of a new Metra commuter station at 79th Street was announced in
October 2014, around which a “transit village” is planned. The 79th Street bus has the secondhighest ridership in the city with 27,500 riders per weekday.
Another long-time anchor in Englewood is St. Bernard Hospital, which has developed 70 units of
single-family housing near its campus at 64th Street and Harvard Avenue. The hospital in October 2014
broke ground on a three-story ambulatory care center that will face 63rd Street at Stewart Avenue. And
on Halsted at 95th Street in Washington Heights, the Woodson Regional Library is receiving a $10
million upgrade, with a new YOUmedia digital space for teens, complete exterior rehab, and new
lobby.
Building blocks
Strong historic assets are in place throughout the South Side area, offering opportunities for further
development and new investment. As elsewhere in the city, the retail sector is no longer able to fill
available spaces along the many arterial streets, but there are nodes of activity on 63rd, 69th, 79th, 87th,
and 95th Streets, as well as the north-south Halsted Street, Racine Avenue, and Ashland Avenue. The
largest full-service grocery is the Walmart Supercenter at 83rd and Stewart, but there is a new Food 4
Less at 71st and Ashland, a Pete’s Produce at 87th and Loomis in Washington Heights, and an Aldi on
63rd Street near Kennedy King College, east of the planned Whole Foods.
Though much of the housing stock is 80 to 100 years old, there are many strong clusters of brick
bungalows, two-flats, and Victorian houses, especially south of 76th Street. Harvard and Yale Avenues
in Englewood, near St. Bernard Hospital, include well-preserved wood and brick homes, an active
homeowners association, and the landmark Yale Building.
Auburn Gresham has designated the area from 76th to 79th
Streets and Loomis to Racine as Model Blocks, with a diverse Housing(markets(in(2013(
remained(weak(in(most(of(
mix of housing including larger apartment buildings.
Englewood(and(West(
Englewood((northern(
Further east, the Winneconna Parkway area just north of
sec<ons),(but(were(stronger(
in(Auburn(Gresham(and(
79th Street includes a unique series of lagoons connected by
Washington(Heights.(
bridges; it was developed in the late 1800s and today has
newer construction as well as vacant areas that could be
developed as part of the planned Metra transit village.
Washington Heights and the Ashburn area to the west have
the most stable housing markets, with higher
homeownership rates. Englewood and West Englewood
were hardest hit during the foreclosure crisis, forcing
hundreds of distressed, low-value sales (brown areas on
Source: Calculations by Institute for Housing Studies at chart, right), but housing values remained relatively stable in
DePaul University using data from Cook County Recorder of most areas to the south.
Deeds via Property Insights, Cook County Assessor. Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – February 2015 – Page 53 The City of Chicago Micro-Market Recovery Program targeted areas in Englewood and Auburn
Gresham, with partners Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago and Greater Auburn-Gresham
Development Corporation. The efforts have re-occupied 190 units of housing in the two clusters.
Community groups
Among hundreds of faith-based institutions, including many storefront churches, several have had
major impacts on the community. Faith Community of St. Sabina and its longtime leader Rev. Michael
Pfleger represent a physical anchor at Racine Avenue at 78th Place, as well as a center of activism
around safety, job placement, and community revitalization. Trinity United Church on 95th Street in
Washington Heights attracts steady traffic all week and on Sundays with its 8,000-person congregation,
is raising $5 million to improve the main church building, and has a “village center” in neighboring
Beverly. Trinity’s nonprofit affiliate, Endeleo Institute, is working with the Chicago Metropolitan
Agency for Planning on a Local Technical Assistance plan for the four-block stretch between the church
and the CTA’s 95th Street terminal. On 79th Street in Auburn Gresham, the Nation of Islam operates
the Salaam banquet facilities and the Final Call newspaper offices.
Numerous block clubs, social service agencies, and homeowners groups work together through
Teamwork Englewood, Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation, the Greater Englewood
Community Development Corporation, and the Residents Association of Greater Englewood.
Finally, neighborhood activity continues around gardening and environmental activities. Imagine
Englewood If has been organizing community gardens and beautification projects since 1997; it is one
of a half dozen community gardening operations including the Eat to Live Garden at 70th and
Princeton and the two Growing Home farms near 59th and Wood, which use hoophouses to grow
produce year-round.
The environmental group Sustainable Englewood Initiatives worked with other organizations to
negotiate air-quality and open-space investments by the railroad company Norfolk Southern as it
expands its Englewood intermodal yard south across Garfield Boulevard. The controversial project
involved the sale of 105 city-owned lots and
the purchase by the railroad of all remaining
homes on the blocks generally south of
Garfield Boulevard to 61st Street, and between
the rail viaducts near Stewart and Wallace
Avenues. In exchange for the city-owned land,
the railroad conveyed a three-mile stretch of
elevated right-of-way north of 59th Street,
which the city plans to convert to a linear park
similar to The 606 trail on the North Side. The
railroad also agreed to upgrade diesel
equipment to reduce pollution and contribute
$1 million to neighborhood sustainability
projects.
EMPLOYMENT – SOUTH SIDE
Retail Trade
Manufacturing
Total # jobs in planning district
2005
1,889
2,362
975
663
363
708
8,621
2011
2,534
1,963
917
776
489
476
8,756
District
28.6%
Citywide
12.9%
Opportunities and challenges
The City of Chicago’s 2013 Green Healthy Neighborhoods plan provides a 10- to 20-year framework for
the area’s land use. That plan concentrates on Greater Englewood and areas to the east, but has
applicability as well to the Auburn Gresham and Washington Heights communities in terms of
housing, retail, and industrial opportunities.
The entire planning district showed continued population decline between 2000 and 2010, with
Englewood and West Englewood losing more than 21 percent of residents while Auburn Gresham and
Washington Heights saw drops of 13 percent and 11 percent respectively. The district has a growing
share of population living in poverty, at 33 percent overall, with the highest rates in Englewood and the
lowest in Washington Heights. All four communities have some higher-income households earning
$85,000 per year or more, but the percentage is smaller than most other Chicago planning districts.
These factors will make it challenging to develop new retail stores or housing, which is why all recent
plans for the area have encouraged such development to be clustered around existing activity centers
or at major intersections. For instance, Kennedy-King College has 14,000 students attending two-year
degree programs, culinary school, and technical programs on its 40-acre campus. The Whole Foodsanchored shopping center will likely attract smaller retailers. Over time, this activity center could
support mixed-use in-fill opportunities nearby, including the southwest corner of 63rd and Halsted,
where a building burned down in 2014.
Population decline also contributes to relatively low ridership on the CTA Green Line, whose three
area stations have shown little growth in recent years. Red Line ridership, fed by buses and walk-in
traffic, remains high and is likely to show new growth in 2015 because of faster service since the 2013
renovation. Metra serves only three stations in the area but will add a fourth when the 79th Street
station opens in 2016. Metra ridership has declined in recent years.
Metra Rock Island Ridership
CTA Red Line Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2012)*
2009
2012
Garfield
4,081
3,819
63rd
3,636
3,463
Red Line
69th
79th
5,688
7,747
5,703
7,538
87th
5,024
4,861
95th
12,936
12,550
(weekday average boardings)
Garfield
1,334
1,347
Green Line
Halsted
846
Ashland
1,532
2006
537
95th St.
Longwood
448
147
1,567
2014
395
322
900
Source: Chicago Transit Authority Annual Ridership Reports. * Red Line South was closed for reconstruction in 2013 so 2012 numbers are used.
School performance is generally low, with few Level 1-rated schools beyond the selective enrollment
schools Turner-Drew Magnet, Lenart Gifted, and Lindblom College Prep. Because enrollment has
declined over the years along with the area’s population, seven elementary schools were closed in 2013
(see Development Opportunities table, below). This forced thousands of students to shift to other
schools and leaves empty buildings along blocks that had previously gained stability from the school’s
presence. Only the Wentworth and Earle school buildings are considered likely candidates for historic
preservation.
Probably the area’s most important challenge is to reverse negative perceptions developed over the
years of decline and made worse by media coverage, which tends to emphasize incidents of crime. The
Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corp. has actively countered those perceptions, declaring the
neighborhood one of Chicago’s “best-kept secrets” and sponsoring regular community events
including the 79th Street Renaissance Festival, which attracts thousands to the street each September.
The Residents Association of Greater Englewood spreads the “good news” about the neighborhood
through social media, neighborhood cleanups, and radio and TV appearances.
With the many new investments underway, there is good news to report in the South Side area, which
may signal the long-sought turnaround of this section of the city. Continued effort by community
organizations, in coordination with public and private investment, will be key to achieving success.
Gresham
Brainerd
85
Source: Metra Commuter Rail System Station
Alighting/Boarding Count, Summary Results,
Spring 2014. Note: 2014 ridership was counted
in the spring, versus fall counts in 2006, and
thus reflects a roughly 5 percent lower,
seasonal ridership level. Any greater variance
than -5% is likely reflective of changes in
population, employment, usage, and other
factors.
Place
Vacant residential
lots
Location
Numerous throughout
Englewood and West
Englewood
Bontemp School
(closed 2013)
1258 W. 58th Street
Earle School (closed
2013)
6121 S. Hermitage Ave.
Status
Large Lot program in 2014 conveyed
332 parcels in Greater Englewood to
nearby landowners for use as side
yards, gardens, or redevelopment.
Vacant storefronts and land available
near many high-traffic commercial
nodes.
Multiple infill lots are available and
vacant or poorly maintained homes
need rehab.
Buildings on both sides of Wentworth
demolished in 2010 after new campus
opened.
1.39-acre site next to 59th Street
railroad viaduct slated for future trail
use; mechanical repairs needed
4.39-acre site; no major repairs needed
Vacant and
underutilized
commercial spaces
Winneconna
Parkway
Numerous on arterial streets
Mays School (closed
2013)
Morgan School
(closed 2013)
Wentworth School
(closed 2013)
Woods School
(closed 2013)
Yale School (closed
2013)
838 W. Marquette Rd.
1.98-acre site; needs mechanical repair
8407 S. Kerfoot Ave.
3.63-acre site; needs building envelope
repairs
4.29-acre site; no repairs needed
Former KennedyKing College site
North of 79th Street between
Vincennes and Fielding
Avenues
Wentworth Avenue from
Marquette Rd. to 69th Street
6950 S. Sangamon St.
6206 S. Racine Ave.
7025 S. Princeton Ave.
2.71 acre site; needs mechanical and
building envelope repairs.
1.66 acre site; needs mechanical repairs
Notes
Vacant lots are less common in Washington Heights and Auburn
Gresham, where intact blocks offer infill opportunities.
Green Healthy Neighborhoods plan identifies 69th and State for its
long-term potential for transit-oriented mixed-use development.
Garfield Boulevard offers similar opportunities.
Site is adjacent to planned 79th Street Metra station.
No plans have been reported for the 18-acre site.
Pre-WWII main building is classic Chicago school design but does not
meet criteria for historic preservation; in challenged area where
reuse could have positive impact.
Historic preservation deemed “not applicable.”
Includes 31 Progressive-era and three WPA-era murals; pre-1930s
decorative-brick buildings may meet criteria for historic designation.
Post-WWII building with plain design is not a priority for historic
preservation.
CN2015 Planning Districts. Community Areas included in this profile are Englewood, West Englewood, Auburn Gresham, and Washington
Heights.
Learn more about the South Side and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/SouthSide. Learn more about data and sources at
cct.org/CN2015/DataSources.
SOUTH SIDE PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
See Stockyards
Planning District
Back of the Yards HS
Richards HS
Su Casa
Cornell Square Park
Daley Elem Academy
NEW CITY
Peace & Education Coalition HS
Fulton ES
GARFIELD
Visitation
Catholic
School
Sherman Park
Intermodal Freight Facility
Dewey ES
Garfield
Hope College Prep HS
Bloom
Holmes ES
Henderson ES
Growing Home Farm
Sherwood ES
Former Bontemps ES
Veterans Housing
59TH
Copernicus ES
Nicholson ES
Academy of
St. Benedict
Lindblom Park
West Englewood
Ashland/
Children's Home + Aid 63rd
O'toole ES
MARQUETTE
Kusanya Cafe
Englewood HS
Greater Englewood CDC
Salvation Army
Davis ES
Providence
Englewood
Charter
Auburn Gresham Bungalow
Historic District
Guggenheim ES
ASHLAND
DAMEN
Yale Building
Canaan Baptist Church
Amandla Charter HS
Englewood
Health Center
Johns ES
Former Wentworth ES
Bond ES
Former Altgeld ES
Randolph ES
Southside HS
63rd
St. Bernard
St. Bernard Ambulatory Care
Academy of St. Benedict
R.A.G.E.
Former Mays School
Robeson HS
Bank of America
71ST
Kelly
Former Woods School
Englewood
Halsted
MMRP
Englewood Food Network
Kershaw ES
Morgan St Fam. Garden
Ogden
Bass ES
Banneker ES
Park
Harper HS
Montessori Englewood
Hope Manor II
ENGLEWOOD
Lindblom HS
Former Earle ES
Goodlow ES
7TH
Clara's House
Englewood Square
Urban Prep Academies
Teamwork Englewood
St Bernard Hospital
Team HS
Reed ES
Kennedy King College
Englewood Mile Square Hlth Ctr.
Metro. Family Services (CWF)
94
J. Carter Hill Comm Garden
Stagg ES
Parker ES
69th
Eat to Live Garden
Perry Mansion Cultural Center
Hinton ES
FloJo Comm Garden
Former Yale School
G. Auburn Gresham Dvpt. Corp.
Gresham VA Clinic
St. Leo Veterans Residence
The Final Call Newspaper
YCCS Charter Youth Development
Salaam Restaurant
Employment Resource Ctr.
Leo High School
Auburn Gresham Mental Hlth Ctr.
Hamilton Park
HALSTED
See Midway
Planning District
Planning District
Princeton ES
Sherman ES
Libby ES
Sherman Park
CICS Basil
51st
WESTERN
Harvard ES
Thurgood Marshall
SOS Children's Village
Dr. MLK Jr. Park & Family Ctr
Oglesby ES
Barton ES
Winnecona Parkway
Auburn Gresham MMRP
St. Sabina Academy
St. Rita HS
6TH
Auburn Park
Greater Southwest
BJ's Market
AFC Center
79th
Auburn Park
79th
Industrial Corridor
Joplin ES
Wrightwood Sr. Apartments
Veteran
Westcott ES
Wrightwood
West Chatham Bungalow
St. Sabina Emp. Resource Ctr (CWF)
CICS Ellison
Housing
Historic District
Lenart ES
Perspectives
Simeon HS
ASHBURN
Middle Acad.
CICS Longwood
Cook ES (Elev8 School)
West Chatham Park
Three Chefs
Hunter Perkins Charter
Magic Johnson Chatham
Restaurant
83RD
Owen ES
Excel
Southwest
Cuffe ES
Chatham Market
Carroll ES
Former Morgan ES
Ashburn ES
Foster Park
Ashburn
Walmart
Lowe's
Hayes Park
See Stony Island
Dan Ryan Woods
Former Gresham ES
Foster Park ES
Planning District
Hansberry
Beverly Country Club
Wrightwood-Ashburn
Gresham
College Prep
Pete's Produce
87th
Ryder ES
87th
Pathways HS
St. Ethelreda School
Jackson, M ES
KEDZIE
AUBURN GRESHAM
Brainerd
Brainerd
Planning District
Hometown
94
Fort Dearborn ES
91ST
Evangelical Christian School
Burlins Community Garden
Oakdale Christian Academy
Johnston Charter HS
Evergreen Park
Kipling ES
Trinity
United
Church
Longwood Woodson
CICS Longwood
Green ES
Mary Hellen
CICS Loomis
Community Garden
WASHINGTON
57
HEIGHTS
Wacker ES
Turner-Drew ES
Resurrection Lutheran School
95th
95th Street Transit Hub
95th/Dan Ryan
Endeleo
Institute
Evers ES
See Calumet
Planning District
DATE | 01.16.2015
See Stockyards Planning District
SSA#13
RACINE
STE WART
Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council
47th/Ashland
51ST
ASHLAND
o
SOUTH SIDE PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
20th Ward
Planning District
3rd Ward
47th/Halsted
55TH
15th Ward
59TH
16th Ward
60th/Western with Amendment
Greater Southwest Development Corp
Englewood Mall
63RD
63rd/Ashland
Englewood Neighborhood
See Midway
Planning District
SSA#14
69th and Ashland
6th Ward
71ST
67th/Wentworth
17th Ward
Greater Southwest Ind. Corridor
75TH
SSA#32
79th/Vincennes
79th/Southwest Hwy.
Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corp.
Greater Ashburn Planning Association
83RD
KEDZIE
83rd/Stewart
18th Ward
87TH
own
21st Ward
91ST
See Stony Island
Planning District
Planning District
95TH
Evergreen Park
34th Ward
The Far South CDC
Morgan Park/Beverly Hills Association
See Calumet
Planning District
Beverly Area Planning Association
*This planning area is located within the Calumet Industrial Council, the Greater Southwest Chicago
Development Corp. and the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council (LIRI)
DATE | 01.16.2015
6. MIDWAY
Airport, housing, jobs shape future of Southwest bungalow belt
A resurgent Midway Airport, solid job base,
and huge influx of new Latino residents are
reinforcing a familiar role for Chicago’s
Southwest Side neighborhoods, where miles of
brick bungalows continue to represent a
stepping stone to the American dream.
Though buffeted by the foreclosure crisis,
which has left hundreds of boarded properties
in some areas, the Midway planning district
overall has strong economic activity and
continued demand for its affordable for-sale
and rental housing. With 259,112 residents in
2010, these neighborhoods have growing or
stable populations, contrary to the trend in
many parts of Chicago. The district lost more
than 42,000 white residents and 4,855 African Americans between 2000 and 2010, but gained more than
52,000 Latinos.
Midway Airport is a core economic driver, serving 20.5 million passengers in 2013 and supporting
thousands of jobs, but the area also has five industrial corridors and direct links to downtown via the
CTA Orange Line and Stevenson Expressway (I-55). Retail corridors struggle with vacancies, but
maintain many strong blocks, thanks in part to new Mexican-oriented businesses. There are hundreds
of small shops along Archer Avenue, 63rd Street, Pulaski Road, and other streets, and larger shopping
centers near the Orange Line stations. The Ford City Mall at Cicero and 76th Street, one of Chicago’s
first enclosed malls when it opened in 1965, still draws from across the Southwest Side and suburbs,
with 130 stores and a 14-screen cinema.
Eight neighborhoods
The Midway district consists of eight Chicago community
areas, with the mile-square Midway Airport separating east
from west. All of the communities are made up predominantly
of single-family homes, many of them classic Chicago
bungalows, and all are alongside and influenced by industrial
areas that helped drive development of that housing.
MIDWAY AREA OVER TIME
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Population
233,633 219,319 215,625 256,421 259,112
4.4%
6.2%
9.5%
12.3%
15.7%
71/29
72/28
74/26
72/28
68/32
Into the 1960s, seven of the eight neighborhoods had
populations that Census records show as 100 percent white;
only Garfield Ridge had a small African-American population, all of which was concentrated in the
616-unit LeClaire Courts public housing project on Cicero south of the Stevenson. The neighborhoods
at that time were aggressively resistant to racial integration, defending the “color line” along Western
Avenue in Gage Park and Chicago Lawn, where they bordered the West Englewood and New City
communities.
Martin Luther King, Jr. came to Chicago in 1966 as part of the Chicago Freedom Movement, pressing
for open housing laws that would allow African Americans to live outside of the strictly defined
ghetto. Angry mobs met King on August 5 when he marched into Marquette Park, where he was hit in
the head by a thrown projectile. Though some modest progress was made during King’s stay to reduce
anti-integration practices, it was not until the 1970s and 1980s that the Southwest neighborhoods began
opening up. Thanks to a more-positive style of organizing by then underway, the racial change came
more slowly than in other Chicago neighborhoods and resulted in today’s diverse communities.
Chicago Lawn is now a mixed community with about 27,000 African-Americans and 25,000 Latinos,
along with small white and Middle Eastern populations. The neighborhood includes the 323-acre
Marquette Park and adjacent Holy Cross Hospital and Maria High School, both of which until recently
were affiliated with the Sisters of St. Casimir. The aging religious institution, whose motherhouse and
campus fill the 2600 block of West Marquette Road, completed a succession plan for Holy Cross in 2013
when it merged with Mt. Sinai Hospital in North Lawndale, and for Maria High School when it became
the Catalyst Maria charter school. Both have been longtime community anchors and supporters of
community-building efforts.
Gage Park is a mostly residential neighborhood that was about 89 percent Latino by 2010, with a
strong commercial corridor along Kedzie Avenue that includes a shopping center near the Orange Line
station and the area’s largest industrial company, Central Steel and Wire. To serve a growing schoolage population, an education corridor has been built on the west edge of the neighborhood, including
UNO Soccer Academy Charter at 5050 S. Homan, and, on the 5400 and 5500 blocks of St. Louis Avenue,
the Solorio Academy high school, Hernandez Middle School, and Sandoval Elementary.
Archer Heights and West Elsdon, north and south respectively of the Orange Line tracks, have become
predominantly Latino, with a net population gain of 3,000 between 2000 and 2010. Serving both
neighborhoods are the Archer Avenue and Pulaski Road commercial corridors, which intersect at the
CTA Orange Line and the 3,000-student selective-enrollment Curie Metropolitan High School. A large
industrial area near the Stevenson Expressway includes food processors, metalworkers, and the
Greater Chicago Food Depository. World’s Finest Chocolate makes its fundraiser candy bars at Archer
and Lawndale Avenues.
East of Midway Airport, West Lawn showed a 14 percent increase in population between 2000 and
2010, adding more than 11,000 Latino residents and losing about 6,500 white residents and 600 African
Americans. West Lawn’s southwest corner is non-residential. Used during World War II to make
aircraft and later as a Ford assembly plant, the area now includes the Ford City Mall, Richard J. Daley
Community College, and manufacturers including Tootsie Roll and Solo Cup Company. Adjacent
Ashburn also has a significant industrial district on either side of the diagonal Norfolk Southern
railroad tracks, including the Mondelez factory where Oreo cookies are made (technically in Chicago
Lawn). Ashburn is the area’s most mixed neighborhood, at 46 percent African American, 37 percent
Latino, and 15 percent white, though the southeast section is mostly African American.
Clearing and Garfield Ridge are separated from the rest of the city by Midway Airport and have been
more stable in terms of population change. Both remained majority white in 2010 but with growing
Latino populations. Though primarily single-family residential, the neighborhoods are adjacent to
major industrial and rail centers in the city and suburbs. The Harlem Industrial Park in Clearing has a
dozen small factories; Garfield Ridge hosts a Clorox factory and truck-service companies along the
Stevenson. The former Chicago Housing Authority LeClaire Courts development along Cicero was
demolished in 2011; options for future development are discussed below.
The Midway district is among Chicago’s more economically diverse planning districts, with a five- to
15-percent share of high-income households in every community area, and 20- to 30-percent shares of
the lowest income quintile. Over the entire district, however, the percentage of families living in
poverty has grown steadily since 1970, and the share of homeownership has fallen slightly.
The Midway neighborhoods have remained relatively stable and attractive for newcomers thanks to
long-standing efforts by community groups, block clubs, churches, and institutions. This work has been
led on the west mostly by chambers of commerce, ethnic associations, and block clubs, and on the east
by more formally organized coalitions and community development corporations.
Greater Southwest Development Corporation (GSDC), for instance, was one of the city’s earliest and
most successful nonprofit developers. Its work in the 1980s stabilized Western Avenue by bringing a
Jewel grocery store to 61st Street, major reinvestment in the Oreo cookie plant (then owned by
Nabisco), and new businesses, streetscapes, and façade improvements along 63rd Street. Today GSDC’s
REACH Center offers financial and employment-related services as well as foreclosure counseling, and
the affiliated 63rd Street Growth Commission provides business-development programs and manages
the Special Service Area taxing district.
Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP) brings together 29 neighborhood churches, mosques, schools,
and other institutions to work on local issues, and with GSDC produced the area’s 2005 quality-of-life
plan, Chicago Southwest: Making Connections. Developed with input from more than 300 residents
and stakeholders, that plan recognized the need, first, to rebuild relationships within the Southwest
neighborhoods, and then to address housing abandonment, school quality, access to health care, and
leadership development.
The most critical issue in recent years has been housing vacancies caused by the foreclosure crisis.
Despite intensive work to avert foreclosures through housing counseling and connections to financial
services, the Southwest Side was affected by an estimated 15,000 foreclosures between 2007 and 2013.
Targeting a particularly hard-hit section of Chicago Lawn, SWOP and Neighborhood Housing Services
of Chicago have reoccupied 64 of 90 vacant units through the City of Chicago’s Micro Market Recovery
Program. A related effort, in partnership with Brinshore Development LLC, has acquired a vacant 13unit apartment building at 62nd and Washtenaw as the first of at least 50 units that will be rehabilitated
and then rented or sold. SWOP has raised about $8 million for the housing-renewal effort and
developed a list of neighborhood residents interested in buying or renting the housing as it becomes
available.
Connected to the housing challenges are weak retail districts that contribute to a negative perception of
the neighborhoods, in particular the high-traffic Cicero Avenue corridor that connects the Stevenson
Expressway with Midway Airport. More than 65,000 vehicles travel the street each day, according to
the 2005 South Cicero Redevelopment Plan, passing many vacant lots and underutilized buildings both
north and south of the airport. Many of these lots are of shallow depth, which limits development
opportunities, but the traffic volume and nearby population density suggest strong potential for
neighborhood retail and small-business office uses. Some mixed-use development, with housing over
retail, could also be developed, though the six-lane Cicero corridor is generally inhospitable to
pedestrian traffic.
The plan recommends upgrading of Cicero Avenue landscaping and buildings to create a “gateway”
corridor, and identifies the underutilized Midway Business Center property at Archer Avenue for
possible redevelopment as a convention and hotel center. South of the airport in Bedford Park, the
Midway Hotel Center supports six hotel chains, but the study says the airport’s heavy passenger
volumes could support more hotels.
Also on Cicero is the empty 44-acre parcel that was once the LeClaire Courts public housing
development. The Chicago Housing Authority’s 2013 LeClaire Courts Transportation and Access Study
examined potential commercial uses that would be compatible with future housing development. It
recommended a mixed-use retail, medical, and institutional complex covering up to 15 acres along
Cicero, or a community retail center. Both uses would require improved access at 44th Street and
additional through-street connections where there are now cul-de-sacs. New housing would be
clustered on the southwest edge of the parcel, next to the existing neighborhoods of LeClaire Hearst
and Vittum Park. The Chicago Housing Authority controls the land and had not announced its plans as
of late 2014.
A final large development opportunity is along the east side of Western Avenue between 59th and 61st
Streets. The 2005 Chicago Southwest quality-of-life plan envisioned a Town Center on this land, and a
subsequent effort by the Greater Southwest Development Corporation outlined a 375,000-square-foot
shopping center dubbed The Cannery, referring to the can factory that once stood on the site. Current
uses including a Blast! Fitness center and Pep Boys auto parts store, but much of the land remains
unused. The former anchors stores and traffic-drivers – Sears and Jewel Osco – are both gone. GSDC
proposed a phased development that would incorporate current uses into the new shopping center.
Supporting future growth
The Midway planning district, with its diverse
neighborhoods, growing population, and solid
housing stock, has strong assets to build on as it
looks to the future. The airport itself is working at
full capacity, serving as one of Southwest Airlines
biggest hubs and also now connecting to
international destinations in the Caribbean and
Latin America. Thanks to the airport, industrial
districts, and transportation-related businesses,
the Midway district supports almost 55,000 local
jobs, of which more than 8,000 are held by local
residents.
EMPLOYMENT – MIDWAY
Manufacturing
Retail Trade
Accommodation and Food Service
2005
9,760
7,971
10,075
4,549
2,688
3,201
52,799
2011
9,332
8,987
7,535
4,388
4,370
3,688
54,549
District
13.8%
Citywide
12.9%
Taking advantage of these strong employment opportunities will require improved education levels
and job skills, both of which are relatively low compared to other areas of the city. Also important will
be maintaining demand for housing stock across the entire district, and further improving local
schools, some of which are overcrowded. Building stronger connections among residents and local
institutions, as recommended in the 2005 quality-of-life plan, will be an essential element of achieving
these objectives.
CTA Orange Line Ridership (weekday boardings,
year-end averages, 2009 and 2013)
Western
Kedzie
Pulaski Midway
2009
3,302
3,000
4,738
8,708
2013
3,814
3,428
5,170
9,032
Source: Chicago Transit Authority Annual Ridership Reports.
Place
Industrial buildings
and empty land
Location
Multiple locations in each
of the area’s industrial
corridors.
Retail corridors
Most corridors in the
district; Cicero Avenue in
particular
60th to 62nd Streets, east
side of Western Avenue
Retail shopping
center
Midway Business
Center
Cicero Avenue at Archer
Avenue, southwest
corner.
Housing
Empty foreclosed
buildings at numerous
locations.
Status
Though all corridors have seen
recent reinvestment, many
buildings are obsolete or
underutilized.
Demand for traditional small
retail stores is insufficient to fill
all storefronts.
Jewel Osco and Sears have closed
but some buildings are still
occupied; much of the land is
vacant.
Identified in South Cicero
Redevelopment Plan as
underutilized and large enough to
allow convention center or other
airport-related use.
Several programs are targeting
foreclosed properties in certain
target areas.
Notes
Mixed-use developments with housing over
retail could provide needed housing units while
adding shoppers to the retail area.
Concept for The Cannery Shopping Center
suggested 375,000 square feet of retail on
deep plot that extends east to railroad tracks.
CN2015 Planning Districts. Community Areas included in this profile are Archer Heights, West Elsdon, Gage Park, West Lawn, Chicago
Lawn, Ashburn, Clearing, and Garfield Ridge.
Learn more about the Midway planning district and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/Midway. Learn more about data
and sources at cct.org/CN2015/DataSources.
MIDWAY PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
North Riverside
Riverside
Brookfield
Cicero
Berwyn
PULASKI
Stickney
Stevenson Industrial Corridor
Stickney
UNO SPC Daniel Zizumbo Charter School
UNO PFC Omar E. Torres Charter School
UNO Major Hector P. Garcia M.D. HS Charter School
ARCHER HEIGHTS
LeClaire Courts
Lyons
Hearst ES
Forest View
Access Southwest Family Health
47TH
Edwards ES
Pete's Fresh Market
Central Steel & Wire, Co.
J.B. Hunt
World's Finest
Chocolate
WESTERN
CICERO
Brighton Park
Western
Global Citizenship Charter
Industrial Corridor
Curie Metro HS
Kedzie
UNO
Charter
Soccer
HS
Christopher ES
St. Richard School
St. Jane De
Archer
Heights
UNO
Charter
Tamayo
McCook
51ST
Chantal School
UNO Charter Homan ES
Twain ES
Nightingale ES
R WEST ELSDON
Pulaski
Sawyer ES
ARCHE Mc Cracken Label Co.
GARFIELD RIDGE
Holy Cross
Solorio HS
Talman ES
Medical Center
Carson ES
Horizons Screen Print
St. Daniel School
St. Gall School
Byrne ES
Sandoval ES
St. Carnillus School
Gage Park
Polish American Society
Garfield Ridge
Greater Lawn WIC Clinic
55TH
Gage
Summit
Hernandez MS
Gage Park HS
Hancock Prep HS
Midway International
Kennedy HS
GAGE PARK Park
Weber's Bakery
Airport
Pasteur Park
Kinzie ES
Fairfield Elementary Academy
Peck ES
SWOP Foreclosure
Tonti
ES
Summit
Pasteur ES
Greater Southwest Community Garden
CLEARING
Target Area
McCook
Midway
IMAN Center
Chicago
Lawn
Morrill
ES
Ombudsman South HS
Minuteman Park
St. Nicholas School
Hodgkins
Churchview Supportive Living
Harlem Industrial Corridor
Greater Southwest REACH Center (CWF)
Hubbard HS
St. Symphorosa ES
Chicago Family Health Center
Hale
ES
Dore ES
St. Mary Star
Neighborhood Housing Services
West Lawn
63RD
Blair Early Childhood Center
Salvation
Army
8TH
of Sea Church
Anderson ES
Lee ES
Claremont ES
St. Rene Parish
Grimes ES
Southwest Organizing Project
Clearing
Eberhart ES
Marquette ES (Elev8 School) Greater Southwest Development Corporation
Balzekas Museum
Hotel Corridor
CHICAGO
LAWN
California Avenue Institutions
Azuela ES (Lithuanian)
Catalyst-Maria HS
Sisters of St. Casimir
WEST LAWN
Maria Kaupus Center
MLK Memorial
Hurley
ES
Bedford Park
Holy Cross
Tarkington ES
Bedford Park
Mckay ES
Southwest
Chicago
PADS
Queen of the Universe School
Greater Southwest
Industrial Corridor
Mondelez-Nabisco International
Burbank
79TH
Justice
Dart/Solo
Factory
Scottsdale
Richard J. Daley Sarah E. Good
STEM Academy
College
Hampton ES
Bogan HS
KEDZIE
Ford City Shopping Mall
Tootsie Roll
Monument of Faith Church
Assemblers, Inc.
St. Rita HS
Wrightwood
Stevenson ES
Bridgeview
Burbank
ASHBURN
83RD
Dawes ES
St. Bede-Venerable School
Ashburn
Durkin Park ES
87TH
Hickory Hills
Shopping Center
Hometown
Oak Lawn
Evergreen Park
DATE | 01.16.2015
MIDWAY PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
Cicero
Berwyn
Stickney
14th Ward
Stickney
Stevenson/Brighton
Midway Industrial Corridor
Cicero/Archer
Forest View
Forest
View
51st/Archer
SSA# 39
22nd Ward
Homan/Grand Trunk
AR CH ER
51ST
55TH
Archer/Central
15th Ward
59TH
23rd Ward
16th Ward
13th Ward
Greater Southwest Development Corp.
Harlem Industrial Park
Conservation Area
63RD
SSA# 3
17th Ward
63rd/Pulaski
67th/Cicero
Bedford Park
Bedford Park
SSA#14
72nd/Cicero
73rd/Kedzie
Greater Southwest Ind. Corridor
Greater Southwest Ind. (West)
79th/Southwest Hwy.
79th/Cicero
KOSTNER
83RD
CICERO
Burbank
18th Ward
Burbank
Hometown
*This planning area is located within the Greater Southwest Chicago Development Corp & Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council (LIRI)
DATE | 01.16.2015
7. STOCKYARDS
Diversity grows thanks to jobs, transit, varied housing markets
Another cycle of ethnic change is underway in the
150-year evolution of industrial neighborhoods on
Chicago’s Near Southwest Side. Once populated
almost entirely by Irish, Germans, and Eastern
Europeans, the Stockyards district today is a mix of
nearly everyone from everywhere, with large
groupings of Chinese, Latinos, and African Americans
joining long-time and newly arrived white residents.
Named after the Union Stockyards meatpacking
district that once attracted tens of thousands of
immigrant workers, the district remains one of
Chicago’s strongest industrial centers. Modern
factories and warehouses in the Stockyards Industrial
Park support more than 5,000 jobs. Thousands of additional jobs are just north in the Stevenson and
Pilsen Industrial Corridors, home to metalworking companies, produce distributors, and food
processors. More jobs are to the west in the Brighton Park Industrial Corridor.
Those employment opportunities are matched with strong transportation assets and a diversity of
housing choices, ranging from the famous bungalows of Bridgeport, where Mayors Richard J. and
Richard M. Daley once lived, to big wood-frame houses in New City (the official name for Back of the
Yards), and tightly spaced townhouses in Chinatown (part of Armour Square). Major arteries are lined
with retail stores, many of them serving specific ethnic groups, while new auto-oriented shopping
centers serve regional markets.
About 153,600 people live in the six community areas south of the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) and
west of the Dan Ryan (I-90/94), within reach of eight CTA Red and Orange Line stations. The district’s
population declined five percent from 2000 to 2010, but is up from earlier levels thanks to a new wave
of immigrants and second- and third-generation Latino and Asian households.
A century old, but new again
Built up around Chicago’s first major industrial centers,
including the cattle pens and packinghouses made famous by
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, the Stockyards district has been
heavily populated for more than a century. But today’s
communities are very different than they were, and are
changing still.
STOCKYARDS DISTRICT OVER TIME
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Population
167,601 149,051 143,772 161,741 153,601
12.4%
19.7%
23.7%
23.9%
25.7%
39/61
40/60
42/58
42/58
41/59
Farthest north and east is Armour Square, commonly known as
Chinatown, which straddles Archer Avenue with thriving
business districts, dense residential areas, and a new riverside
park. Once hemmed in by rail viaducts and expressways, Chinatown has been overflowing those
boundaries since the 1990s, expanding onto former railroad land and into adjacent communities.
Neighboring Bridgeport, once solidly white and insular, is now 27 percent Latino and 35 percent Asian.
New condos and single-family homes have been built on in-fill lots and along the South Branch of the
Chicago River. Retail strips have diversified from their old-line roots with new ethnic restaurants and
bakeries, while old industrial buildings have become art galleries, incubators, and live-work spaces.
Moving southwest along Archer Avenue, McKinley Park and Brighton Park are now predominantly
Latino, with growing Asian populations alongside remaining Lithuanians and Polish Highlanders.
Both neighborhoods benefitted from the 1993 opening of the CTA Orange Line, which connects the
Loop to Midway Airport and provides faster service than the Archer Avenue bus.
To the south is New City, called Back of the Yards, still lined with the wood boarding houses and
apartment buildings where meatpacking workers once lived. Originally Lithuanian, Czech, and Polish,
today it has 44,000 residents who are 57 percent Latino and 30 percent African American. The small
neighborhood of Fuller Park is just east of New City and south of the White Sox’s Cellular Field, with a
mostly African-American population of 2,900.
Diverse business base
The Stockyards district has always been solidly working class, with a large proportion of residents
walking to work or taking a short commute. Though the job base has shifted somewhat, the district
continues to have a very broad business mix, with two major freight-rail yards, several industrial areas,
and a dozen retail corridors. Shopping centers have been built on former industrial land – the largest
being the Back of the Yards Shopping Center on 47th Street – and other new retail is near Orange Line
stations.
The district has powerful and varied investment drivers, including:

Chinese immigrants: The influx of more than 8,000 new Asian residents since 2000 has
bolstered the Chinatown economy, which includes more than 70 restaurants and many retail
and wholesale businesses. The area attracts visitors from the city, suburbs, China, and Taiwan.
A 108-room hotel is under construction at Cermak and Archer; a second is planned by Chinese
investors at Clark Street and Archer Avenue. Demand for housing by Chinese families is strong
through much of the Stockyards district.

Industry: Heavy investment continues within the Stockyards Industrial Park. Testa Produce
built a $24-million LEED-certified distribution center, complete with a wind turbine; South
Chicago Packing Co. has expanded its food-oil processing capacity to take advantage of the
site’s rail access; and Tyson Foods employs about 1,000 at its Ashland Avenue facility.

Food and urban farming: A former pork-processing building has been renamed The Plant and
become an incubator for eight food-related businesses including aquaponic farms and bakeries.
The Iron Street Farm produces year-round vegetables, mushrooms, and compost on a sevenacre site; and small Asian-oriented factories make noodles, tofu, fortune cookies, and paper
take-out tubs.

Transportation: The CTA Orange Line connects residents to downtown jobs; service jobs in and
around Midway Airport; and factory jobs in the industrial corridors. About 30,000 passengers
board the Orange Line each weekday at neighborhood stations including Midway.
The district is well served by chambers of commerce as well as four Special Service Area taxing districts
that provide services to support local industrial and retail businesses.
CTA Orange and Red Line Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2012/13)*
Orange Line
Red Line
2009
2,490
1,476
2,643
3,302
3,000
2009
Cermak
Chinatown
3,414
2013
2,985
1,701
3,092
3,814
3,428
2012
4,428
Halsted
Ashland
35th Archer
Western
Kedzie
Sox 35th
47th St.
4,668
3,163
5,218
3,254
Source: Chicago Transit Authority Annual Ridership Reports. * Red Line South was closed for reconstruction in 2013 so 2012 numbers are used for Red Line
only.
Major public investments are adding vitality at strategic locations. The landmarked Goldblatt’s
building at 47th Street and Ashland Avenue is being rehabilitated with $2.9 million in TIF funding; it
will include 101 senior assisted-living units above the commercial space. Nearby at 47th and Hoyne, a
vacant brownfield has been replaced by the $91 million Back of the Yards College Preparatory High
School, which includes an athletic field and co-located branch library. It is a “wall-to-wall”
International Baccalaureate school, with all 1,200 of its students participating in the rigorous
curriculum. It was built after extensive advocacy by the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council and
other community organizations seeking a high-quality school for local residents.
In Chinatown, a new library is under construction to replace the cramped existing branch, where book
circulation and patronage are consistently among the city’s highest. The two-story, 16,000-square-foot
facility has curved glass walls looking out onto busy Wentworth and Archer Avenues. Nearby on the
Chicago River South Branch, the $15 million Ping Tom Memorial Park Fieldhouse opened in 2013 with
a fitness center, swimming pool, and boat house. Both facilities were long-time goals of local
organizations including the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community.
In Brighton Park, a $2 million artificial turf soccer field is under construction at Kelly Park after a twoyear campaign by local residents and the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council. And in McKinley Park,
where industrial vacancy rates have been very high, the former Wrigley Gum factory is being
demolished to make way for new private development; the City of Chicago is exploring reuse of the
former Chicago Public Schools headquarters buildings on Pershing Road; and the obsolete Ashland
Avenue flyover bridge at Pershing has been taken down and replaced with a new $13 million
streetscape.
Strong local networks
Stability and growth throughout the Stockyards district has been supported by long traditions of
community cohesion and networking, from block clubs and churches to political organizations,
grassroots organizing, and chambers of commerce.
As the longtime base of the Chicago Democratic Party, Bridgeport and surrounding areas have for
decades had strong precinct organizations and political leadership that respond to neighborhood
concerns. Community organizing grew up alongside these political networks, most notably in the late
1930s when Saul Alinsky organized the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council, which continues
today as a multi-service organization engaged in business development, safety, youth, and other issues.
More recently, The Resurrection Project has bought and rehabbed both single-family and multi-unit
buildings in Back of the Yards, and United Way of Metropolitan Chicago launched its Live United
resource network in Brighton Park.
Entrepreneurship is also a driving force, with a
EMPLOYMENT – STOCKYARDS
mix across the district of larger retailers and
2005
2011
smaller independent businesses. In Bridgeport,
Manufacturing
13,865
9,215
the parallel Halsted Street and Morgan Street
Wholesale Trade
4,068
4,030
Retail
Trade
5,261
3,963
corridors have developed an eclectic mix of
4,063
3,745
businesses and restaurants that have filled some
2,536
3,412
of the many vacant storefronts. Always home to
2,979
2,438
Total
#
private-sector
jobs
in
district
40,888
34,669
corner taverns, the area now includes the
nationally acclaimed Maria’s Community Bar,
District Citywide
960 W. 31st Street, with its lineup of craft beers,
16.7%
12.9%
Sources:
Calculations
by
Institute
for
Housing
Studies
at
DePaul
University
and the Marz Community Brewing Company
founded by a collective of brewers. Swap-O2012 Five-Year American Community Survey (unemployment).
Rama at 4100 S. Ashland is a major source of
employment and consumer goods, with more than 1,000 vendors and 25,000 visitors on weekends.
Artists represent a relatively new but growing presence. The Zhou B Art Center, founded in 2004 in an
industrial building on 35th Street, helped attract working artists to the neighborhood and nearby
Morgan Street. More recently, the 500,000-square-foot Bridgeport Art Center, in the former Spiegel
Catalog Warehouse at 1200 W. 35th Street, has brought more galleries, evening events, 70 artist work
spaces, and a fashion design center. Both participate in monthly 3rd Friday art walks that attract
hundreds.
Churches continue to play a central role in community life, with big Latino congregations at Holy
Cross, St. Michael’s, and St. Joseph churches, while Five Holy Martyrs in Brighton Park attracts both
current and former Polish residents. Many churches provide social services to neighborhood residents
and the larger ones play an economic role, attracting parishioners who shop and dine out after Sunday
services.
A primary challenge throughout the Stockyards district is low income levels, with 25 percent of the
population living in poverty in 2010. Thirty-five percent of households earned less than $25,000 per
year in 2012. Finding higher-paying work is difficult because 36 percent of residents 25 and older have
not attained a high school diploma. Lack of English-language skills is another barrier for many Latino
and Chinese residents.
The aging stock of both residential and commercial/industrial buildings is also a challenge. Demand
for housing remains relatively strong throughout the district, especially for working-class families, but
many houses and apartment buildings are 80 years old or more. Some have been illegally subdivided
into smaller units and others suffer from decades of deferred maintenance. Nearly 19 percent of all
residential parcels were impacted by foreclosures between 2005 and 2013, causing a sharp drop in
values.
The district has a surplus of outdated industrial properties, even as demand increases for modern onestory facilities near major transportation arteries. The area has seen continued reinvestment in plant
and equipment by existing users, such as Wheatland Tube and can-maker Rexam. Prologis Inc. plans a
new 208,000-square-foot distribution center at the I-55 ramp at 28th and Damen. But the market is
unlikely to quickly absorb the area’s surplus of industrial land and buildings.
Another major challenge through much of the district is how to improve safety. A survey conducted
for the 2013 Chinatown Community Vision Plan identified safety as the number one concern;
enhancing public safety was also a primary goal of the 2014 Back of the Yards Quality-of-Life Plan.
Gang activity and homicides are an ongoing concern in much of the district, which lacks the
recreational facilities and youth-programming organizations of other parts of the city. The Chicago
Park District in 2009 opened the 27-acre Palmisano Park in Bridgeport, at the former Stearns Quarry,
and is in the acquisition phase for Park #571 at Ashland and the river, which will include a 19,000
square-foot boathouse. But the community remains below the city standard for park space, with just 1.6
acres of open space per 1,000 residents, and has few major youth-recreation facilities or programs.
A major asset of all the Stockyards neighborhoods is the historic character of the building stock,
including hundreds of brick commercial and mixed-use buildings, many with decorative elements. The
2006 Urban Land Institute report, Archer Avenue: Remaking an Historic Corridor, recommends
preserving existing historical buildings and filling gaps with compatible structures that will
complement the streetwall. It suggests transit-oriented improvements around the CTA Orange Line
stations and development of gateways and streetscape improvements to soften the harsh edges created
by the adjacent Stevenson Expressway. More detailed guidance is provided in the 2008 Archer Avenue
and Halsted Street Pattern Book, which provides design guidelines for vibrant, pedestrian-oriented
activity centers.
By building on its rich history, employment base, and transportation assets, the Stockyards district can
continue to attractive the waves of newcomers that have made it a vibrant urban center for more than a
century.
Place
Vacant Aronson
Furniture site
Location
4630 S. Ashland Ave.
Vacant lots at 47th
and Damen
Wells Wentworth
Connector project
Southeast corner
Central
Manufacturing
District buildings
Former Wrigley
gum factory
Relocation of Wells
between Archer and
Cermak is Phase 2 of
Chicago Department of
Transportation project.
1819 W. Pershing Rd.
Ashland Avenue at 35th
Street
Status
This 20,000-square-foot building
and large rear parking lot are in a
high-traffic location.
Four vacant lots are across from
Back of the Yards Shopping Center.
Wentworth north of Cermak to be
moved to align with southern
section, removing dangerous jog.
City-owned buildings were built for
industry, then used as Chicago
Public Schools headquarters.
Factory closed in 2006 and was
demolished in 2014.
Notes
Identified as highest priority
redevelopment site in 2014 Back of the
Yards quality-of-life plan.
Identified for potential mixed use by Back
of the Yards quality-of-life plan.
Three buildings to be removed west of
Wentworth. Parking lots east of
Wentworth, owned by Illinois Department
of Transportation, could be redeveloped
for mixed uses after road relocation.
Department of Planning and Development
has been exploring re-use as data center
or mixed uses.
32-acre Wrigley site is owned by Avgeris
and Associates; is adjacent to Ashland
Avenue project to remove flyover at 35th
Street.
slightly from the boundaries of the CN2015 Planning Districts. Community Areas included in this profile are Armour Square, Fuller Park,
Brighton Park, McKinley Park, Bridgeport, and New City.
Learn more about the Stockyards district and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/Stockyards. Learn more about data and
DAMEN
STATE
STOCKYARDS PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
NORTH LAWNDALE
CERMAK
CERMAK
NEAR SOUTH SIDE
Halsted
55
Sheridan ES
Canalport River Park
Park No. 571
Palmisano Park
R
E
CH
QTS Data Center
AR
Benton House
Ashland
Prologis Inc.
ASHLAND
DAMEN
Stevenson Industrial Corridor
Co-Propsperity Sphere
Marz Community Brewing Co.
Burroughs ES
WESTERN
CALIFORNIA
KEDZIE
Chicago
35TH
McKinley Park
Greene ES
35th/Archer
Daley
Chicago Sustainable Manufacturing
Stockyards Industrial Park
Ntl Latino Education Inst
Davis ES
Stockyards
See Midway
Planning District
BRIGHTON PARK
43RD
Kelly HS
Kelly Park
New Soccer Field
Swap O Rama
NEW CITY
Shields ES
Brighton Park
Five Holy Martyr's Church
BNSF Chicago Intermodal Fac.
Gunsaulus ES
Cedar Concepts Corp.
UNO Charter Brighton Park
Back of the Yards
Tyson Foods
Planning District
FULLER PARK
Former Stockyards Ntl Bank
Union Stockyards Gate
Canaryville
Back of the Yards
Mental Health Center
Dugan Alternative HS
Hendricks ES
Canaryville
Davis Square
Mile The
Former
Square Plant
Aronson's
Columbia Explorers ES
Instituto del Progreso Latino (CWF)
Furniture
Seward ES
Yards Plaza
Bishop Plaza
Lara
ES
Back of the Yards HS
Senior Housing
Brighton Park HS
UNO Charter Marquez
47th
Back of the Yards
Hamline ES
Chavez ES
Access Kedzie Family Health
Shields MS
Second Chance HS
Hedges ES
Brighton Park
St. Joseph Church
City Beverage
Western
Industrial Corridor
Wheatland Tube Co.
Brighton Park Nbrd Council
U.S. Cellular Field
Air Force HS
Bubbly Creek
Former CPS School Bldg
McKinley Park ES
McClellan ES
South Chicago Packing
Brighton Park ES
PERSHING
Sox-35th
Zhao B Art Center
Former Wrigley Gum
Chicago Childrens Choir ES
McKinley Park
Calmeca ES
Bridgeport Art Center
Namaste ES
Evergreen Academy ES
Thomas ES
Armour Square
Armour ES
Iron Street Farm
MCKINLEY PARK
Everett ES
The Bridge Theater
Bridgeport Alliance
First Lutheran Church Trinity
9TH
Holden ES
94
Healy ES
Maria's Community Bar
31ST
55
ARMOUR SQUARE
BRIDGEPORT
HALSTED
See Pilsen Little Village
Planning District
Ward, J ES
94
Graham ES
Fuller Park
Testa Produce
47th
Tilden HS
Kedzie
St. Michael the Archangel
San Miguel School
DATE | 01.16.2015
STOCKYARDS PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
CERMAK
HALSTE D
ASHLAND
Planning District
25th Ward
Planning District
11th Ward
RACINE
DAME N
Pilsen Industrial Corridor
Sanitary and Ship Canal
35th/State
Archer/Western
35th/Wallace
35th/Halsted
South Loop
Chamber of Commerce
PERSHIN G
Stockyards Annex
12th Ward
Stephenson/Brighton
SSA#13
Stockyards Industrial
Corridor
See Midway
Planning District
43RD
Stockyards Southeast
Quadrant
SSA#39
15th Ward
45th & Western
3rd Ward
KEDZIE
SSA# 7
47th/Ashland
SSA#10
47TH
14th Ward
20th Ward
47th/Halsted
*This planning area is located within the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council & the Eighteenth Street Development Corporation (LIRI)
DATE | 01.16.2015
8. PILSEN LITTLE VILLAGE
Ports of entry are regional centers of Mexican-American life
Pilsen and Little Village have been immigrant neighborhoods since their inception alongside the major
industrial corridors of the Southwest Side. For the past 50 years, they have been the cultural and
business centers for Chicago’s Mexican Americans.
Officially called the Lower West Side and South Lawndale, respectively, the communities have been
better known by their nicknames since the mid-20th Century, when they were largely Czech, Polish,
and Eastern European. The densely populated communities feature 120-year-old structures in the
4,200-building Pilsen Historic District, with slightly younger houses and two-flats in Little Village,
which was fully built up by the 1920s.
Today, Pilsen and Little Village are magnets for second- and third-generation Mexican Americans as
well as new immigrants. Hundreds of storefronts sell Mexican food, wedding and quinceañera gowns,
music, clothing, and housewares, drawing steady traffic especially on weekends. The annual Fiesta del
Sol in Pilsen and Mexican Independence Day Parade in Little Village draw huge crowds. Both
communities have flourishing art scenes that include galleries, murals, music venues, a Latino film
festival, and diverse programming for youth. Churches, social service agencies, and community
development organizations have built extensive support networks. And Pilsen, in
recent years, has been attracting the young and hip with resale shops, bars, and
trendy restaurants.
Amidst all this vitality and apparent economic health, the two communities remain
relatively poor compared to other Chicago neighborhoods, with household
incomes limited by low educational achievement and earning power. Nearly 30
percent of residents live below the poverty level. About half of those aged 25 and
older have not completed high school. In 2012, the unemployment rate was 15.8 percent.
Despite a 15 percent population drop between 2000 and 2010,
due mostly to smaller family sizes, there is very little
residential vacancy. Both communities have solid blocks of
owner-occupied housing, often with decorative wrought-iron
fences and recently tuckpointed brick. But about 70 percent of
all households are renters, many living in older structures
with leaky windows and outdated utilities. Owners and
renters alike are “cost-burdened,” with about half in each
category spending more than 30 percent of their income on
housing.
PILSEN LITTLE VILLAGE OVER TIME
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Population
107,293 120,075 126,744 135,102 115,057
15.1%
23.5%
25.4%
26.7%
29.3%
33/67
32/68
32/68
32/68
29/71
Geographically unique
Pilsen and Little Village are isolated from their southern neighbors by a half-mile-wide corridor that
includes factories, railroads, the Chicago River South Branch or Sanitary and Ship Canal, and the
Stevenson Expressway (I-55). On the north, railyards and forbidding block-long underpasses separate
Pilsen from the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Illinois Medical District.
Little Village is bordered on the west by another industrial corridor, and on the north by a viaduct that
has long marked the racial dividing line with predominantly African-American North Lawndale. South
of 26th Street and east of Sacramento is the 96-acre Cook County Jail, which faces its host community
with high concrete walls and double barbed-wire fences. The jail’s average daily population of 9,000
residents is part of the district’s census count, which had fallen to 115,000 in 2010, from 135,000 a
decade earlier.
The district is well served with CTA bus service on all the major arteries and with Pink Line stations in
Pilsen and just north of Little Village at 21st Street. The #9 Ashland bus is the city’s busiest route with
30,000 riders a day; the planned Bus Rapid Transit system on Ashland would include a station at 18th
Street in the heart of Pilsen. Metra’s Heritage Line provides service to Western Avenue, but the station
served only 78 average riders on weekdays in 2014.
CTA Pink Line Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2013)
2009
1,517
1,243
991
1,182
860
Central
Park
1,039
2013
1,862
1,470
1,166
1,459
1,088
1,303
18th St.
Damen
Western
California
Kedzie
Pulaski
Kostner
1,041
1,127
1,221
1,321
Pilsen Little Village’s legacy of large industry and water transport created some of the district’s
strongest opportunities for future investment.
Parks and open space – With just 1.1 acres of open space per 1,000 residents, Pilsen Little Village has
the lowest share of park space among Chicago’s 16 planning districts. But reuse of former industrial
spaces is beginning to change that.

A 21-acre site west of Sacramento and north of 31st Street, degraded by industrial pollution and
asphalt dumping, has been capped and landscaped and will open as La Villita Park in 2015. The
$10.1 million park will include two artificial-turf playing fields, two natural-turf fields, a skate
park, playground, and picnic spaces. The City of Chicago is studying conversion of a 1.3-mile
Burlington Northern Santa Fe-owned railroad corridor to connect the park to the Chicago River.
Across 31st Street from the new park is the Collateral Channel, an unused boat dock that could
connect to additional green space along the Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Another BNSF-owned corridor, along Sangamon Avenue in Pilsen, is being re-envisioned as a
pedestrian-friendly “paseo.” The Pilsen Planning Committee’s 2006 quality-of-life plan, Pilsen: A
Center of Mexican Life, identified a four-block stretch of Sangamon for conversion into a
pedestrian connector; the southern-most block has already become a landscaped garden path.
In 2013, the City of Chicago filed a petition with the Surface Transportation Board to preserve
the railroad right-of-way for recreational uses.

The Chicago Park District has assembled three parcels where the Illinois and Michigan Canal
originally branched from the Chicago River. The Canal Origins Park and Canalport Riverwalk
are partially developed; in 2016 a new boathouse will be added at Park #571, with a design
similar to the WMS Boathouse at Clark Park on the North Branch.
Large development sites – Five large parcels are in the process of redevelopment, each in a location
that could support additional nearby investment.




The Fisk and Crawford coal-fired powerplants were shut down in 2012 and will be demolished,
creating about 115 acres along the river and canal. The 2012 Fisk and Crawford Reuse Task
Force Final Report recommends redevelopment for clean industrial uses with adjacent green
space and trails along the water. Both sites are in existing industrial corridors where demand
for space remains strong.
The former Washburne trade school site at 31st and Kedzie is being redeveloped by the Chicago
Southwest Development Corporation as the Focal Point community campus, which would
include a replacement facility for the nearby St. Anthony Hospital alongside retail, wellness,
education, and recreational facilities. The developer is working with the City of Chicago to
acquire 11 additional acres adjacent to the core site.
The former Storkline furniture factory on Kostner Avenue at 26th Street is being converted into
148 units of affordable housing by the nonprofit Mercy Housing Lakefront. The long-vacant
factory building is at a strategic location on the west end of the 26th Street commercial corridor.
It is adjacent to the vacant 40-acre Chicago Central Industrial Park, which was identified for
potential housing and retail development in the 2005 and 2013 Little Village Quality-of-Life
Plans.
The former Chicago Sun-Times printing plant is being redeveloped as a $140 million, 400,000square-foot data center and tech-business hub, tapping Chicago’s high-speed fiber network.
Industrial corridors – The district has attracted substantial new investment in industrial facilities over
the past 20 years to serve produce distributors, food processors, metal fabricators, toolmakers, and
refrigerated storage companies. The newer facilities represent a small percentage of the district’s 1,600
acres of industrial land, much of which is now dedicated to low-value uses including garbage
processing, recycling, truck maintenance, and storage of trailers and shipping containers. One such
plot, covering 16 acres at 3348 S. Pulaski, will be redeveloped in 2015 with a new 316,000-square-foot
distribution center. The district supports about 4,600 manufacturing jobs and 6,000 more in
wholesaling, transportation, and warehousing.
Retail evolution
Like the industrial areas, the retail districts of Pilsen and Little Village are visibly healthier than in most
other working-class neighborhoods in Chicago, with more than 1,000 small businesses spread along the
commercial arteries of 18th Street, Blue Island Avenue, Cermak Road, 26th Street, and 31st Street.
The corridor on 26th Street has more vacancies today than in past years, but still creates traffic jams
with its two-mile stretch of stores, restaurants, night clubs, banks, and service businesses, which draw
from across the Midwest. At 26th and Troy, the pink arch that proclaims Bienvenidos a Little Village is a
favorite of tourists and TV camera crews; at 26th and Rockwell on summer weekends, thousands
converge on Plaza Garibaldi for rodeos and for concerts by favorite banda and norteño groups from
Mexico.
Unique among Chicago neighborhoods, the district retains many corner stores on internal residential
streets, and supports secondary retail strips such as 25th Street, just a block from Little Village’s 26th
Street spine. In Pilsen, small businesses dot Leavitt Avenue between the bigger Damen and Western
corridors, and an enclave of Italian restaurants attracts citywide diners to Oakley Avenue in the Heart
of Chicago sub-neighborhood.
Cermak Road is a retail bridge between Little Village and Pilsen, serving both communities. The 18th
Street corridor in Pilsen was never as big or busy as 26th Street, but continues to offer a similar
selection of food stores, restaurants, artisan shops, botánicas, and service businesses. While retaining its
Mexican character, the strip has been influenced for decades by the artist community along Halsted
Street, and recently has evolved further as a mixed-retail environment.
The Halsted arts district was created by the Podmajersky family, which has been in the community
since 1914 and been marketing live-work spaces and galleries since the 1970s. Though sometimes
resented by local Mexicans as a gentrification threat, the arts district has survived and grown, and now
coexists alongside a vibrant Latino-oriented arts culture that began with murals and today includes
galleries, performances featuring Mexican artists, music, and the National Museum of Mexican Art in
Harrison Park, which opened in 1987, expanded in 2001, and continues to offer free admission.
Recent years have seen considerable expansion of Pilsen’s cultural and historic resources. Redmoon
Theater relocated into the landmark Wendnagle building at Jefferson and Cermak, amongst a collection
of visually powerful bridges and industrial buildings called the Spice Barrel District, whose potential
was outlined in the 2007 study, Industrial Renaissance: Establishing a Creative Industries District. Parts
of the historic Schoenhofen Brewery complex have been rehabbed for modern uses, and scores of artists
and small businesses have set up shop in the Lacuna Artists Lofts, 2150 S. Canalport. Farther west at
18th Street and Allport, restaurant entrepreneurs Bruce Finkelman and Craig Goldman have restored
the 1892 limestone landmark, Thalia Hall, with a restaurant, bar, performance space, and retail shops.
Other new businesses include coffee shops, Mexican restaurants, a bike shop, fashion boutiques, and
resale stores. The Pilsen business district today is stronger than it was 10 years ago, and more diverse in
its offerings.
Pilsen and Little Village have remained vibrant over the decades because of continued investment and
commitment by small businesses, property owners, and public institutions, but at least as important
have been the efforts of individual leaders, community groups, churches, youth organizations,
nonprofit development corporations, and social service agencies. The district’s activist culture remains
a major resource for addressing current and future challenges, which include gang-related violence,
weak schools, housing affordability, and low household incomes.
The Resurrection Project (TRP) was formed in 1990 to address the vacant lots and deterioration of older
buildings that discouraged Pilsen property owners from long-term investments. TRP partnered with
the City of Chicago to build 100 units of new housing, filling most of the vacant lots, and since has built
or rehabbed hundreds of additional units. In 2015 it will add 45 affordable rental apartments at Casa
Querétaro, on a former railroad silo yard at 17th and Damen.
TRP also provides financial training, foreclosure prevention, small-business services, and education
programs, including construction and management of La Casa Student Housing, a community-based
dormitory for college students at the CTA’s
EMPLOYMENT – PILSEN LITTLE VILLAGE
18th Street Pink Line stop.
Community partners have been equally
productive. Alivio Medical Center worked with
TRP on development of two new affordable
housing buildings next to its medical center at
21st and Morgan, and opened in-school health
centers at Benito Juarez Career Academy and
Orozco Community Academy. Instituto del
Progreso Latino offers employment and
financial counseling through its Center for
Working Families and built a charter high
Manufacturing
Wholesale Trade
Retail Trade
2005
4,784
5,153
3,312
3,519
1,452
1,872
26,290
2011
6,266
4,610
3,667
3,311
2,713
2,308
29,815
District
15.8%
Citywide
12.9%
school, Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy, on Western Avenue. Pilsen Neighbors Community
Council runs the Fiesta del Sol and organizes the annual Pilsen Education Summit. Another
educational resource is the Arturo Velasquez Institute, a satellite campus of Daley Community College
that offers programs in manufacturing, office, and health careers.
Environmental groups including the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) and
Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization (PERRO) were instrumental in shutting down
the Fisk and Crawford generating plants and continue to advance community greening and trail
projects. LVEJO successfully advocated for extension of the CTA’s #35 bus to serve the 31st Street
industrial corridor. Youth organizations and block groups have built community gardens across the
district, using them not only to grow fresh produce but to serve as communal spaces in the park-poor
district. Chicago Botanic Garden’s Windy City Harvest farm-training operation is headquartered at
Velasquez Institute. Also active on environmental issues is the grassroots organization Pilsen Alliance.
Little Village’s civic infrastructure, serving a population twice as big as Pilsen’s, includes several broad
collaborative efforts. The Little Village Youth Safety Network coordinates and measures the work of 12
organizations that engage youth around healthy activities and discourage gang involvement. The Roots
to Wellness mental health collaborative brings together 11 health services providers to improve
understanding of local needs and to improve services and referral networks. The organization Enlace
Chicago coordinates these efforts and also manages a community schools network, arts programs,
community gardens, and advocacy campaigns around social justice, safety, and immigration. A new
effort is the 96 Acres project, organized with the Chicago Public Art Group and local youth
organizations, to engage youth in art projects on and around the walls of Cook County Jail.
Richly endowed with community organizations, small businesses, industrial development, and other
resources – and with major new investments supporting further growth – the Pilsen Little Village
planning district is well positioned to maintain its role as Chicago’s center of Mexican-American
culture, and as a major driver in the regional economy.
Place
Chicago Central
Industrial Park site
Location
Southwest corner of 26th
and Kostner.
Fisk and Crawford
generating stations
Fisk is east of Racine and
south of Cermak in Pilsen;
Crawford is east of Pulaski
at Sanitary and Ship Canal.
Industrial corridors
Mostly south of the
residential areas and
north of the river and
Sanitary and Ship Canal.
Along Chicago River and
Sanitary and Ship Canal.
Waterfront areas
Infill housing
Neighborhoods have a
few vacant parcels on
interior streets and some
larger empty sites or
buildings.
Status
40-acre site has been vacant for
decades despite location at west
end of 26th Street business
district.
Fisk’s 43 acres and Crawford’s 72
acres are in active industrial parks
and along waterways, presenting
opportunities for both industrial
and trail development.
Both corridors have seen major
new investment but also have
large expanses of vacant or
underutilized land.
City of Chicago and Chicago Park
District have begun park
development near Canal Origins
Park at Ashland Avenue.
Zoning in much of the district is
restricted to one- to three-unit
buildings, but some higher-density
locations are available.
Notes
Site was identified in Little Village quality-oflife plans for potential mixed retail and
housing development.
City of Chicago and site owners are pursuing
options outlined in 2012 final report of Fisk
and Crawford Reuse Task Force.
Some areas, especially in Little Village, lack
adequate industrial roads for truck access.
Multiple locations could be developed with
water-edge trails to provide continuous
access and to link larger park areas.
Former industrial site at 18th and Peoria was
cleared for a 381-unit housing development
in 2005, but it was never built.
CN2015 Planning Districts. Community Areas included in this profile are Lower West Side (Pilsen) and South Lawndale (Little Village).
Learn more about the Near West Side and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/PilsenLittleVillage. Learn more about data
PILSEN LITTLE VILLAGE DISTRICT ASSET MAP
ROOSEVELT
Collins hs
Former Lawndale ES
Pilsen Alliance
La Casa
The Resurrection Project
Lower West Side Nbrd Health Center
See West Side
Planning District
Esperanza Health Center
26th/27th Street Corridor
Little Village Chamber of Commerce
Little Village ES
Urban Life Skills
New Life Community Church
St. Agnes of Bohemia ES
Central States SER (CWF)
YCCS Charter Latino Youth
Pilsen Wellness Center
Shedd Park
Chicago Youth Boxing Club
La Villita Community Church
Hammond ES
Little Village
Kanoon ES
ENLACE
Farragut HS
Little Village / La Villita
The Arch
Castellanos ES
Clinic
26th
6062Trees
31ST
Mccormick ES
Universidad Popular
Miami Park
Yollocalli
LV Boys & Girls Club
ENLACE
Whitney ES
Ortiz De Dominguez ES
Gary/Ortiz Community Space
Beyond the Ball
SOUTH LAWNDALE
Piotrowski Park
PULASKI
18th
Spanish
Coalition
for Housing
Cooper ES
St. Pius V School
Perez ES
Juarez HS
Aldi
St. Paul ES
Xochiquetzal Peace Garden
De La Cruz ES
Ruiz ES
Pilsen
Industrial
Corridor
Instituto Del Progreso Latino
IDPL Charter Lozano
IDPL Health Sciences Career Acad.
IDPL Charter Justice & Leadership
Instituto del Progreso Latino (CWF)
Halsted Arts District
Dvorak
CERMAK Park
Fisk Station
Cermak Fresh Market
Cristo Rey Jesuit HS
Whittier ES
YCCS Charter
Addams
Pilsen
Walsh ES
Pilsen Neighors
Casa Puebla
Jungman ES
90
LOWER WEST SIDE
St. Procopius School
La Casa Del Pueblo
Thalia Hall
Throop Park
Lozano Library
Pilsen Satellite Senior Cntr
Alivio Medical Center
Lacuna Artist Lofts
Casa Maravilla
Paseo Pedestrian Corridor
El Jardin de las Mariposas
See Stockyards
Planning District
Collateral Channel
Paul Simon Job Corps
KEDZIE
Little Village
Industrial
Corridor
Pickard ES
Halsted St.
Charter De Las Casas
Pilsen ES
Focal Point Community Campus
New St. Anthony Hospital
Focal Point
Gary ES
Industrial
Park
S. Lawndale Maternal &
Child Health Center
18th
Damen
Western
Super Mall
Pete's Fresh Market
Fairplay Foods
Rauner
Cook
York Alternative HS Family YMCA
County Jail
Arturo Velazquez Institute
96 Acres Project
Windy City Harvest
Madero MS
Dongfang Chinese Education
La Villita Park
Toman
Greater Lawndale HS
Casa Queretaro
Orozco ES (Elev8 School)
St. Ann Catholic School
Harrison Park
Nt’l Museum of Mexican Art
Gads Hill Center
UNO Charter Paz
Spry ES
Finkl ES
Telpochcalli ES
Saucedo ES
Spry Community Links HS
Semillas de Justicia
Grace Christian Academy
Cicero
See Near West Side Planning District
DAMEN
Erie House
Mercy Housing Redevelopment
26th & Kostner
Zapata ES
LVEJO
Limas Park
Vertiport Chicago
Smyth, j es
chicago tech academy
Urban prep charter west
Medill es
CALIFORNIA
Cardenas ES
Epiphany School
Corkery ES
California
Dr. Prieto Family Health Center
Montefiore special es
Simpson acad hs
North lawndale charter Schwab
WESTERN
Herzl es
noble charter uic
Chalmerses
North lawndale hs
Cca academy
Crawford Station
55
Stickney
See Midway
Planning District
DATE | 01.16.2015
PILSEN LITTLE VILLAGE PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
See Near West Side
Planning District
See West Side
Planning District
Western/Ogden Industrial Corridor
See Central
Planning District
Ogden/Pulaski
CERMAK
WE STE RN
CALIFORNIA
28th Ward
26TH
PULASKI
12th Ward
SSA#25
Pilsen Industrial Corridor
25th Ward
Near South Planning Board
24th
Ward
22nd Ward
See Stockyards
Planning District
31ST
Berwyn
Little Village
18th Street Development Corp
Little Village Chamber of Commerce
Kostner Ave
Berwyn
11th
Ward
The Resurrection Project
33RD
35TH
Sanitary and Ship Canal
Stickney
Little Village East
14th Ward
See Midway
Planning District
Stickney
Stevenson/Brighton
47TH
*This planning area is located within the Little Village Community Development Corp., the Back of the Yards
Neighborhood Council, and the Eighteenth Street Development Corp. (LIRI)
DATE | 01.16.2015
9. NEAR WEST SIDE
Constant change shapes area with diverse uses, major job centers
With Chicago’s second-largest job base, multiple
transportation resources, and a broad range of land
uses, the Near West Side is unique among Chicago’s
community areas. It is home to two college campuses,
a medical district, sports stadium, technology business
clusters, several popular restaurant districts, an
industrial corridor, and multiple residential
neighborhoods, including three public housing
developments being remade as mixed-income
communities.
The Near West Side is home to 54,000 people, but each weekday it attracts that many and more to the
Illinois Medical District, which employs 30,000 people, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, which
has 27,000 students and 11,500 faculty and staff. When the Chicago Bulls or Blackhawks are playing at
United Center, another 20,000 people flood the area, and some eat dinner or have drinks at nearby
restaurants and bars.
Public transportation includes the CTA’s Green, Pink, and Blue Lines; the busy Ashland, Western,
Madison, and Roosevelt bus routes; and 30 Divvy bike stations. Highway ramps connect to the
Eisenhower (I-290), Kennedy (I-90), and Dan Ryan (I-94) Expressways, which converge at the Jane
Byrne (formerly Circle) Interchange, now being rebuilt at a cost of $475 million. About one-fifth of area
workers walk to their jobs, the second-highest rate of the CN2015 planning districts (after the Central
Area).
The Near West Side today is undergoing perhaps its most
widespread series of changes since the late 1800s, when it was
a dense and severely overcrowded warren filled with
tenements, markets, workshops, and factories. The population
briefly surged beyond 200,000 after the 1871 Fire and then
declined steadily for decades, leveling off at 46,197 in 1990.
The total population stayed even in that decade, even as
public-housing demolition was displacing thousands, and
then began growing again, adding 8,462 people (18 percent)
between 2000 and 2010. Homeownership rates have climbed
to 40 percent in 2010, up from 13 percent in 1990.
NEAR WEST SIDE OVER TIME
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
46,260
46,419
54,881
36.5%
51.9%
54.5%
37.5%
27.5%
Population
78,784 57,379
10/90
11/89
13/87
26/74
40/60
In 2014, construction is underway or new buildings are being occupied in every one of the area’s 16
distinct sub-districts, continuing to alter the neighborhood’s streetscapes and character.
Despite or because of all this change, the Near West Side is a collection of often-disconnected places.
The area is diverse economically and racially – overall – but remains internally segregated and
stratified, with lower-income areas generally west of
Ashland Avenue and north of the Eisenhower
Expressway. About 24 percent of households have
income of less than $27,795, while 28 percent earn more
than $131,723.
Retail stores and restaurants are also unevenly
distributed, with almost no businesses along the
institution-lined streets of the medical district. Until the
2014 opening of Pete’s Fresh Market at Madison and
Western, the northwest end of the community had no
full-service grocery store. The major retail districts are
Source: Easy Analytic Software, Inc., updated January 2014, as
displayed on Woodstock Institute Data Portal.
along Madison Street east of Ashland, Taylor Street between UIC and the medical district, and along
the peripheral arteries of Halsted and Western Avenues.
Touring the area
This summary will briefly describe each sub-district along with
its major assets and any relevant plans, starting in Greektown
and traveling clockwise. A discussion of common challenges
and opportunities will follow.
The flaming-cheese and saganaki dishes served in the
Greektown restaurants on Halsted continue to attract locals
and tourists, as well as visitors from the nearby National
Hellenic Museum, which opened in 2011. Originally
dominated by small commercial buildings and residential loft
conversions, the former garment district now has several highrise residential towers, including the 167-unit, 17-story
Gateway development rising at Madison and Green Streets.
The corridor includes a Mariano’s Fresh Market at 40 S.
Halsted Street and a Whole Foods that will open in 2015 in the
former Dominick’s at Halsted and Madison.
Just south across the Eisenhower Expressway, the University
of Illinois at Chicago’s East and South Campuses cover 199
acres centered on Taylor Street. The university moved from
Navy Pier to the Near West Side in 1965 after activist Florence Scala and other residents lost the battle
to prevent demolition of their low-income Italian and Greek neighborhood, along with most of the Hull
House complex where Jane Addams had pioneered new forms of social service and community
development. The university has expanded ever since, adding dormitories for 3,800 students plus
athletic facilities south of Roosevelt Road. Partnering with developers, the university created 800 units
of middle-class housing at University Village, on the site of the former Maxwell Street Market, and
created a modern shopping strip along Halsted. Demand for housing remains strong south of the
campus as well as in the remaining older sections of Little Italy, where new housing is interspersed
with late-1800s two-flats and mixed-use buildings on either side of the Taylor Street restaurant district.
Both Taylor Street and Roosevelt Road front on multiple blocks of vacant land that formerly housed the
2,614-unit ABLA (Addams Brooks Loomis Abbott) public housing development. About 590
replacement units had been built as part of the Roosevelt Square development before the housing
market collapse in 2008, leaving large parts of the 35-city-block redevelopment area vacant. In late 2014,
the Chicago Housing Authority began updating its Roosevelt Square Master Plan with a focus on
mixed-income, mixed-use development on 84 available acres.
Two other plans address the UIC campus area. The 2010 UIC Campus Master Plan calls for an opening
up of the once-walled East Campus, removal of surface parking lots, new gateway entrances, and
welcoming green spaces. To unify the campuses and incorporate the neighborhoods in between, it
recommends landscaping, signage, and transportation improvements. That work will be further
supported by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s forthcoming UIC Multimodal
Transportation Plan, whose 2014 Existing Conditions Report identifies numerous barriers within and
among the campus locations.
The UIC West Campus is part of the Illinois Medical District (IMD), which also includes Rush
University Medical Center, Stroger Hospital of Cook County, Jesse Brown Veteran’s Administration
Medical Center, Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Chicago Technology Park. The
district attracts about 75,000 people a day, including 20,000 employees of partner institutions such as
the regional headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and American Red Cross. Recognizing
the need to create public spaces and a retail district, the joint city-county-state commission overseeing
the IMD awarded a contract in 2014 for a $300 million Gateway development on 9.5 vacant acres at
2020 W. Ogden Avenue. The development will include a 225-room hotel, conference center, medical
and lab space, housing, restaurants, retail, and public green spaces.
About 45 more vacant acres remain available, mostly south of Roosevelt Road. In the former residential
neighborhood called The Valley, whole blocks are vacant and controlled by the medical district.
Development in the last 10 years includes the Easter Seals Autism School on 13th Street, a Costco
warehouse store on Ashland, and the Vertiport Chicago helicopter center on 14th Street west of
Paulina, which will open in 2015 to serve the nearby hospitals as well as private users.
On the western edge of the medical district is the 130-year-old Tri-Taylor historic district, made up of
brick rowhouses and two- and three-flats, plus newer condominiums along Harrison and Western. The
area also includes housing west of Western Avenue, small commercial and industrial areas, and a toprated neighborhood elementary school, Washington Irving. King School at 740 S. Campbell was among
the schools closed in 2013, but will be reused as a facility for the Chicago Department of Fleet and
Facility Management.
North of the Eisenhower
The second of the area’s three public housing redevelopments is Jackson Square at West End, north of
the Eisenhower and west of Western Avenue. The CHA demolished the eight 16-story Rockwell
Gardens high-rises in 2004 and later removed the 132-unit Maplewood Courts. At least 142
replacement housing units were developed on the land, but much of the area remains vacant.
The West Haven community runs from Ashland Avenue west to the rail tracks at Rockwell and from
the Eisenhower Expressway north to the elevated CTA Green Line along Lake Street. According to its
2007 quality-of-life plan, Rising Like the Phoenix, the neighborhood suffered a one-two punch in the
1950s and ’60s, first as 12 blocks of older housing were demolished to build the Henry Horner Homes
public housing project, and then in 1968 after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., when rioting and
fires destroyed much of the business district along Madison Street between Ashland and California.
A third challenge came in the 1980s when the Chicago Bears proposed a new stadium that would have
displaced 1,500 more households. The neighborhood got organized, beat back the proposal, and then
methodically developed the community to its own plans, bringing a new branch library and adding 70
units of for-sale housing and 150 scattered affordable apartments. Active in all this work was the Near
West Side Community Development Corporation, which in 2000 attracted Walgreen’s to the empty
corner of Madison and Western. It then spent 10 more years working with the city and private
developers to assemble land on the opposite corner, now anchored by the Pete’s Fresh Market.
West Haven is also shaped by three major public and private developments: United Center, Malcolm X
College, and West Haven Park.
United Center was host site for the 1996 Democratic National Convention, spurring heavy
reinvestment in streets, sidewalks, wrought-iron fences, and landscaping along Madison Street.
Deteriorated parking lots that had long surrounded the stadium were paved and landscaped, and over
the ensuing years the Madison corridor attracted new condominiums, restaurants, and sports-related
businesses such as Johnny’s Ice House, which has two practice hockey rinks east and west of the
stadium. In 2014, the Chicago Bulls moved their own practice facility from Deerfield to a new building
east of the United Center.
The City Colleges of Chicago’s Malcolm X College has been a Near West Side anchor since 1911, when
its predecessor Crane Junior College opened at Jackson and Oakley. The college now offers two-year
and certificate programs to about 16,000 students in an outdated facility from 1969, but construction is
underway on a $251 million replacement with modern classrooms and laboratories. It will include an
Allied Health Academy, including simulated patient rooms, to prepare students for health careers and
to strengthen ties to the Illinois Medical District.
The 1,665 units of the Henry Horner Homes were demolished in the 1990s and early 2000s, making way
for the low-rise apartments and condominiums of Westhaven Park. More than 1,000 replacement units
have been built with a split of low-income, affordable, and market-rate units. More development is
planned to fill still-vacant property along Washington at Wolcott. As at other mixed-income CHA
redevelopments, West Haven Park has been challenged to fill some of its market-rate units.
Tech and industry corridors
A different kind of evolution is underway in the Kinzie Industrial Corridor, which stretches west from
the Chicago River between the Lake Street elevated tracks and the rail viaduct at Kinzie Avenue. This
remains one of Chicago’s strongest and most diverse industrial belts. The Industrial Council of
Northwest Chicago supports the corridor’s roughly 2,000 businesses and incubates more than 110 small
enterprises in its Fulton-Carroll Center.
Produce, flower, and meat wholesalers are concentrated in the Randolph-Fulton Market area, where
old-line businesses are competing for space as Google and bicycle component maker SRAM prepare to
move into the former Fulton Market Cold Storage building. That building is one block from the
Morgan Street CTA station, which opened in 2013 and now serves nearly 2,000 boarding passengers a
day.
The Google regional offices will house 500 employees starting in 2015 after completion of the gut rehab
of the renamed 1K Fulton building. Developer Sterling Bay has purchased more than two dozen other
properties in the immediate area, pouring new energy into a corridor along Randolph Street that had
already become a trendy restaurant destination. Long-time property owners, meatpackers, and historic
preservationists have debated the pros and cons of
EMPLOYMENT – NEAR WEST SIDE
a proposed landmark designation, covering 144
2005
2011
properties and 88 contributing buildings. The
23,901
20,706
Chicago Plan Commission in July 2014 approved
Finance and Insurance
11,190
16,305
13,880
15,181
the Fulton Market Innovation District land-use
12,567
13,281
plan, which seeks to minimize land-use conflicts
8,321
8,891
while maximizing job creation. The plan supports
6,026
7,697
111,080
116,360
continuation of the area’s food-related industries,
preservation of the area’s low-rise brick
District Citywide
warehouses, and construction of higher-density
10.7%
12.9%
office and residential buildings along Lake Street.
The Near West Side is on a clear trajectory for continued growth as a center for business, education,
and health care. As vacant land is redeveloped with higher-density uses, its population is likely to
increase. The neighborhood includes many graceful juxtapositions of old and new uses, including 130year-old rowhouses and 19th Century loft structures alongside balconied condominium buildings and
glass-sheathed business centers.
With abundant vacant land and a growing population, there is an opportunity to address the area’s
low rate of park space per capita. At 1.2 acres per 1,000 residents, the Near West Side is well below the
accepted standard of 2 acres. It has the second lowest rate citywide, behind the Pilsen Little Village
planning district, which will soon open the new 21-acre La Villita park. The number three park-poor
district, Milwaukee Avenue, will see an improvement in its rate of 1.4 acres per 1,000 people with the
2015 debut of The 606 linear park.
Historic buildings are a strength to build around, and are spread throughout the community. The 1500
block of Jackson Boulevard is lined with elegantly restored homes, just west of the flagship Whitney
Young Magnet High School; the former Skid Row along Madison Street is nearly filled in with
residential loft conversions alongside new construction; and high-quality housing for lower-income
residents continues to be created, as demonstrated by Heartland Housing Inc.’s sensitive
redevelopment of the 89-unit, terra-cotta Harvest Commons, 1519 W. Warren Boulevard, formerly a
run-down transient hotel. Other fine examples of 19th Century residential buildings are west of Damen
on Washington and Warren Boulevards, and in the Tri-Taylor area.
CTA Blue, Pink and Green Line Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2013)
UIC Halsted
2009
4,731
2013
5,852
Blue
Medical
Racine
Center
2,064
2,836
2,452
3,734
Pink
Western
Green/Pink
Polk
Morgan
Ashland
1,411
3,248
Not yet open
2,415
1,687
3,357
1,952
2,504
The area’s primary challenge is that it remains internally stratified and disconnected, with little unity or
interaction across neighborhoods. And despite strong transportation assets, it has ongoing challenges
with moving people into and among the various activity centers. A $23 million rebuild of the CTA Blue
Line Medical District station will add elevators to make that station accessible, and the Halsted station
is being rehabilitated as part of the Jane Byrne Interchange work. But the 55-year-old Blue Line branch
and its other stations in the expressway median require complete renovation, according to the 2014
Blue Line Forest Park Branch Feasibility/Vision Study, and are generally not pedestrian friendly or
conducive to transit-oriented development.
The CTA has proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) along Ashland Avenue, with a dedicated lane and prepay stations to speed boarding. The BRT Chicago Ashland service would support faster connections
along many of the radial CTA and Metra lines, while serving job centers along the city’s busiest bus
corridor, which serves 31,000 riders per day. But while supported by the Illinois Medical District and
others, the BRT plan has been opposed by some residents and industrial users who object to the lane
reduction and left-turn restrictions.
Almost every sub-district on the Near West Side is represented by one or more interest groups, from
private and nonprofit development organizations to chambers of commerce and resident groups.
Building connections among these groups and creating opportunities to work together on common
issues may be one of the most important approaches to sustaining growth in this important area of the
city.
Place
Medical District
vacant land
Location
South of Roosevelt Road,
west of Ashland Avenue
Status
Whole blocks are vacant and
available for appropriate uses.
Chicago Housing
Authority land
Along Taylor and north
and south of Roosevelt
near Loomis; west of
Western and south of
Jackson at Eisenhower;
Washington at Wolcott
2306 W. Maypole Ave.
Redevelopment depends on CHA
decisions and financing.
Dett School (closed
2013)
Around United
Center
Large parking lots create
empty blocks on all sides
of the stadium
Infill housing and
retail
Multiple locations
1.79-acre site adjacent to Ellen
Gates Starr Park; building needs
mechanical repairs.
Lots are mostly controlled by
United Center owners and parking
companies. Most recent plans
have suggested higher uses that
would bring pedestrians and other
uses to the vacant blocks.
Small and larger parcels are vacant
or underutilized in many parts of
the district.
Notes
Pending proposals include a 12-acre, $30
million sports complex to house Special
Olympics Chicago, and the private Village
Leadership Academy’s plan for a four-acre
school for students in pre-K to 8th grade.
CHA began meetings in late 2014 to
update its Roosevelt Square Master Plan,
focusing on 84 acres of available land.
Building is not a priority for historic
preservation.
Owners of the Chicago Blackhawks and
Bulls have announced an office building
and proposed a practice rink for the
Blackhawks.
CN2015 Planning Districts. The only community area included in this profile is Near West Side.
Research support for Chicago Neighborhoods 2015: Assets, Plans and Trends was provided by a team convened by The Chicago
Community Trust. The summary of assets for this planning district was created by LISC Chicago and Teska Associates with materials from
Metropolitan Planning Council, Place Consulting, Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University, and many other sources. Author:
Patrick Barry.
Learn more about the Near West Side and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/NearWestSide. Learn more about data and
NEAR WEST SIDE PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
See Milwaukee
Planning District
See Central
Planning District
KINZIE
ICNC
Legal Prep Charter
Fulton-Carroll Center
Fulton Market Innovation District
Kinzie Industrial Corridor
Morgan
Ashland
LAKE
Rudolph ES
Suder ES
90/94
Hope Institute
Learning Academy
Brown ES
United Center
Advocate Bulls Training Center
Manning
Touhy-Herbert Park
Chicago Bulls Charter
Near West CDC
Crane Tech Prep HS
Virutal Charter HS
Skinner ES
Young Magnet HS
JACKSON
West Jackson Boulevard
Historic District
Malcom X College
Gateway Development
Merit School of Music
NEAR WEST SIDE
Former Dett ES
Grant ES
MADISON
Johnny’s Icehouse
Pete's Fresh Market
Phoenix Military HS
WASHINGTON
West Haven
Johnny’s Icehouse West
RANDOLPH
Randolph Restaurant Row
Union Park
Westhaven Park
LYC Chicago
Healy Program Center North
Greektown
National Hellenic Museum
Target
American Red Cross
YCSS Charter Virtual
Jackson Square at West End
Western
Racine
Tri-Taylor Historic District
VA-Brown
Jane Addams Hull House
Little Italy
UIC Medical Center
Galileo ES
Italian American
Sports Hall of Fame
Roosevelt
STEM Academy
DAMEN
N
DE
OG
Jefferson ES
90/94
Sheridan Park
ASHLAND
WESTERN
Polk
University of Illinois College of Medicine
University of Illinois at Chicago
Garibaldi Park
Illinois Medical District
US Dept. of Veterans Affairs
UIC-Halsted
Jackson ES
Rush University
Stroger
Chicago Technology Park
Irving ES
HARRISON
RACINE
Cook County
Medical Examiner
Rush Medical Center
HALSTED
Illinois Medical District
Paz ES
Learn Charter School
Ombudsman West HS
St. Ignatius College Prep
ROOSEVELT
University Village
Lawndale Mental Health Center
Federal Bureau
Investigation
Noble Charter UIC
Easter Seals Autism School
Smyth, J ES
Montefiore Special ES
Simpson Academy HS
Fosco Park
Roosevelt Square
12th
Chicago Tech Academy
Vertiport Chicago
(Helicopter service)
AN
D
Medill ES
South Water Market Historic District
UE
Costco
ISL
See West Side
Planning District
BL
Western / Ogden Industrial Corridor
Planning District
DATE | 01.16.2015
NEAR WEST SIDE PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
HALSTED
MORGAN
DAMEN
WESTE RN
ASHLAND
See Milwaukee Avenue
Planning District
RANDOLPH
Garfield Park Community Council
West Central Business Association
MADISO N
27th Ward
SSA#16
Near West
Midwest
Central West
See Central
Planning
District
25th Ward
Lawndale Business & Local Development Corp.
See West Side
Planning District
11th Ward
ROOSEV ELT
Roosevelt/
Racine
(ABLA)
14TH
28th Ward
Western/Ogden Ind. Corridor
Roosevelt/Union (UIC)
Planning District
*This planning area is located within the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago,
the Randolph/Fulton Market Association and the Eighteenth Street Development Corp. (LIRI)
DATE | 01.16.2015
10. WEST SIDE
Housing and history set promise of revival for city’s ‘best side’
“The West Side is the Best Side,” say
residents of this vast collection of
neighborhoods, comparing their home to
the South Side communities where
African Americans have also lived for
many years. The West Side, indeed, has
just as storied a history, hosting one of the
city’s first African-American communities
back in the 1850s, along Lake and Kinzie
Streets, and it remains an important and
politically powerful part of Chicago and
the region.
Today’s West Side is home to 229,000
people in five distinct neighborhoods,
from East and West Garfield Park to
North Lawndale, Austin, and Humboldt
Park. The planning district is predominantly African American except for a few diverse enclaves in
Austin and the Latino portions of Humboldt Park.
Well located along transit lines and railroads, the West Side was built up early in Chicago’s history,
with developers erecting thousands of cottages, two-flats, and large apartment buildings to house
workers from nearby factories and downtown businesses. Massive job centers, including metal
fabricators, candy companies, appliance makers, and the 10,000-job Sears Roebuck complex, provided
paychecks for generations of families, who in turn supported busy shopping districts on Madison
Street, Chicago Avenue, North Avenue, Roosevelt Road, and Ogden Avenue. The West Side was never
a rich community – though it had pockets of larger, fancier homes – but it was a solid, working-class
area, four miles deep and four wide, that was home after World War II to more than 400,000
Chicagoans.
Economic and racial change
Those post-war years marked the beginning of a major shift on the West Side as industrial companies
began moving to the suburbs or out of state, making low-skill employment less available. After decades
of hard use, the housing stock was deteriorating, and larger units were cut into “kitchenettes” to
provide additional low-cost housing. In the 1950s, construction of the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290)
cut a block-wide ditch across the West Side, displacing thousands and separating neighborhoods. Then,
starting in the 1950s, the destructive pattern of white flight further transformed the neighborhoods.
The black West Side was created by a mass exodus of white
WEST SIDE OVER TIME
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
households, moving east to west, block by block, as real estate
brokers fanned the flames – “panic peddling” – so that departing
Population
395,501 335,696 277,073 269,031 229,317
families would sell at a low price. As African-Americans moved
in, paying inflated prices, the blocks became 100 percent black,
20.5%
31.7%
34.8%
31%
33.4%
and the selling moved on. In the Jewish community of North
Lawndale in the 1950s, the African American population grew
35/65
32/68
35/65
37/63
34/66
from 13,000 to 113,000. East Garfield Park started turning in the
mid-1950s and was 98 percent African American by 1970. West
Garfield Park shifted from 84 percent white to 97 percent black in
the 1970s. Austin and Humboldt Park changed last, the wave moving west and north despite vigorous
efforts by community groups and churches to create stable, mixed neighborhoods.
When Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 5, 1968, two years after King lived briefly in
North Lawndale to protest housing discrimination, the West Side reacted with riots and fires,
destroying much of the 16th Street retail strip where King had lived and many buildings on Roosevelt
Road and Madison Street. The emptiness and poverty of today’s West Side is often attributed to the
riots, but that is a half truth. The thousands of vacant lots resulted from decades of disinvestment
before and after 1968. Changes in the job market and weak schools kept earning power low, which hurt
local shopping districts. And as wealthier residents moved out, the share of population living in
poverty grew to 33 percent, making the West Side among the poorest districts in Chicago.
Building new communities
Some of the West Side’s current assets predate the racial turnover, in particular the thousands of
historic structures that remain valuable today. But many were developed as the incoming AfricanAmerican residents created wholly new communities from scratch. Block clubs were formed, churches
established, family and geographic roots tapped to establish new networks. Larger community
organizations and leaders emerged, including Nancy Jefferson and the Midwest Community Council,
Belle Whaley of Operation Brotherhood in North Lawndale, Gale Cincotta and the Organization for a
Better Austin, Jacqueline Reed of the Westside Health Authority, and José López of the Puerto Rican
Cultural Center.
It was on the West Side that some of Chicago’s earliest and strongest nonprofit development
corporations were formed: Bethel New Life, Inc., which used church-based organizing and sweat
equity to rebuild parts of West Garfield Park and the St. Anne’s hospital complex in North Austin;
Lawndale Christian Development Corp., which set up shop across from the church on Ogden Avenue
and rebuilt hundreds of units of housing; and People’s Redevelopment and Investment Effort (PRIDE)
in Austin, which bought and rehabbed corner apartment buildings to stabilize fragile blocks. Mt. Sinai
Hospital pioneered the concept of a committed, community-based health services provider, and
numerous social service and employment-related agencies served and continue to serve local residents.
On today’s West Side, there are many areas of strength and potential:

Historic structures – The West Side is rich with distinctive architecture and building styles.
North Lawndale has stately greystone two-flats, East Garfield has brick cottages with arched
entryways, and classic bungalows stretch across parts of Humboldt Park and Austin. Stunning
structures include the mosaic-bedecked
Laramie Bank building at Chicago and
Laramie, the Pioneer Bank building at
North Avenue and Pulaski Road, the
Guyon Hotel and Midwest Athletic
Club in West Garfield Park, and various
massive synagogue buildings in North
Lawndale, including the landmark
Anshe Sholom on Independence
Boulevard.
EMPLOYMENT – WEST SIDE
Manufacturing
Retail Trade
Wholesale Trade
Construction
2005
8,264
10,090
3,724
7,550
3,765
2,943
51,662
2011
8,212
6,401
4,528
2,563
2,512
2,162
37,254
District
21.1%
Citywide
12.9%

Parks – Three of Chicago’s flagship
parks – Douglas, Garfield, and
Humboldt – provide recreational and
natural opportunities and are connected by the city’s boulevard system. Columbus Park and its
golf course are in South Austin. The Garfield Park Conservatory is just completing a three-year,
$15 million renovation to repair roofs damaged in a 2011 hailstorm.

Employment – The West Side supports 37,000 local jobs, including 8,200 in health care and
social assistance and 6,400 in manufacturing. More than 5,000 of these jobs are held by district
residents.

Transportation – The West Side is linked to downtown and suburban job centers by the CTA’s
Green, Blue, and Pink Lines, as well as bus routes, Metra lines, and the Eisenhower Expressway
(I-290). CTA ridership has grown at most West Side stations.
CTA Green, Pink, and Blue Line Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2013)
California
2009
1,069
2013
1,094
Kedzie
Conservatory
1,330
846
1,600
901
Green Line Lake Street
Pulaski
Cicero
1,811
1,450
1,916
1,413
Laramie
1,343
Central
2,421
Austin
2,090
1,410
2,304
1,989
California
Kedzie
2009
1,182
860
2013
1,459
1,088
Pink Line
Central
Pulaski
Park
1,039
1,041
1,303
1,221
Kostner
Cicero
416
1,127
497
1,321
Blue Line Forest Park Branch
KedziePulaski
Cicero
Homan
1,734
1,478
1,176
2,250
1,874
Austin
1,397
1,859
2,103
These core assets have supported new investments such as George Westinghouse College Prep, a $69
million selective enrollment high school on Franklin Boulevard; Breakthrough Urban Ministries’ new
$20 million Multiplex, at 3211 W. Carroll, which includes a preschool, gymnasium, health clinic, and
café; Lawndale Christian Health Center’s new Health and Fitness Center on Ogden Avenue, which
includes medical facilities, a conference center, and restaurant; and the Galewood Yards conversion of
former rail land to a 14-screen AMC Showplace theater complex.
The neighborhoods
Each neighborhood has its own history and characteristics, so they are described separately here,
followed by discussion of shared challenges and opportunities.
Austin remains the strongest of the West Side neighborhoods with hundreds of blocks of intact,
well-maintained housing. Brick bungalows, two-flats, and large apartment buildings make Austin a
desirable place to live for both owners and renters; the community’s 34 percent homeownership
rate is the highest in the district. Unique areas include the far-west section called Galewood, which
has strong housing values alongside suburban Oak Park; Austin Village around West Midway
Park, where mansions and Victorian houses have attracted a diverse community; and The Island on
the far southwest corner, isolated by Columbus Park and industrial properties. The landmark 1870
Austin Town Hall buildings, 5610 W. Lake Street, now house park district dance and music
programs and a branch library.
Austin is Chicago’s most populous community area with 88,514 residents and a strong commercial
area along Madison Street near Austin Boulevard. Its three main industrial corridors have evolved
into mixed industrial-commercial centers. Roosevelt Road has larger buildings that have been
repurposed as multi-tenant facilities; the Cicero Avenue corridor includes manufacturing and
distribution facilities plus the former Brach Candy factory, which was demolished in 2014 for
redevelopment by owners ML Realty; and the Armitage Industrial Corridor includes the M&M
Mars candy factory at Oak Park Avenue and smaller factories to the east. A big-box shopping
center at North and Cicero is anchored by Planet Fitness and Food 4 Less.
North Lawndale was densely built to house workers at huge factories including the McCormick
Reaper plant; Western Electric telephone plant in Cicero, which employed 45,000; and the Sears
headquarters and catalog fulfillment center at Homan and Arthington. Several times North
Lawndale became severely overcrowded, peaking at 125,000 residents in 1960, but today after
sustained housing loss, it is home to 36,912 people. Redevelopment efforts, including those of
Lawndale Christian Development Corporation and the 23-company Lawndale Restoration project,
have improved thousands of units, while private owners have maintained solid blocks of
greystones, bungalows, and other housing styles on side streets and in the so-called K-Town area.
North Lawndale was the initial focus of the Chicago Historic Greystone Initiative, a now-citywide
effort by Neighborhood Housing Services.
On 16th Street at Hamlin, where Martin Luther King, Jr. lived, Lawndale Christian Development
Corporation developed the $18 million, 45-unit Dr. King Legacy Apartments and the MLK Fair
Housing Exhibit Center. Private and public efforts have transformed the once-vacant Sears complex
into a residential community that now includes 350 units of mixed-income rental and ownership
housing. The area includes the Homan Square community center and Henry Ford Academy
Charter School; in 2015, Mercy Housing Lakefront plans redevelopment of the vacant printing and
product-testing building into 161 units of affordable housing. Phase VI of the Homan Square
housing development will add 52 additional units in 2015, and the original Sears Tower is being
rehabbed for nonprofit and training uses. Nearby at Fillmore and Independence, UCAN is building
a $34 million campus to provide programming for at-risk youth.
West Garfield Park is the smallest of the West Side community areas with just 18,000 residents.
The Madison and Pulaski area was once the West Side’s commercial center and continues to be a
major retail node. The community has the West Side’s largest skyscrapers, the 14-story Midwest
Athletic Center at 6 N. Hamlin, whose 276 units were rehabilitated by Holsten Development, and
the 10-story, Guyon Hotel at 4000 W. Washington Boulevard, now vacant. Both are on the National
Register of Historic Places. The rest of the neighborhood is residential except for the industrial
corridor along Lake Street and Kinzie Avenue, which includes metal fabricators and a CTA rail
maintenance facility.
East Garfield Park is separated from its western neighbor by the Garfield Park Conservatory and
adjoining Garfield Park, both of which are regional attractions. Home to 20,567 residents, East
Garfield has attracted reinvestment in both housing and commercial corridors, driven in part by its
proximity to the Near West Side and downtown. Lake Street and the eastern ends of Fulton,
Carroll, and Kinzie have active industrial and commercial businesses including specialized
manufacturers, recycling companies, and landscape-supply businesses. The Garfield Park
Community Council has targeted Kedzie Avenue with greening improvements, business
development, and public events including a farmers’ market. About 75 artists work out of the West
Carroll Art Studios, 3200 W. Carroll, and the Switching Station Artists Lofts at 15 S. Homan house
24 work-live spaces.
Humboldt Park is a larger neighborhood with 56,323 residents on and around the east-west
corridors of Chicago Avenue, Division Street, and North Avenue. Large newer developments
include the Menard’s and Walmart stores on North Avenue east of Cicero; a $24 million, 80-unit
senior building at North and Pulaski, built in 2014 by Hispanic Housing Development Corporation;
and the West Chicago Avenue Rebuild Initiative, led by the Chicago Community Loan Fund and
West Humboldt Park Development Council. That effort has brought the Turkey Chop restaurant to
3506 W. Chicago Avenue and created a new Special Service Area taxing district to advance further
improvements, including a marketing campaign.
Humboldt Park’s housing was hit hard by the foreclosure crisis but has seen renewed investment in
recent years. The City of Chicago Micro Market Recovery Program has reoccupied 154 units in a
target area centered around Homan Avenue, and the nonprofit Bickerdike Redevelopment
Corporation continues to build and manage affordable housing in the area. Latin United
Community Housing Association is advancing the 42-unit Tierra Linda development on 10
scattered sites near the western end of the Bloomingdale Trail, which will open in 2015 and has
already attracted private-sector housing and retail development to the east. The eastern part of the
neighborhood is seeing housing price increases as buyers move west from Wicker Park and
Bucktown.
Despite relatively low incomes – about 40 percent of all households earn less than $28,000 per year –
the West Side’s population density supports substantial retail districts that include more than 1,500
small businesses. All of the major corridors show some areas of strength and recent reinvestment, but
all also struggle with vacancies; some blocks, even along major arteries like Madison Street, have few or
no businesses.
The West Side’s primary challenge in coming decades is to rebuild its residential and economic base,
which in turn will support stabilization and growth along the retail corridors. Having lost more than
204,000 residents since its peak in 1960, there is plenty of room for growth.
But with the population still falling across most areas of the West Side, there is little short-term
likelihood for substantial new housing development. Three quality-of-life plans created in 2005 as part
of LISC Chicago’s New Communities Program all emphasized the need to cluster new development
around strong nodes of existing activity, and to help residents improve education and employment
skills. The plans for East Garfield Park, North Lawndale, and Humboldt Park recommended interim
use of vacant land for community gardens, side yards, and recreation space, along with improvements
at major intersections on the retail corridors.
Some of these goals have been accomplished. Community gardens and urban farms have expanded
across the West Side, with strong networks of gardeners in East and West Garfield Park, a new
production garden at 16th and Ridgeway in North Lawndale, and a 2.6-acre farm at 407 N. Kedzie
operated by Heartland Human Care Services. The city’s Large Lots program attracted more than 280
applications from neighbors interested in buying vacant city-owned parcels in East Garfield Park, and
residents of Austin became eligible to apply starting December 1, 2014.
Commercial space has also seen demand for agriculture uses. Metropolitan Farms has erected three
greenhouses for hydroponic farming on formerly vacant land at 4250 W. Chicago Avenue, and Urban
Till employs 25 people growing hydroponic herbs and greens for restaurants in a 30,000-square-foot
space in the former Sunbeam factory, 5420 W. Roosevelt Road.
Further industrial development shows promise as prices and demand have risen in the Kinzie and
Pilsen corridors closer to the Loop. Metal fabricators, a cabinet maker, window factories, set designers,
and granite supply houses are among those investing in West Side facilities. Freedman Seating in West
Humboldt Park recently expanded into two adjacent buildings, employing more than 500 to make seats
for transit vehicles including CTA buses. Freedman and dozens of other manufacturers work with
Austin Polytech high school to prepare students for careers in modern factories. Several nonprofits also
help residents gain job skills, including North Lawndale Employment Network (NLEN), which serves
the formerly incarcerated and other hard-to-employ populations. NLEN trainees raise bees in North
Lawndale and sell the resulting honey and beauty products under the beeloveTM brand.
A challenge shared by all West Side neighborhoods is a shortage of high-quality local schools. There
are some top-rated public schools and a few options for selective-enrollment or private schools,
including Providence St. Mel’s, but the vast majority of local schools are Level 2 or Level 3, and quality
high school options are limited. Because of sustained population decline, Chicago Public Schools closed
13 West Side schools in 2013, creating empty buildings and sidewalks as students shifted to other
schools.
Creating a stable, high-performance educational system on the West Side, and improving safety and
perceptions about the neighborhoods, will be major long-term challenges as the district rebuilds
around its areas of strength.
Place
Industrial
corridors
Vacant land on
retail corridors
Location
Numerous areas have
available space and
open land.
Numerous locations on
most major arteries.
Vacant
residential lots
and properties
Lake Street
corridor
Numerous locations.
Kedzie at CTA
Green Line
station
Armstrong
School (closed
2013)
Kedzie Avenue and
Lake Street
Under CTA Green Line
from California to
Laramie.
5345 W. Congress
Pkwy.
Status
Existing buildings range from
modern to obsolete.
Mixed-use buildings with
housing above retail could
help increase population,
demand for retail.
Uses other than housing may
be most appropriate except
in strongest market areas.
Many vacant lots and
underutilized buildings, but
also substantial recent
investments.
The southeast and southwest
corners include about 10
acres of vacant land.
1.34-acre site; no major
repair needs.
Notes
Demand for industrial and distribution space has been growing; there is
market activity in most West Side industrial areas.
City’s Large Lots program is likely to convey hundreds of lots to neighbors
in East Garfield Park and Austin.
Inspiration Café runs restaurant and training facility at 3504 W. Lake
Street; Illinois State University Teacher Education Pipeline has offices at
2934 W. Lake. Industrial and landscaping supply firms continue to invest in
the corridor.
A conceptual plans was developed as part of the 2014 Kedzie Corridor
Preliminary Study.
Post-WWII building in South Austin is not a priority for historic
preservation.
Calhoun School
(closed 2013)
Dodge School
(closed 2013)
Emmet School
(closed 2013)
2833 W. Adams St.
Goldblatt School
(closed 2013)
4257 W. Adams St.
Hensen School
(closed 2013)
Key School
(closed 2013)
1326 S. Avers Ave.
Leland School
(closed 2013)
Marconi School
(closed 2013)
Melody School
(closed 2013)
5221 W. Congress
Pkwy.
230 N. Kolmar Ave.
Paderewski
School (closed
2013)
2221 S. Lawndale Ave.
Pope School
(closed 2013)
Ward School
(closed 2013)
1852 S. Albany Ave.
2651 W. Washington
Blvd.
5500 W. Madison St.
517 N. Parkside Ave.
412 S. Keeler Ave.
410 N. Monticello Ave.
3.62-acre site; mechanical
repairs needed.
2.85-acre site; needs no
major repairs.
3.58-acre site; buildingenvelope repairs needed.
2.07-acre site; building needs
mechanical and envelope
repairs.
2.44-acre site; building
envelope repairs needed.
envelope repairs.
.95-acre site; no major
repairs needed.
repairs needed.
repairs.
1.67-acre site; needs
mechanical repair.
repairs needed.
1.58-acre site; needs
repairs.
East Garfield Park building is not a priority for historic preservation.
Three-story building in East Garfield Park is not a priority for historic
preservation.
Decorative brick building may be eligible for National Register of Historic
Places; redevelopment could have a positive impact on nearby South
Austin area.
West Garfield Park building is not a priority for historic preservation.
Dwight Perkins-designed structure, built in 1907, is adjacent to Austin
Town Hall and may be eligible for National Register; rehabilitation could
contribute to local area. Building identified by Preservation Chicago as one
of seven most threatened in 2014.
One-story South Austin building not a priority for historic preservation.
Three-story structure in West Garfield Park is not a priority for historic
preservation.
West Garfield Park school is not a priority for historic preservation.
School served populations from both North Lawndale and adjacent South
Lawndale (Little Village); was one of few bridges between neighborhoods.
Includes recent Knowledge Is Power mural on exterior. Not a priority for
historic preservation.
Next to Douglas Park in North Lawndale, building has been proposed to
National Register of Historic Places as part of Boulevards submission.
East Garfield Park building is not a priority for historic preservation.
Data note: Demographic and other data is compiled by Chicago Community Area, which may differ slightly from the boundaries of the CN2015 Planning Districts. Community
Areas included in this profile are Austin, East Garfield Park, West Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, and North Lawndale.
Research support for Chicago Neighborhoods 2015: Assets, Plans and Trends was provided by a team convened by The Chicago Community Trust. The summary of assets for this
planning district was created by LISC Chicago and Teska Associates with materials from Metropolitan Planning Council, Place Consulting, Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul
University, and many other sources. Author: Patrick Barry.
Learn more about the West Side and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/WestSide. Learn more about data and sources at cct.org/CN2015/DataSources.
WEST SIDE PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
LARAMIE
Walmart
Banner West HS
North Austin
Park NORTH
Grand-Cicero
Advocate Health Center
Eyes on Austin
Lewis ES
Young ES
St. Angela's School
orest
Oak Park
AUSTIN
Harrison Street Corridor
C. Park's Farmer's Market
Former Armstrong School
Loretto
May ES
Former Leland School
BUILD
Clark Acad Prep HS
Austin Coming Together
Austin Satellite Senior Ctr.
Central
Ellington ES
Catalyst Circle Rock ES
Former Emmet School
15TH
Depriest ES
Voise HS
Austin HS
Plato Learning Acad.
iverside
Cicero
Berwyn
Orr HS
Northwest
Industrial Corridor
Former Brach's
Candy Factory
Cicero
Hartgrove
Heartland Farm
Former Ward School
Garfield Park Conservatory
Garfield Park Comm Council
Former Marconi School
Camelot Safe
Spencer ES
WEST GARFIELD PARK
See Near West Side
Planning District
W. Humboldt
Park MMRP
Pulaski
Conservatory
Raby HS
Inspiration
Kitchen
Midwest Athletic
Center Garfield Park
Tilton ES
Legler
City Escape
Kedzie
Western Ave.
California
Cather ES
Switching Station Artist Lofts
Former Dodge ES
Bobby E. Wright Mental Health
Faraday ES
Marshall HS
Former Calhoun North ES
E.
Garfield
Delano ES
Locke ES Learn Charter School
Ericson ES Park MMRP
Bethany EAST GARFIELD PARK
Former Melody ES
Kellman Community Center
290
N
RISO
HAR
Jensen ES
Pulaski
11TH
Original
Sears
N. Lawndale Emp. Network (CWF)
Hdqrts
Webster ES
Kellman Community ES
Gregory ES
Cicero
Sumner ES
Noble Charter
Ford Charter HS
Lawndale Christian Health Cntr.
Roosevelt/Cicero
Homan Square
Chalmers ES
Power House High
Industrial Corridor
North Lawndale HS
Frazier ES
Douglas Park Apts.
Urban Till
Central Park Theater
CCA Academy
Chicago WS Christian School
Lawndale Mental
Douglass
Former Henson ES
Health Center
Former Lawndale ES
NORTH
LAWNDALE
Herzl ES
Mount Sinai
Madison Street Corridor
Kipp ES
Frazier Charter
Hughes C ES
Legal Prep Charter Acad.
Plamondon ES
YCCS Charter C.S.
Douglas
16th
Former Guyon Hotel
Lagunitas Brewing
Park
Bethel New Life
10TH
Former Pope ES
Mason ES
Legacy Elementary Charter School
Providence
St. Mel's
KEDZIE
Clark ES
ROOSEVELT
YMCA
MADISON
290
Franklin Boulevard & Kedzie Avenue
Salvation Army's Freedom Center
Breakthrough Community Center
Rowe-Clark Math and Science Acad.
Polaris Charter Academy
Rosa Parks Apartments
Greater West Town Alt. HS
Christy Webber Landscapes
Morton ES
Westinghouse HS
Sacred Heart
West Carroll Art Studios
Breakthrough Family-Plex
Beidler ES
Morse ES
Dodge ES
Greenhouses
South Austin STI
Specialty Clinic
Hefferan ES
Chicago Jesuit Academy
Christ
the
King
HS
EN
BUR
VAN
Former Goldblatt ES
Columbus Park
Park
Laramie
Galapagos Charter School
Austin Wellness
Center
Nash ES
Former Key School
By the Hand
Austin
PCC Comm Wellness Ctr
Austin
Children's Garden of Hope
Cameron ES
HUMBOLDT PARK
Piccolo ES
Kipp Create College Prep
Austin MMRP
Douglass, F Junior High
West Park ES
K-Town Historic District
Menards
Bethel New Life
Mcnair ES
W. Chicago Ave.
ATC's Farmer's Market
Oak Park
Hay ES
Howe ES
GRA
ND
Westside Holistic Fam Srvcs
Westside Health Authority
Brunson ES
Nobel ES
YCCS Charter Westside Holistic
DIVISION
Chicago Avenue Corridor
Sankofa Cultural Arts
Planned Parenthood
Salvation Army
Laramie Bank Building
YCCS Charter Austin
West Chicago Avenue
Austin Health Center
North-Grand HS
North Pulaski
CICERO
Lovett ES
CENTRAL
Hanson Park
Galewood
AUSTIN
Sayre ES
NARRAGANSETT
Mars Chocolate
North America
Chicago Avenue Corridor
W. Humboldt Park Dev. Corp.
NHS - W. Humboldt Park
Chicago Kedzie Plaza
Midwest Fence
Daley - West Humboldt Library
Former Excel HS
Chicago Commons (CWF)
Primecare Comm. Health NW
Youth Service Project
Pioneer Bank
Senior Housing
HOMAN
See Northwest Side Planning District
CENTRAL PARK
Rutherford Sayre Park
Mars
PULASKI
Mont Clare
Cicero
Pulaski
Kostner
Community Production Garden
King Legacy Apartments
Kipp Charter Ascend
Former N. Lawndale College Prep.
Penn ES
Dvorak ES
Catalyst ES
KOSTNER
HARLEM
See Milwaukee Avenue Planning District
Central Park
Kedzie
Crown ES
Lawndale Christian Health Ctr
Lawndale Christian Dev. Corp.
Former Paderewski ES
Douglas Park
Learn ES
Collins HS
North Lawndale Charter
Douglas Park Comm &
Cultural Center
Johnson ES
See Pilsen Little Village Planning District
DATE | 01.16.2015
WEST SIDE PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
See Northwest Side
Planning District
Planning District
Galewood/Armitage
CENTRA L
Northwest Industrial Corridor
29th Ward
West Town Concerned Citizens Coalition
Pulaski Industrial Corridor
36th
Ward
NORTH
Northwest Connection Chamber of Commerce
26th Ward
Division/Homan
PULASKI
Chicago/Central Park
SSA#63
West Humboldt Park Development Council
CHICAGO
27th Ward
KEDZIE
Austin Commercial
37th Ward
DIVISION
CICERO
North/Cicero
Oak Park
LAKE
Oak Park
Madison/Austin
Garfield Park Community Council
MADISON
28th Ward
Harrison/Central
HARRISON
Austin Chamber of Commerce
Lawndale Business & Local Development Corp.
EISENHOWER
Roosevelt-Cicero Ind. Corridor
24th Ward
18TH
Ogden/Pulaski
CERMAK
Cicero
Berwyn
22nd Ward
Cicero
West Garfield
Park Renaissance Corportation
Midwest
Western/Ogden
Ind. Corridor
Homan Arthington
Roosevelt/Homan
Planning District
*This planning area is located within the Greater Northwest Chicago Development Corp.,
Lake Kedzie Industrial Leadership Council, and Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (LIRI)
DATE | 01.16.2015
11. MILWAUKEE AVENUE
Gentrification, new investments drive change across neighborhoods
Linked to the Loop by the diagonals of Milwaukee
and Elston Avenues, the CTA’s Blue Line, and the
Kennedy Expressway (I-90/94), the city’s Milwaukee
Avenue planning district has always been a dynamic
economic center. But its very nature is changing now
as the former working-class and industrial
neighborhood is transformed by waves of young and
higher-income newcomers.
Beginning in the late 1980s when artists began
colonizing inexpensive upper-floor lofts along the
Milwaukee Avenue commercial strip, the community
areas of West Town, Logan Square, and Avondale
have experienced steady socioeconomic change. The
percentage of residents living in poverty has fallen from 27 percent in 1990 to 18 percent in 2010, while
the housing mix has shifted towards more homeownership. The Latino population in West Town and
Logan Square has fallen by 46,000 people since 1990, while rising just as dramatically in Avondale to
the north and Belmont Cragin to the west.
Well-off individuals and families have moved into new condominiums, single-family homes, and highrise rental buildings, sparking new construction and rehab across the sub-neighborhoods, including
East Village, Ukrainian Village, Wicker Park, and Bucktown. Retail districts have changed apace, most
dramatically along Chicago Avenue, Milwaukee Avenue, and around the six-corner intersection of
North and Damen, with trendy restaurants, boutiques, salons, bakeries, and coffee shops filling
vacancies and replacing former tenants. Milwaukee Avenue, where merchants once catered to thrifty
shoppers, now attracts consumers with luxury brands including Nike, Gap, Marine Layer, and Marc
Jacobs.
MILWAUKEE AVENUE OVER TIME
The changes have brought huge investments but also raised
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
tensions as Puerto Rican, Mexican, and other groups have been
Population
displaced by higher rents and home prices. Once overcrowded
248,673 214,898 205,877 213,233 194,289
with large families – West Town alone was packed with 218,000
people in 1920 – the area today is popular with young singles,
16.0%
24.0%
27.2%
19.7%
18.6%
tech workers, and couples starting out. The population under
26/74
27/73
28/72
31/69
36/64
the age of 17 has fallen dramatically, from 33 percent in 1970 to
19 percent in 2010, which was one factor in the 2013 closing of
four public schools in the southern part of the district (see
Development Opportunities table). In 2014, real estate firm
Redfin named Humboldt Park (which includes the booming West Town area east of the park) one of
the nation’s top-10 “hot” neighborhoods.
Distinctive sub-districts
The Milwaukee Avenue corridor, bordered by the Kennedy Expressway on the east and by railroad
tracks on the south and west, consists of distinct sub-neighborhoods whose character is defined by age,
housing styles, ethnicity of past and current residents, entertainment choices, retail, and nearby
industry.
Once generally a homogeneous working-class district, with many employed in nearby factories, today
the area is more heavily connected to tech and creative jobs in the Central Area, as evidenced by steady
growth in CTA Blue Line ridership and the rush-hour processions of bicycles along Milwaukee
Avenue, Elston, and the east-west arterials (the district has the city’s highest rate of bicycling to work,
at 3.4 percent of the employed population). Neighborhood names, below, typically reflect a general
area rather than strict boundaries.
Ukrainian and East Village – Late 19th-Century brick cottages and two-flats still characterize these
neighborhoods along the east-west corridors of Grand Avenue, Chicago Avenue, and Augusta
Boulevard, once the heart of Chicago’s Ukrainian community. But hundreds of older structures
have been replaced over the past 20 years by condominiums and larger single-family homes.
Commercial districts are thriving, anchored by trendy restaurants and bars. The terra-cotta former
Goldblatt’s building on Chicago Avenue, a designated landmark, was restored in 1996 and now
houses City of Chicago offices and the West Town branch library.
Paseo Boricua – Chicago’s Puerto Rican community settled along Division Street east of Humboldt
Park after being displaced in the 1960s from Lincoln Park, and now faces gentrification pressures in
this area. Between the Puerto Rican flag sculptures at Western and California are many buildings,
restaurants, and institutions connected to the region’s Puerto Ricans, but the residential population
has been dispersing. Both Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation and Hispanic Housing
Development Corporation have built Puerto Rican-themed affordable housing along Division. In
2014, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center purchased the former Ashland Sausage warehouse, 2713 W.
Division, for conversion into a community art center with 14 live-work spaces.
Polish Triangle – The historic center of Chicago’s Polish community and headquarters of the Daily
Zgoda newspaper, the gritty six-way intersection at Division and Ashland is being remade as part of
the Milwaukee Avenue “hipster highway.” Architect Jeanne Gang is renovating the landmark
Polish National Alliance headquarters for her studios; an elegant bank building has been restored
to house a CVS drugstore; and a new 99-unit high-rise offers just 11 parking spaces, as now allowed
at transit- and pedestrian-oriented locations. Division west of Ashland has seen heavy investment
in mixed-used developments, restaurants, bars, and specialty stores.
Wicker Park – Near the park on Damen Avenue, this area is known for its mansions built by
wealthy Polish merchants. Once cut up into boarding houses, most of the mansions have been
restored. Nearby streets feature a mix of 100-year-old buildings alongside new condominiums. The
neighborhood retains a number of affordable, scattered-site housing developments built in the
1980s and 1990s.
North and Damen – The epicenter of trendy Wicker Park and Bucktown is this busy intersection
with Milwaukee Avenue, where the Blue Line’s Damen station was serving 6,600 daily passengers
before its two-month shutdown in late 2014 for historic renovation. Thirty years ago, low rents
attracted art galleries, studios, and the Bucktown Arts Fest and Coyote Festivals that continue
today. Rents have risen dramatically since then, but strong competition from restaurants, bars,
coffee shops, and specialty retailers has eliminated most vacancies. Several mixed-use
developments are planned on vacant or underutilized parcels, and the art-deco Northwest Tower
skyscraper is being converted to a 120-room boutique hotel.
Logan Square – Bisected by the emerald necklace of Chicago’s boulevard system, Logan Square is
home to 73,500 people in a mix of large apartment buildings, modest two-flats and cottages, and
mansions along the boulevards and Palmer Square. The retail mix combines Latino-oriented
groceries and restaurants with newer arrivals that attract a more affluent clientele with farm-totable offerings, fusion cuisines, fresh pies, and artisan breads.
Avondale – Farther north and west, Avondale remains a mixed-ethnic working-class neighborhood
where Latinos are replacing outgoing Poles. Housing stock is mostly wood-frame houses and small
apartment buildings. Auto-oriented shopping is concentrated around Belmont and Kimball near
the Kennedy Expressway and Blue Line station, while Milwaukee Avenue remains a strong retail
corridor with Polish delicatessens, taquerias, grocery stores, and service businesses. A mixed-use
retail and housing building is under construction at Milwaukee and Monticello Avenues.
Two major public investments are fueling additional investment: The 606 trail along Bloomingdale, and
the CTA’s Blue Line renovations.
The $95 million, 2.7-mile Bloomingdale Trail – now officially called The 606 – is under construction for
a 2015 opening. The undulating trail on a former rail viaduct will feature native plantings, observation
decks, and access parks at major cross streets. New retail stores and mid-rise housing developments are
under construction or proposed for empty spots along the trail. Stretching from Ashland to Ridgeway,
The 606 will add new green space in two neighborhoods that have been among the most park-poor in
the city; the planning district had a 2010 rate of 1.4 acres per 1,000 residents (the accepted standard is 2
acres).
The second driver of new investment is the Chicago Transit Authority’s four-year, $492 million project
to renovate stations and track on the Blue Line O’Hare branch, which serves 80,000 riders a day across
its entire length and has seen strong growth at all eight stations serving the district.
CTA Blue Line Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2013)
2009
Grand
1,768
Chicago
3,266
Division
4,817
Damen
4,865
Western
4,193
California
3,713
Logan Square
5,531
Belmont
4,433
2013
2,501
4,434
6,117
6,625
5,066
4,970
6,984
5,457
The Blue Line renovation will include new entrances, floors, finish, and lighting in the three subway
stations at Grand, Chicago, and Division; historic renovations of the Damen and California elevated
stations; and track improvements to cut 10 minutes from the O’Hare-to-downtown trip.
Finding a balance
A primary challenge in many parts of Chicago is to attract new investment, residents, and businesses.
This is not the case in most of the Milwaukee Avenue district, which supports 62,600 local jobs, where
real estate demand is high, and whose developers and property owners have proposed or gained
approval of scores of new developments over the last few years. In 2014, an estimated 1,500 new
residential units were under construction or proposed along Milwaukee Avenue alone, always under
close scrutiny of local neighborhood groups, elected officials, and chambers of commerce. Other areas
with strong development activity are the south end of West Town (Ukrainian and East Village) and
along The 606 trail.
The challenge of balancing the new
EMPLOYMENT – MILWAUKEE AVENUE
development with the older neighborhoods
2005
2011
Admin,
Support,
Waste
Mgmt,
Remediation
7,864
12,192
and their residents has been documented in
Retail Trade
7,834
9,251
multiple plans dating back to 2002, when the
5,055
6,822
City of Chicago’s Near Northwest Side Plan
Manufacturing
8,685
6,707
4,998
5,820
anticipated the development surge; it
Other Services [except Public Admin]
2,215
3,752
provided guidelines to preserve historic
54,516
62,599
character, address limited park space, and
District Citywide
revive underutilized commercial areas. The
7.6%
12.9%
2004 Logan Square Open Space Plan laid the
groundwork for a series of recent successes,
including The 606 trail, expansion of Haas
Park, new school campus parks, and the
current effort to redesign the street layout around the Logan Square monument.
LISC Chicago and neighborhood partners in 2005 published two quality-of-life plans – Humboldt Park:
Staking our Claim and Logan Square: A Place to Stay, A Place to Grow – that warned of growing
gentrification pressures. Both called for maintenance of housing affordability and development of
support systems for existing residents so that they could stay as the neighborhoods improved. Though
the plans have been successful in many ways, the central goal of supporting existing Latino and Puerto
Rican populations remains only partly realized.
Other plans have focused on fostering compatible new construction and supporting economic
development. The City of Chicago’s 2008 North Milwaukee Avenue Corridor Plan outlines
opportunities for higher-density mixed-use buildings between Western and California, near the Blue
Line stations and CTA bus stops; it is a valuable reference as developers announce new projects. The
2009 Wicker Park Bucktown Master Plan seeks enhancement of the area’s unique retail districts, along
with transportation and streetscape improvements to enhance the already-vibrant pedestrian and
cycling environments.
The Milwaukee Avenue neighborhoods are fortunate to have many strong organizations and interest
groups that vigorously debate the merits of new projects and advocate for their interests. It is in this
environment that the neighborhood’s future will be shaped. Major discussion points are likely to be:

Affordable housing. Heavy new construction and rehab activity suggests that costs will
continue to escalate for both owners and renters. In 2012, about 42 percent of owners and 43
percent of renters in the district were “burdened” by their housing costs, spending more than 30
percent of income on the mortgage or rent. Nonprofit developers Bickerdike Redevelopment
Corp., Hispanic Housing Development Corp., and others have built or rehabbed hundreds of
units of affordable housing in recent years, but the overall market is becoming increasingly less
affordable.

Community culture. A melding of cultures is already underway across the district as “hipster”
and “foodie” groups intersect with the older Puerto Rican, Mexican, Central American, and
remaining Eastern European cultures. Strong efforts by the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Logan
Square Neighborhood Association, and others offer promise of maintaining the colorful mix
that draws so many types of people into the district.

Green space. Despite the pending opening of The 606, this area remains park-poor and is
unlikely to gain large new spaces, making effective use of existing spaces especially important.
Three examples of squeezing in more green space are the Chicago Rarities Orchard Project,
which will bring heirloom apple trees to a CTA parking lot at Milwaukee and Logan Boulevard;
the Logan Square Bicentennial Improvements Project, which seeks “placemaking”
enhancements to the current traffic-ringed monument plaza; and expansions at schools and
Haas Park that incrementally improved the green space available to local residents.

Economic diversity. As of 2011, the Milwaukee Avenue district was among the most balanced
economically of all 16 planning districts, with healthy percentages of households at all levels of
the income spectrum. Maintaining this balance, rather than tipping into a more homogeneous
high-income community, will depend on continued commitment of residents, community
groups, and elected officials.

Education. Public elementary schools have been improving in recent years thanks to strong
community involvement in both lower- and higher-income areas. Maintaining those gains and
expanding the availability of high-quality elementary and high school choices will be essential
to maintaining the area’s long-term diversity and economic health.
The Milwaukee Avenue planning district is fortunate to be attracting large public and private
investments, which suggest a strong outlook for the entire area. Managing those investments to
leverage benefits for both existing residents and newcomers is the most pressing challenge for these
well-located neighborhoods.
Place
Residential infill
opportunities
Location
Various locations
Mixed-use
redevelopment
Various locations on
Milwaukee, Armitage,
Fullerton, Ashland, and
Western
Logan Square Blue
Line station plaza
Milwaukee and Kedzie
De Duprey/Von
Humboldt School
(closed 2013)
2620 W. Hirsch Street
Lafayette School
(closed 2013)
2714 W. Augusta
Boulevard
Near North School
(closed 2013)
739 N. Ada Street
Peabody School
(closed 2013)
1444 W. Augusta
Boulevard
Status
Much of the district is built up
completely but there are some
residential areas with vacant lots.
Some larger lots on Milwaukee are
being used as staging sites for Blue
Line reconstruction and will
become available after project
completion in 2018.
The CTA has invited ideas for
transit-oriented development
above and around the Logan
Square subway and bus plaza.
mechanical repair.
Four-story structure of brick and
limestone on 2.23-acre site; needs
mechanical repair. Includes four
restored Progressive-era murals.
.38-acre site on streets with 19th
Century and 21st Century
buildings; needs mechanical and
building-envelope repairs. School
served children with special needs.
.28-acre site on street with 19th
Century and 21st Century
buildings; needs mechanical
repairs.
Notes
Existing neighborhood plans call for new
construction to be compatible in scale and
character with surrounding buildings.
Developers have proposed several high-density
residential and commercial buildings near major
transit stops. The proposed Ashland Bus Rapid
Transit system would create additional
opportunities for higher-density uses.
Neighborhood workshops in late 2014,
sponsored by Metropolitan Planning Council,
developed various concepts for redevelopment.
Site is east of Humboldt Park; may meet criteria
for historic designation or listing on National
Register. Good candidate for reuse in terms of
location and zoning density.
Lafayette was closed but the building became
home of Chicago High School for the Arts
(ChiArts), previously in Bronzeville.
May meet criteria for designation and/or
National Register listing. Good candidate for
reuse in terms of location and zoning density.
May meet criteria for designation and/or
National Register listing. Good candidate for
reuse in terms of location and zoning density.
CN2015 Planning Districts. Community Areas included in this profile are Avondale, Logan Square, and West Town.
Learn more about Milwaukee Avenue and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/MilwaukeeAvenue. Learn more about data
MILWAUKEE AVENUE PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
See Northwest Side
Planning District
St. Viator School
MI
LW
AU
See North Central
Planning District
AVONDALE
KE
E
Scammon ES
Lorca ES
Kindred-Central
Reilly ES
Avondale Park
BELMONT
St. Joseph Village
Aspira Pantoja
Logan Square
Logan Square Comm. Art Center
Logan Square Farmers Market
Logan Square Monument
Logan Theatre
Comfort Station
Former Macy's Warehouse
ASPIRA School (under construction)
St. Hyacinth School
DIVERSEY
94
Avondale ES
Logandale MS
Logan Square Nbrd. Association
Hairpin Lofts
Kosciuszko Park
Monroe ES
Unity Park
LOGAN SQUARE
Our Lady of Grace School
Healy
Goethe ES
Darwin ES
Palmer Square
Park
Funston ES (Elev8 Sch00l)
Health Center
Prime Care Health Center St. Augustine
Marine Leadership Academy at Ames
College
(Elev8 School)
California
St. Sylvester
School
Salem Christian
School
Armitage Produce
Ramirez HS
Haas Park
Logan Square
Stan Mansion
CENTRAL PARK
See Lincoln Park Lakeview
Planning District
St. John Berchmans School
Infant Welfare Society
Tony's Finer Foods
McCormick Tribune YMCA
Brentano ES
Armitage Baptist Church
Mega Mall Redevelopment
Altgeld Sawyer Garden
FULLERTON
Mozart ES
Logan Square
KIMBALL
Pulaski
Industrial Corridor
90
CALIFORNIA
PULASKI
Belmont
Puerto Rican Arts Alliance
WESTE RN
ADDISON
Concord Music Hall
ARMITAGE
Pulaski ES
Chase ES
Center for Changing Lives (CWF)
Kimball Arts Center
CICS Bucktown
Former Congress Theater
Drummond ES
St. Mary of the Angels
Bucktown
Western
Yates ES
Wicker Park - Bucktown
Northwest Tower
Flatiron Arts Building
The 606, Bloomingdale Trail
Bucktown-Wicker Park
Burr ES
HP Vocational Education Cntr.
Ukranian Village
Humboldt Park
Bickerdike Redevelopment
Wicker Park
Historic District
Buena Vista Apts
NORTH
North & Talman Apts Josephinum
See West Side
Damen
Rumble Arts Center
Rowe Charter
Cermak Produce
LUCHA
Academy
Planning District
Humboldt
National Guard
La Casa Norte
Polish Triangle
St Elizabeth Hospital
HUMBOLDT PARK
Lozano ES
Park
Wicker Park
Holy Trinity High School
Former Von
Pritzker ES
Erie Charter
Sabin ES
Near North Montessori School
Humboldt ES
Lowell ES
Prologue HS
Food Trucks
De Diego ES
Polish National Alliance
Las Moradas Apts
Chopin
Theatre
Casals ES
European American Assoc.
Institute of PR
West Town Nbrd Health Ctr.
DIVISION
New Life
Arts &Culture
Lasalle II
St Mary Hospital
Division
Goose Island
Covenant Church
Clemente HS Bridgescape Alt. HS
Kendall
East Village
YCCS Charter Association House
Noble
HS
Chicago
HS
Norwegian American
College
Historic District
for the Arts
Columbus ES
Polish American Museum
Wells HS
The Children's
UNO Charter Santiago
Paseo Boricua
WEST TOWN
Place Association
Puerto Rican Cultural Center
Eckhart Park
Midwest Fence
PRCC Art Center and Live-Work
Ida Crown Natatorium
Chopin ES
Batey Urbano
CHICAGO
Chicago
West Town
La Casita de Don Pedro
Noble Charter Golder
YCCS Charter Campos
Community Health Clinic
Ogden HS
Carpenter ES
Aspira Ramirez HS
-87.643
Smith Park
Mitchell ES
Talcott ES
GRAND
ASHLAND
DAMEN
Stowe ES
Moos ES
Otis ES
Noble Charter Rauner
Grand
Western Ave.
Kinzie
Industrial Corridor
See Near West Side
Planning District
DATE | 01.16.2015
MILWAUKEE PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
Portage Park
Greater Avondale Chamber of Commerce
CENTRA L PARK
BELMON T
Kennedy/Kimball
KEDZIE
PULA SKI
Avondale
MI
LW
30th Ward
AU
33rd Ward
KE
DIVERSEY
E
35th Ward
Logan Square Chamber of Commerce
31st Ward
WESTERN
Pulaski Industrial
Corridor
See Lincoln Park Lake View
Planning District
FULLER TON
DAMEN
Fullerton/Milwaukee
Humboldt Park
32nd Ward
ARMITAGE
Westtown Concerned Citizens Coalition
1st Ward
ASHLAND
See Northwest Side
Planning District
NORTH
Wicker Park-Bucktown Chamber of Commerce
2nd Ward
26th Ward
Goose Island
Division/Hooker
SSA#33
Division Street Business Development Association
DIVISION
Division/Homan
West Town Chicago Chamber of Commerce
See West Side
Planning District
CHICAGO
SSA#29
27th Ward
River West
See Near West Side
Planning District
North Branch South
*This planning area is located within the North Business & Industrial Council, Local Economic & Employment Development Council,
Greater Northwest Chicago Development Corp & Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (LIRI)
DATE | 01.16.2015
12. NORTHWEST SIDE
On city’s changing edge, an attractive alternative to suburban life
Between Chicago’s expanding central core and the
booming northwest suburbs around O’Hare
International Airport are the bedroom
neighborhoods of the Northwest Side, which
continue to provide what homebuyers want: stable
and safe neighborhoods, shopping, quick access to
jobs, and diverse housing options.
Some of Chicago’s most desirable single-family
neighborhoods – Edison Park, Norwood Park, and
Forest Glen – anchor the northwestern reaches of
the city. Closer in and to the south are lessexpensive communities that have attracted
generations of families with sturdy bungalows,
cottages, and big frame houses in Portage Park,
Jefferson Park, Dunning, Montclare, Hermosa, and
Belmont Cragin.
It’s not just housing. At the CTA’s Cumberland Blue Line stop, in the O’Hare community area, a dozen
high-rises contain corporate headquarters, hotels, and apartments, with low-rise residential
neighborhoods nearby. Industrial buildings stretch along Northwest Highway and the Knox Industrial
Corridor. Three miles of forest preserves provide a green border along the city’s western edge, and to
the east along the North Branch of the Chicago River.
With diverse job markets in all directions and multiple
transportation options, including CTA, Metra, and the
Kennedy (I-90) and Edens (I-94) Expressways, the
neighborhoods are home to 327,000 people. Unlike many areas
of the city that have declining populations, the Northwest Side
is stable. Housing values are high in some communities – with
teardowns making way for new mansions – but housing
remains affordable in most areas south of Lawrence Avenue,
where a fast-growing Latino population has joined previous
generations of Poles and other white ethnic groups.
FAR NORTHWEST SIDE OVER TIME
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Population
315,900 286,550 285,474 329,637 327,833
4.7%
4.8%
6.0%
7.9%
12.6%
65/35
65/35
66/34
65/35
62/38
Rooftops and retail
Though not as dense as neighborhoods closer to downtown, the district includes 114,000 households
that generate an estimated $2 billion annual demand for retail, food, and drink purchases. Retail
corridors naturally grew up to serve these markets, from the early 1900s through the 1950s. Irving Park
Road remains lined for miles with independent stores and restaurants, and the major intersections with
diagonal Milwaukee Avenue remain regional attractions – Six Corners at Irving Park Road and the
Jefferson Park transit hub at Lawrence. But throughout the district, there are more vacancies today as
shop owners struggle against big-box and suburban competitors.
Residential streets are built up solid, with very few vacant lots or new development opportunities. The
district represents the northern arc of Chicago’s famed “bungalow belt,” with mile after mile of the
attractive, affordable, and highly functional housing style. On corner lots and along major arteries,
denser apartment blocks were built, starting in the 1920s and continuing through the 1970s, when the
O’Hare neighborhood and other undeveloped tracts finally filled in.
Retail development continues to evolve. The original pattern was along streetcar and bus routes, with
hundreds of small shops serving distinct ethnic groups. That began to change in the late 1970s as the
Brickyard Mall was built on top of the former clay pits at Diversey and Narragansett. In neighboring
Norridge, a suburb within the city limits, the Harlem Irving Plaza expanded in the late 1970s and
remains competitive today as The HIP. More big-box retailers cluster around those two hubs and on
other parcels of former industrial land. Suburban malls add more competition. Niles Crossing on
Touhy Avenue pulls customers from adjacent Chicago neighborhoods, and Rosemont’s Fashion
Outlets of Chicago, which opened in 2013, has become a regional destination with more than 150 stores,
movie screens, and restaurants.
Traditional retail strips have shrunk and consolidated, with store owners promoting convenience and
unique offerings to keep local shoppers. Italian specialty stores still cluster along Harlem Avenue; Irish
bars and restaurants serve patrons in Edgebrook, a subsection of Forest Glen; and Polish diners and
clubs still fill storefronts on Milwaukee Avenue. Much of the southern end of the district is now
populated by Latinos, many of whom moved west from higher-priced Logan Square; their presence
and buying power have attracted scores of small groceries, panaderias, restaurants, and bridal shops.
Building on assets
Despite the competition from suburbs and other neighborhoods, the Northwest Side has significant
assets that contribute to its prospects:

Historic architecture: Commercial districts include hundreds of structures with elaborate
brickwork and terracotta decorations. The Patio Theater on Irving Park Road and Portage
Theater on Milwaukee Avenue have stunning details inside and out. The Schorch Irving Park
Gardens Historic District celebrates the 600 bungalows near Thorp Scholastic Academy, and a
new Portage Park bungalow district was federally designated in 2014. There are thousands
more bungalows throughout the district and strong programs to support preservation through
the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association.

Schools: A major draw for the entire district is the quality and selection of local schools. Many
Chicago Public elementary schools are highly rated, attracting homebuyers and renters into
their attendance areas. Families can also choose from local Catholic and private schools that
have long histories of serving local families.

Arts: The Gift Theatre and Filament Theatre, both on Milwaukee Avenue, offer a full calendar
of live performances. The Ed Paschke Art Center at 5415 W. Higgins showcases the artist’s
colorful work and hosts other artists. The Annual JeffFest Arts and Music Festival attracts
thousands with a three-day event sponsored by the Jefferson Park Chamber of Commerce, and
the Chicago Fringe Festival has moved to Jefferson Park from Pilsen. In 2014 it attracted 4,300
ticket buyers with 200 performances by 50 artists.

Transportation: The CTA Blue Line O’Hare branch, now undergoing a $492 million rebuild,
serves a total of 80,000 riders a day across its 15 stations; three Metra lines also serve the district
along with CTA and PACE bus service. Auto and expressway access is generally very good,
except during peak hours when arteries and highways slow to a crawl.
Protecting and building on all of these assets are the district’s many community organizations, ethnic
associations, block clubs, and homeowners’ groups. Chambers of commerce are active in every major
retail area, and political participation is generally strong, ensuring that local issues are discussed and
brought to the attention of elected officials.
Increasing diversity
The Northwest Side has experienced dramatic demographic change over the last three decades,
becoming far more diverse than suggested by its reputation as a bastion of white city workers. Almost
100 percent white in the 1960s – and defensive of that status in the face of racial turnover in other
communities – the northwest neighborhoods today are all mixed to some extent; some have become
predominantly Latino.
One driver of change has been westward movement of Latino families priced out of Logan Square,
which lost 16,500 Latino residents between 2000 and 2010. The neighborhoods are also becoming ports
of entry for new Latino immigrants direct from Mexico and other countries, pushing the Latino share of
the population in Belmont Cragin to 79 percent. To varying degrees, the northwest neighborhoods have
seen increases in Asian and African American populations as well, though these two groups combined
make up less than 10 percent of the district’s total.
Income levels have also diversified, with the share of population living in poverty growing from 4.7
percent in 1970 to 12.6 percent in 2010. Belmont Cragin, Hermosa, and Montclare have the largest
shares of lower-income households (chart below). The most prosperous communities are to the north:
Edison Park, Norwood Park, and Forest Glen, with its sub-neighborhoods Sauganash and Edgebrook.
Housing composition has changed little over the decades, with a small decline in the share of owneroccupied units from 65 percent in 1970 to 62 percent in 2010. The district’s stable or growing
populations reflect the influx of larger Latino families.
Jobs and transit
Another factor in the district’s stability is its employment base, which is fueled by the economic engines
of O’Hare Airport, northwest suburban job centers, and downtown Chicago. For decades, the district
has been a home base for flight attendants, pilots, and airport service workers; in recent years the flow
of Blue Line traffic also includes uniformed Transportation Security Administration workers and
freight handlers working at O’Hare’s expanded shipping hubs. More than 45,000 local jobs are in
wholesale and retail trade, transportation, and warehousing.
Manufacturing remains a major employer despite
the closure of many factories. The northwest
neighborhoods supported about 7,500
manufacturing jobs in 2011, while nearby
suburbs including Elk Grove Village, Franklin
Park, and Niles continue to have strong
manufacturing and distribution sectors.
Educational services and healthcare provide
another 20,000 jobs.
EMPLOYMENT – NORTHWEST SIDE
Retail Trade
Accommodation and Food Service
Manufacturing
2005
22,416
18,673
11,706
11,040
9,552
9,585
115,400
2011
32,345
17,662
13,370
9,719
7,774
7,584
117,260
District
11.6%
Citywide
12.9%
Transit is key. In addition to the nearby
expressways, more than 40,000 people each
weekday board CTA Blue Line trains at the
district’s eight stations (including Rosemont and O’Hare), and nearly 5,000 more board Metra trains
along the three commuter lines serving the district. The CTA offers 2,500 park-and-ride spaces at
Rosemont, Cumberland, and Harlem; smaller numbers of spaces are available at the Metra stations,
most of which have large proportions of walking, biking, and drop-off commuters.
CTA Blue Line Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2013)
Addison
2009
2,474
2013
2,908
Irving
Jefferson
Montrose
Park
Park
3,973
1,889
6,061
4,503
2,441
Harlem
6,851
Cumberland
Rosemont
O’Hare
2,594
4,550
4,279
8,537
3,043
4,703
5,987
9,927
Metra Ridership (weekday average boardings 2006 – latest available)
2006
2014
Milwaukee District North Line
GrayForest
Healy
Mayfair
land
Glen
342
318
317
331
322
314
340
351
Edgebrook
544
Grand/
Cicero
72
504
106
Milwaukee District West Line
Hanson
GaleMars
Park
wood
54
265
110
46
260
115
Mont
Clare
361
291
Irving Park
2006
495
2014
474
Union Pacific Northwest Line
Jefferson
Gladstone
Norwood Edison Park
Park
Park
Park
786
103
289
536
599
169
350
646
Source: Metra Commuter Rail System Station Alighting/Boarding Count, Summary Results, Spring 2014. Note: 2014 Metra ridership
The Northwest Side as a whole is one of Chicago’s strongest and most stable districts, with consistently
high demand for housing, a good choice of schools, and ample access to employment and shopping.
But like all sections of the city, it also faces challenges, most clearly in its southern sections where levels
of household income and educational attainment are lower than in the prosperous, suburban-like
enclaves to the north.
The district has less nonprofit capacity than other parts of the city to address the interrelated issues of
job skills, education, poverty, and community development. With the exception of the various
chambers of commerce, which serve an important role supporting local businesses, most neighborhood
organizations are informal and volunteer-run; there is limited capacity for larger-scale, non-profitdriven activity. Responding to the needs of the burgeoning Latino population, the Northwest Side
Housing Center has expanded beyond foreclosure prevention into education and organizing, and
citywide Latino-oriented groups are also active, including LUCHA, Hispanic Housing Development
Corporation, and Spanish Coalition for Housing. The City of Chicago Micro Market Recovery program
targeted two areas in Belmont Cragin west of Cicero Avenue, re-occupying 40 units of previously
vacant housing.
The area has relatively strong choices for elementary schools with many high-performing
neighborhood and selective enrollment elementary schools as well as private and parochial choices.
There are fewer top-rated choices for high school. Wright Community College is well-used by both
local and citywide residents because of its strong certificate and two-year degree programs, and is
attracting students from some Northwest Side high schools.
Another challenge is uneven utilization of commercial spaces on retail corridors. With large autooriented shopping centers interspersed throughout, and more in adjoining suburbs, even the strongest
corridors struggle with vacancies and underutilized assets.
The 2008 Jefferson Park Milwaukee/Lawrence Corridor Study identifies “downtown Jefferson Park,”
adjacent to the CTA and Metra Transit Center, as an opportunity for higher-density, transit-oriented
development that builds on existing assets including the Polish-oriented Copernicus Center, retail
stores, and 17,000 daily transit boardings. Vacant land and underutilized parking lots give the area a
blighted appearance, the study says, and create an inhospitable environment for pedestrians. The study
suggests street improvements and mixed-use development that could add as many as 1,700 residential
units as well as new stores. The City Council in November 2014 approved a ban on strip malls in the
Lawrence-Milwaukee area to encourage higher-density development and more pedestrian traffic.
Similar recommendations in the 2013 Six Corners Master Plan address the Portage Park intersection
where Milwaukee crosses Irving Park and Cicero. The area has 130 active businesses but many
vacancies and poor circulation for pedestrians, which discourages browsing at multiple stores. The
study recommends mixed-use developments to add more people and activities on the sidewalks, and
identifies the Portage Theater and Klee Plaza buildings as magnets. Among the recommendations is
redevelopment of the triangular plot where the Bank of America building has been. Clark
Development in 2014 paid more than $10 million for that property and adjoining parking lot; it plans
new retail development in line with the master plan. Near the Jewel grocery store, Renaissance
Companies is building a four-story, 98-unit senior building at 4117 N. Kilpatrick. The 2014 opening of
several new restaurants and businesses suggests a revival is underway.
A third study, the 2011 Metra Milwaukee District West Line Transit-Friendly Development Plan, sees
opportunities for transit-friendly improvements, in-fill development, and supportive land uses to boost
ridership at the five stations serving the southern edge of the district. Similar conditions exist at other
Metra stations and along the CTA Blue Line, where the highway-median stations are isolated from
surrounding neighborhoods and unfriendly to pedestrians.
Building on the district’s many strengths – and honoring its long tradition of active community groups
–will be key to maintaining the Northwest Side’s enviable position as one of Chicago’s strongest
neighborhood clusters.
Place
Read Dunning
Blocks around
Jefferson Park
transit hub
Six Corners at
Portage Park
Northwest Highway
Location
Former mental health
facility is south and west
of Montrose and
Narragansett
Area around Milwaukee
and Lawrence Avenue at
CTA and Metra stations
Area around Milwaukee,
Lawrence, and Cicero
North and west of Foster
and Milwaukee
Status
Excess land is owned by both the
city and state; some has been
converted to a conservation area.
Notes
One of the few locations with larger areas of
available land; one possible use is expansion of
Wright College.
Numerous vacant storefronts and
vacant land are in high-traffic
location.
Vacant storefronts and some
vacant land are in traditionally
strong commercial district.
Industrial and commercial
corridor along railroad tracks has
larger lots and buildings, some
vacant.
See details in Jefferson Park
Milwaukee/Lawrence Corridor Study.
See Six Corners Master Plan for opportunities.
slightly from the boundaries of the CN2015 Planning Districts. Community Areas included in this profile are Edison Park, Norwood Park,
Jefferson Park, Forest Glen, Portage Park, Dunning, Montclare, Belmont Cragin, Hermosa, and O’Hare.
Learn more about the Northwest Side and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/NorthwestSide. Learn more about data and
NORTHWEST SIDE PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
Des Plaines
Rosemont
Northwest HS
Stock ES
EDISON PARK
TOUHY
MANNHEIM
O’Hare International
Airport
St. Mary of
the Woods
Wildwood ES
Lincolnwood
90
FOREST GLEN
Ebinger ES
Edison Park
North Branch Trail
Norwood Park
Norwood Park ES
Norwood Senior Center
Resurrection
Norwood Park
Immaculate Conception Historical Center
Roman CC
Taft HS
NO
RT
Oriole Park
Oriole Park ES
ELS
ES
TH
WY
Dirksen ES
Elston/Armstrong
Industrial Corridor
Sauganash
Mariano's
Gladstone Park
Forest Glen
94
16TH
JEFFERSON PARK
Beard ES
See North Central
Planning District
N
Farnsworth ES
Garvy ES
St. Monica Academy
Edgebrook Woods
TO
Hitch ES
HW
90
Office Park
NAGLE
EAST RIVER
AL
Onahan ES
Roden
E
KE
AU
LW
Norwood Park
Historic District
Edgebrook
MI
HARLEM
Edison ES
Cumberland
Edgebrook ES
Edgebrook
NORWOOD PARK
Jefferson Park
Downtown Jefferson Park
Olives Neighborhood Garden
The Gift Theatre
Ed Pashke Museum
17TH Center
Copernicus
Beaubien ES
Jefferson Park
Jefferson Park
LAWRENCE
CUMBERLAND
Jefferson Park
Prussing ES
St. Rober Bellarmine School
Knox
Industrial Corridor
PORTAGE PARK
Norridge
Montrose
Vaughn HS
Mayfair
Smyser ES
Eli's Cheesecake
Bungalow District
Autumn Green Asst. Living
Portage park ES
Wilbur Wright College
Dunning Read Conservation Area
Portage Park
Chicago-Read Mental Health Ctr
Austin-Irving
YMCA
Oak Street Health
Harlem Irving Plaza
Dunning Square
Patio Theater
IRVING PARK
6 Corners IRVING PARK
Merrimac Park
Gray ES
Schorch Irving Park Gardens
Old Irving Condos
St. BarthoIrving Park Cemetery
Bridge ES
Grayland
Thorp ES
lomew ES
Old Irving Park
Mount Olive
Canty ES
Comm Clinic
Cemetery
Our
Lady
of
Resurrection
Schurz HS
ADDISON
St. Francis Borges School
Premier Window
Reinberg ES
Chicago Academy HS
Chicago Academy ES
Dever ES
St. Ladislaus Catholic School
Belmont Cragin
DUNNING
BELMONT CRAGIN Shopping Dist
Foreman HS
Intrinsic HS
Portage-Cragin
St. Patrick HS
BELMONT
St. Ferdinand Catholic School
West Belmont
Notre Dame HS for Girls
Falconer ES
MONTCLARE
Steinmetz HS
Camras ES
Housing
Lyon ES
Barry ES
Development
Locke J ES
Brickyard Mall
Bricktown Square
Galewood-Mont Clare
Galewood Park
KOSTNER
CICERO
CENTRAL
DIVERSEY
AUSTIN
Elmwood Park
NARRAGANSETT
OAK PARK
O’HARE
Harwood Heights
Six Corners
Filament Theater
Portage Theater
Klee Plaza
Marketplace at Six Corners
Chipotle
Irving Park
Irving Park MS
Addison
St. Viator School
John Baethke Plumbing
Northwest Side
Housing Center
See Milwaukee
Avenue Planning
District
Schubert ES
Belmont Cragin Kelvyn Park HS
Noble Charter
(North) MMRP
David
Speer
Riis Park
St. Genevieve Catholic School
FULLERTON
Hanson Park ES
Healy
Hanson Park
CICS W. Belden
GRAN Prieto ES
Shriners
D Northwest MS
UNO Charter Near West
25TH
Burbank ES
Armitage
Industrial Corridor
Villa
Pulaski
Industrial Corridor
HERMOSA
Belmont Cragin
(South) MMRP
Nixon ES
Lloyd ES
Ruis Belvis Cultural Center
ARMITAGE Spanish Coalition for Housing
Mcauliffe ES (Elev8 School)
Belmont-Cragin ES
Prosser HS
Christopher House Charter
PULASKI
DEVON
CENT
R
Schiller
Park
Old Edgebrook
Historic District
See West Side
Planning District
DATE | 01.16.2015
NORTHWEST SIDE PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
Rosemont
O’Hare International
Airport
Lincolnwood
Park Ridge
Schiller Park
Edison Park Chamber of Commerce
Edgebrook Chamber of Commerce
See North Central
Planning District
39th Ward
Norwood Park Chamber of Commerce
Rosemont
Rosemont
Gladstone Park Chamber of Commerce
FOSTER
LARAM IE
41st Ward
AUSTIN
Elston/Armstrong
Ind. Corridor
45th Ward
EL
S
TO
N
Jefferson Park
Harwood
Heights
Harwood
Heights
Jefferson Park Chamber of Commerce
Norridge
Norridge
Portage Park
West Irving Park
Read/Dunning
Schiller
Park
Schiller Park
Six Corner Association
IRVING PARK
SSA# 28
Irving/Cicero
Portage Park
Chamber of Commerce
38th Ward
ADDISON
Planning District
BELMON T
29th Ward
Franklin Park
36th Ward
Belmont-Central Chamber of Commerce
SSA# 2
Belmont/Central
OAK PAR K
Diversey/Narragansett
West Grand
River Grove
River Grove
30th Ward
GR A ND
Montclare
Galewood/Armitage
31st Ward
Belmont/Cicero
Pulaski Industrial
Corridor
35th Ward
26th Ward
37th Ward
Elmwood
Park
Elmwood
Park
See West Side
Planning District
*This planning area is located within the North Business and Industrial Council &
Greater Northwest Chicago Development Corp (LIRI)
DATE | 01.16.2015
13. NORTH CENTRAL
Diversity, green space, and housing create stable, high-demand areas
Bisected by the Chicago River and well-endowed with parks,
trails, and green space, the North Central planning district
includes an eclectic mix of housing types, racial and ethnic
groups, land uses, and natural areas. It offers one of the city’s
most varied selections of restaurants – and grocery stores to
match – which is fitting for an area once filled with vegetable
farms and greenhouses that fed early Chicagoans.
Now completely built up and with more than half of its
households in rental units, the district continues to provide a
stepping-stone for generations of newcomers, while also in
recent years attracting more homebuyers with new housing and
converted rental buildings. The district supports more than
50,000 jobs in health care, manufacturing, education, and other
sectors, but the majority of residents travel to work outside the
area via Metra, the booming CTA Brown and Blue Lines, and the
Edens (I-94) and Kennedy (I-90) Expressways.
About 3,000 small businesses line the major arterial streets to serve the district’s 266,000 residents.
Devon Avenue west of Damen offers the Midwest’s largest concentration of Indian and Pakistani
businesses, selling everything from saris and movies to South Indian street snacks. Lawrence Avenue
around Kedzie was once dominated by Jewish and then Korean businesses; today it has Middle Eastern
restaurants, Mexican and Greek bakeries, Korean groceries, and other specialty stores. Storefronts on
other streets provide favorites of Filipinos, Ecuadorians, Thai, Cambodians, Romanians, and Africans.
Newer condominium and mixed-use buildings have replaced small factories and older structures on
Belmont, Irving Park, and Foster, pushing west as far as Pulaski Road. The diagonals of Lincoln and
Elston Avenues continue to evolve, especially along Lincoln where an aging hotel and retail corridor is
slowly being replaced with new homes, businesses, and public uses.
Investment drivers
Major public and private investments have helped sustain
the decades-long renewal of neighborhoods that were first
developed a century or more ago. Recent drivers include:
NORTH CENTRAL OVER TIME
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Population
271,455 251,205 259,171 284,480 266,134

Higher education. North Park University on Foster
at Kedzie has added the $68 million Johnson Center
6.4%
9.3%
12.8%
13.0%
14.1%
for Science and Community Life, as well as
38/62
39/61
40/60
41/59
45/55
dormitories and athletic spaces on nearby streets.
Northeastern Illinois University in 2014 opened its
striking new El Centro facility alongside I-90/94, and
plans to add on-campus student dorms near its main
campus on Bryn Mawr west of Kimball. DeVry University’s Chicago campus is just north of
Belmont along the Chicago River.

Parks and nature areas. Green space and trails now stretch along much of the Chicago River
and North Shore Channel, whose waters will be noticeably cleaner (and less pungent) starting
in 2015 as the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District begins disinfection of sewage before
returning it to waterways. An Army Corps of Engineers project is opening up the river’s edge
across from Horner Park, and the WMS Boathouse at Clark Park opened in 2014, across the
river from arcade-game maker WMS. The 20-acre Rosehill West Ridge Nature Center, on a
never-developed section of Rosehill Cemetery at Peterson and Western, will open in 2015.
Farther west across Peterson is a new pedestrian bridge, part of The Valley Line Trail that
opened in 2008. And the North Branch Trail will be extended in 2015 to reach the Forest
Preserve District’s LaBagh Woods and eventually the River Trail.

Transportation. Ridership on the CTA Brown Line has been growing for decades as
Ravenswood and North Center housing markets attracted more Loop workers; after completion
of a $530 million capacity expansion project, ridership increased 39 percent from 2008 to 2012.
Blue Line stations serving the south end of the district have also shown strong growth, as has
Metra service on the UP-North line along Ravenswood. Several bus routes are among CTA’s
busiest.

Manufacturing. The factories that remain on the North Side are typically global enterprises that
use sophisticated tooling and high-skill workforces. S&C Electric Company employs 1,800 to
engineer and manufacture high-voltage electrical equipment in Rogers Park; Temple Steel in
Bowmanville makes magnetic laminations for motors; dental-tool maker Hu-Friedy serves
global markets from its facility north of Belmont Avenue; and Labelmaster and Precision
Plating are among employers in the Peterson Pulaski Industrial Park. The North Central
planning district supports 4,400 manufacturing jobs and is home to Jane Addams Resource
Corporation, which provides training in advanced machining and welding techniques.
CTA Brown and Blue Line Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2013)
2009
2013
Addison Irving Park
2,396
2,221
2,518
3,134
Montrose
2,238
Damen
1,821
Brown Line
Western
3,622
2,841
2,571
4,238
Rockwell Francisco
1,587
1,286
1,852
1,562
Kedzie
1,772
Kimball
3,763
Addison
2,474
Blue Line
Irving Park
3,973
Montrose
1,889
2,104
4,066
2,908
4,503
2,441
The Union Pacific North Line has Metra’s fastest-growing ridership within the City of Chicago, serving
2,363 weekday passengers at the Ravenswood station in 2014 (up from 1,940 in 2006) and 1,498 at
Rogers Park (up from 1,176). A new $15 million station at Peterson is scheduled for construction in
2015.
Recent public investments include the new 20th District Police Station and Budlong Woods Branch
Library on Lincoln Avenue; new Albany Park library with a YOUmedia digital center for teens and 0to-5 early learning space; buffered bike lanes on Elston and Lawrence Avenues; and the planned 2015
demolition of the deteriorated Western Avenue overpass at Belmont, which will become a landscaped
at-grade thoroughfare with an improved pedestrian environment.
A quick tour
North Central comprises six community areas and many sub-neighborhoods, with plenty of overlap
among them as residents travel for music classes, favorite foods, entertainment, education, and work.
The entire area is economically mixed, with North Center having the largest percentage of higherincome households. Housing demand is strong across the district, driving prices higher. While most
areas have some affordable rental and ownership options, the percentage of households that are “costburdened,” paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing, is relatively high, at 40 percent of
all owner households and 49 percent of renters.
Each community area is covered briefly below, starting on the south and working clockwise, followed
by discussion of common challenges and opportunities.
North Center is commonly associated with the six-corner intersection at Lincoln, Damen, and
Irving Park, where new brick condominium structures meld with century-old, terra-cotta-clad
commercial buildings. To the east and north are the Ravenswood neighborhoods along the river,
and to west is the in-demand St. Ben’s residential area, anchored by St. Benedict church and its preChicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – February 2015 – Page 143
K through 12 school. South is Roscoe Village, which is also attractive to young families thanks to a
busy commercial district and broad housing choices. The western edge of North Center, where the
Western overpass will be removed, includes a Chicago Police station and shopping center on the
former Riverview Amusement Park site, DeVry University, the private DePaul College Prep
(formerly Gordon Technical High School), and the 4,000-student Lane Tech selective enrollment
high school.
The Irving Park neighborhood extends from the river west to Cicero Avenue and is made up
primarily of single-family homes east of the diagonal Elston Avenue, with larger apartment
buildings more common to the west and along the major arterials. Big-box retail stores are clustered
south of Addison Street and east of the Kennedy Expressway; to the west is The Villa historic
district, which features century-old Craftsman and Prairie homes on boulevard-style streets with
planted medians.
Albany Park for the last 40 years has been one of the city’s most-diverse communities, with a
polyglot mix from Eastern Europe, South Asia, Mexico, and Central and South America. The 1907
construction of the Ravenswood train line, now the Brown Line, has brought generations of
working families to the apartment buildings, two-flats, and single-family homes north and south of
the Lawrence Avenue commercial spine, which is lined with restaurants, retailers, and wholesale
businesses. The Ravenswood Manor area just west of the river has larger homes and bungalows,
some with water access. At 4451 N. Pulaski, acclaimed restaurateur Arun Sampanthavivat has
converted a former police station into Thai Town, which will house a restaurant and community
center and anchor a hoped-for Thai-themed shopping district. Farther west is the Mayfair area,
where single-family homes predominate on the side streets and the Irish American Heritage Center
serves a regional audience from 4626 N. Knox Avenue.
North Park got its name from the university that built the Old Main building in 1894 along Foster
Avenue west of Kedzie, next to the river. North Park University now has more than 25 buildings
serving 3,200 students. Just north is the campus of Northeastern Illinois University, which opened
in 1961 and serves 11,000 students. Other major land uses include two large cemeteries, LaBagh
Woods forest preserve, Peterson Pulaski Industrial Park, and North Park Village, which includes
housing, park facilities, and a nature center. Around these are residential areas for 17,000 people,
including secluded enclaves tucked between other uses, and the Sauganash neighborhood that is
more often associated with Edgebrook and Forest Glen on the Far Northwest Side.
West Ridge is the district’s northernmost section, bordered on the east by S&C Electric Company
and the Metra UP-North commuter-rail tracks. Often called West Rogers Park, the community
today has the city’s largest concentration of Jewish families, schools, and places of worship,
including two recently built synagogues on Pratt Boulevard. New single-family homes have been
built on former industrial land near Kedzie, while Devon Avenue continues to be a regional
attraction for Indian and Pakistani families, who converge each weekend for shopping trips and
dining at the area’s two-dozen restaurants.
Finally, Lincoln Square has evolved from its German and Luxembourger heritage to become a
collection of distinct sub-neighborhoods. The centerpiece is a pedestrian-oriented stretch of Lincoln
Avenue just south of Lawrence, where restaurants, bars, and specialty stores attract drive-in traffic
as well as walkers from the Western Brown Line stop. Lincoln is also home to the Old Town School
of Folk Music, Conrad Sulzer Regional Library, and historic Davis Theater. North is Bowmanville,
an enclave of single-family homes and gardens surrounded by Rosehill Cemetery and small
factories, and west is another residential neighborhood, Budlong Woods, named after the area’s
early-20th Century cucumber farm and pickling operations. At Foster and California, Swedish
Covenant Hospital has become a major health services provider for the area, with 2,500 staff and
600 physicians who appear as diverse as their clientele. In 2014, the hospital began construction of a
new Women’s Health Center.
Well-resourced communities
The North Central neighborhoods, in general, are well served by public and private resources and
services. Residents have convenient access to regional recreational resources including the North Park
Village Nature Center and Peterson Park gymnastics center; McFetridge Sports Center, whose
regulation-size ice rink and six indoor tennis courts are heavily booked; and the new WMS Boathouse,
which responds to growing interest in kayaking and canoeing on the river. The river-edge parks offer
numerous playing fields and trails, and Warren Park in West Ridge includes the nine-hole Robert Black
golf course, a sledding hill, and busy fieldhouse.
Private sports facilities have sprung up to serve the area’s population of well-heeled families with
children. The Bradley Business Center, 2500 W. Bradley Place, was built in the 1980s to provide modern
industrial spaces, but now includes the Lil’ Kicker soccer center, Goldfish Swim School, Chicago Youth
Lacrosse, Lil’ Sluggers baseball center, and IK
EMPLOYMENT – NORTH CENTRAL
Gymnastics. Nearby is the PrivateBank Fire Pitch,
2005
2011
an pay-to-play soccer facility with six indoor
11,826
11,940
Retail Trade
6,660
7,153
fields under an inflated dome, affiliated with the
3,937
5,061
Chicago Fire professional team in Bridgeview.
Manufacturing
5,135
4,462
The spending power of young families is also
3,021
3,373
2,341
2,579
evident in Lincoln Square, North Center, and
53,588
50,683
Roscoe Village, where boutiques and chain stores
feature toys, baby equipment, and clothing.
District Citywide
8.8%
12.9%
Alongside this economic vitality, the North
Central district remains what it has always been,
a landing spot for working-class families, many
of them immigrants. Here, too, the area is well-resourced, with a long list of social service agencies,
health clinics, and community associations that speak the languages of local residents and connect
them to resources. Korean American Community Services, for instance, was founded in 1972 to serve
first-generation Korean immigrants, but now serves 7,000 clients a year including Latinos and other
ethnic groups. The Cambodian Association of Illinois provides refugee services and a museum on
Lawrence Avenue; Albany Park Community Center offers adult education, English language classes,
youth programs, and other services; and the Coalition of Limited English Speaking Elderly and
Heartland Alliance support the nearly 100 families from Bhutan and Myanmar who farm vegetables at
the Global Garden Refugee Training Farm on Lawrence Avenue, next to one of the Peterson Garden
Project’s seven community gardens.
The district’s community development efforts trace back to the 1960s, when both housing and retail
markets were suffering as Albany Park’s long-time Jewish population was moving north or to the
suburbs. Neighborhood organizations in Ravenswood Manor, North Mayfair, and Hollywood-North
Park in 1962 formed the North River Commission (NRC), with help from Swedish Covenant Hospital,
North Park College, and the National Bank of Albany Park (now Albank). NRC was instrumental in the
conversion of the unused Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium into North Park Village, and worked with
the City of Chicago and a sister organization, the Lawrence Avenue Development Corporation
(LADCOR), to pioneer streetscaping and façade-rebate programs for retail corridors. LADCOR’s efforts
to organize businesses, promote the retail strip, and connect building owners to banks brought the
ailing business corridor, which had been 70 percent vacant, to near-full occupancy by the 1990s.
The North Central district has been the subject of only one recent plan or study, the 2005 Urban Land
Institute report Retaining and Attracting Businesses and Jobs: Peterson-Pulaski Industrial Corridor
Chicago. Despite several vacancies in the 22-company industrial area, the report said, the North Side
location offers very strong long-term market position for modernized properties. Since the report, New
World Van Lines has relocated 160 jobs to the area and built a new storage facility, and Restaurant
Depot is building a warehouse on the former Chicago Food property on Pulaski Road. North and west
of the industrial corridor, on the former Skil-Bosch Power Tools property, a 35-unit single-family
housing development, Residences of Sauganash Glen, is underway after nearly 10 years of delay. The
homes will go on the market for $700,000 to $900,000.
North Central’s core challenge is to maintain its role as a comfortable and affordable environment for
both working-class and middle-class families, and as a stopping place for immigrants moving up the
economic ladder.
Parts of the district still play that role today. In West Ridge, a growing population of immigrant
families spurred construction of the new West Ridge Elementary School in 2010, which today serves
747 students from India, Pakistan, Iraq, Burma, Nepal, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Bosnia, among others. It
is a top-rated neighborhood school, without selective admission. Albany Park remains a similarly
mixed neighborhood with good school choices, as does the sub-neighborhood of Hollywood Park to
the north, where Peterson School is another Level 1 neighborhood school. The district includes two of
the city’s top selective-enrollment high schools – Lane Tech and North Side College Prep – and at the
former Ravenswood Hospital site, the private Lycée Français de Chicago is building a new facility with
a capacity for 850 students.
Maintaining solid retail corridors is an ongoing challenge. To maintain the competitive position of the
Devon Avenue Indian and Pakistani shopping district, the City of Chicago is investing $15 million to
widen sidewalks, add room for outdoor cafés and landscaping, and improve pedestrian safety. Similar
work has just been completed on Lawrence Avenue west of Ravenswood, which is bookended by a
new Mariano’s on the east and the Lincoln Square district on the west. Most retail corridors in the area
face competition from the suburbs, big-box retail centers, and each other, and thus must continue to
invest and innovate to attract shoppers.
The North Central district offers solid choices for housing, education, shopping, entertainment, and
recreation, offering a path upward for all types of families at all income levels. These characteristics are
not common in many parts of Chicago and thus are assets worth protecting, especially if income levels
continue to grow and diversity is diminished.
Place
In-fill housing and
mixed-use
development
Location
There are few locations on
side streets, but older retail
corridors and underutilized
industrial spaces offer
opportunities.
Kimball Brown Line
terminal
Kimball and Lawrence
Retail corridors
Touhy, Devon, Lincoln,
Peterson, Western, Kedzie,
and Pulaski all have
developable properties.
Status
An example of recent
development is on Wallen
Avenue east of Kedzie in West
Ridge, where two dozen new
single-family homes have been
built on a former gas-company
site. An earlier development
added 31 new homes nearby, on
Pratt, Columbia, and North Shore.
Local organizations have long
discussed the possibility of a
major transit-oriented housing
and retail development above
the Kimball railyard.
These corridors include multiple
vacant storefronts, vacant lots,
and/or underutilized parcels that
could be developed with new
retail or housing.
Notes
Housing demand has been sufficiently
strong that small, irregular parcels have
been developed for single-family homes
and condominiums. For instance, several
dozen units were built on Lowell and
Kildare west of Montrose Cemetery and
accessible only via the Peterson Pulaski
Industrial Park.
No formal plans have advanced.
Mixed-use projects with housing above
retail stores could help expand the area’s
population while meeting demand for
housing.
CN2015 Planning Districts. Community Areas included in this profile are Albany Park, Irving Park, Lincoln Square, North Park, North Center,
and West Ridge.
Learn more about North Central and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/NorthCentral. Learn more about data and sources at
NORTH CENTRAL PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
Evanston
HOWARD
Howard & Western Shopping
KEDZIE
Skokie
Skokie
WEST ROGERS PARK
Rogers ES
TOUHY
St. Margaret Mary School
The Gan Project
CJE Senior Life
Swartzberry House
Rogers
Park
Alliance
of Filipinos
Decatur Classical ES
Senior Housing
Jordan ES
UNO Charter - RP
Heartland Health
Armstrong ES
Ida Crown Jewish Academy
Lincolnwood
Lincolnwood
Rogers Park
Indian
Boundary Park
Congregation Khal Chasidim
West Ridge
Robert Black Golf Course
Boone ES
Torah
Mitzion
S&C Electric Co.
Warren Park
WEST RIDGE
Northtown
Home Depot
Queen of All Saints
FOREST GLEN
Polish National Alliance
Sauganash ES
Whole Foods Precision Plating
CICS Northtown
Peterson Park
North Park Village Nature Ctr
West Ridge
Rosehill Cemetery
Mather HS
Nature Preserve
North Park Vill Senior Ctr
Budlong
North River Mental Health Center
Woods
Jamieson ES
St. Philip Lutheran School
Sudanese Cultural Center
Northside Learning Center
BRYN MAWR
Temple Steel
Carson ES
St. Hilary
Koh Varilla Guild
Northeastern IL University
Montrose Cemetery
School
Peterson ES
Northside Prep HS
20TH
Rogers Park Montessori School
Bohemian
NORTH PARK
WTTW Chicago Public Media
National
LaBagh Woods
St. Luke Cemetery Cemetery
North Park Covenant Church
Jewel Osco
Chappell ES
Swedish
North Park
Budlong ES
FOSTER
Amundsen HS
Gompers Park
Eugene Field Park
University
St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox
Salvation Army
River Park
Winnemac Park
Von Steuben HS
Palmer ES
Albany Park Theater Project
EL
LINCOLN SQUARE
ST
Edison ES
Volta ES
Ravenswood
ON
Global Gardens
Hibbard
ES
ALBANY PARK
Mariano's
Lincoln Square HS
Refugee Farm
Cambodian Museum
Ravenswood
Mayfair
LAWRENCE
The Square,
Cambodian
Asctn.
of
Il.
Mcpherson
ES
MASOM Imambargah
Giddings Plaza
Damen
Erie Family Health Center
17TH
Francisco
Kedzie
Western
Rockwell
Davis Theater
Irish American Heritage Ctr.
Roosevelt HS
Ravenswood Hospital
Halycon Theatre
Waters ES
Queen of Angels School
Haugan ES
Orthopedic Inst. of Chicago
Christ Evang.
Sulzer
Jane Addams Resources
Our Lady of Mercy
Thai Town Center
Lutheran Church
Welles Park
North River ES
Corp. (CWF)
MONTROSE
Montrose
Montrose
Kindred-North
Muslim Cultural Center
Koren American Comm. Services
Henry ES
Belding ES
Bateman ES
Horner Park
KOSTNER
New World Van Lines
Restaurant Depot
Label Master
IRVING PARK
Tony's Finer Foods
First Bulgarian Center
DAMEN
PULASKI
Lawrence Ave. Corridor
Chicago
World Relief
Chicago
Albank
Albany Park Chamber of Comr.
LADCOR
North River Commission
Makki Masjid
Albany Park Nbrhd Council
Target
Mather Park
LINCOLN
Foster Ave. Corridor
Albany Park
New Women's Health Center
Albany Park Community Center
Albany Park MC ES
Clinton ES
See North Lakefront
Planning District
Stone ES
Planned Pedestrian Bridge
PETERSON
Shopping Center
Sauganash Park
Peterson
Industrial
Corridor
Solomon ES
KIMBALL
See Northwest Side
Planning District
Lincoln Village
DEVON
WESTE RN
Devon Lincoln Plaza
DEVON
CALIFORNIA
Thillens Stadium
Thai American Association
Independence
Disney II HS
Marshall MS
Irving Park
Independence Park
Murphy ES
94
Cleveland ES
Coonley ES
CERSC
Windy City Playhouse
IRVING PARK
McFetridge Sports Center
Avondale
St. Benedict HS
NORTH CENTER
CICS Irving Park
Bradley Business Center
Irving Park
Bell ES
Planning District
Athletic Field
Chicago Fire Indoor Soccer
ADDISON
Lane Technical HS
CVS, Home Depot
Addison
Audubon
ES
Kmart, Olive Garden
Addison Mall
Elston Plaza
Kennedy
Prop Theater
WMS Industries
Industrial
NEIU El Centro Campus
DeVry University
Corridor
Roscoe
Roscoe Square Plaza Village
Linne ES
Joong Boo Market
Hu-Friedy
Devry HS
Roscoe Village Chamber of Comr
Avondale HS
Planned Bridge Demolition
See Milwaukee
Jahn ES
Belmont
BELMONT
Music Factory
Planning District
Addison
Elite Baseball Training
Industrial
UNO Charter
Corridor
Ruentes
Addison
DATE | 01.16.2015
NORTH CENTRAL PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
SSA#19
DAMEN
CALIFORN IA
KEDZIE
Evanston
WESTE RN
CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOODSEvanston
2015
49th Ward
TOUHY
Touhy and Western
See North Lakefront
Planning District
Lincolnwood
Lincolnwood
50th Ward
Pratt/Ridge
Devon/Western
CENTRAL PARK
PULASKI
CICERO
Peterson/Cicero
SSA#43
DEVON
Lincoln Ave.
PETERSON
Clark/Ridge
40th Ward
Sauganash Chamber of Commerce
Peterson/Pulaski
Lincoln Bend Chamber of Commerce
BRYN MAWR
Lawrence/Kedzie
39th Ward
FOSTER
Western Avenue North
Lawrence/Pulaski
See Northwest Side
Planning District
Albany Park Community Center
LAWRENCE
SSA#21
SSA#31
Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce
Ravenswood Corridor
North River Commission
MONTROSE
35th Ward
33rd Ward
47th Ward
Pulaski Elston Business Association
IRVING PARK
Irving Park/Elston
SSA#38
44th Ward
Planning District
ADDISON
Planning District
Western Avenue South
Kennedy/Kimball
32nd Ward
Addison Corridor
North
BELMON T
Roscoe Village
Chamber of Commerce
Addison South
DIVERSEY
*This planning area is located within the Peterson Pulaski Business and Industrial Corridor,
North Business and Industrial Council & Local Economic & Employment Development Council (LIRI)
DATE | 01.16.2015
14. NORTH LAKEFRONT
Demand and strong assets support diverse, dense communities
The adjacent communities of Rogers Park, Edgewater, and Uptown
have been called the most stable diverse neighborhoods in the nation,
with a broad mix of incomes, races, and ethnicities. Bordered on the
east by Lake Michigan and on the west by the Metra North commuter
line, the area is bisected by the CTA’s backbone transit service, the Red
Line. With the highest density of all Chicago planning districts, at
28,000 people per square mile, the neighborhoods support more than
1,500 small businesses across a dozen eclectic, pedestrian-oriented retail
districts.
Nearly 168,000 residents live in the planning district in a housing mix
that includes a high-rise corridor along Sheridan Road, large apartment
buildings, and miles of streets lined with two-flats, six-flats, and singlefamily homes. Two-thirds of the 82,000 households are renters,
reflecting the area’s long history as an entry neighborhood for
immigrants, students, and young couples.
The North Lakefront has always included a significant population of working-class and low-income
residents, with about 23 percent living below the poverty level in 2012. It also includes a large older
population in senior buildings, nursing homes, and a naturally occurring retirement community in the
elevator buildings along Sheridan Road, which is well served by CTA buses. All three neighborhoods
include leafy enclaves of higher-income households in elegant century-old houses, high-end
apartments, and newer developments. Many residents and organizations work hard to preserve
affordable housing options and neighborhood diversity.
New investments
Over the past 50 years, the area has experienced disinvestment and population loss, producing pockets
of weaker real estate and retail activity, especially in Uptown and Rogers Park. But recent years have
also seen strong reinvestment in both housing and retail across much of the North Lakefront.
One driver has been Loyola University’s half-billion-dollar investment in new buildings in and around
its Lake Shore Campus. Loyola has rebuilt the campus core and expanded two blocks south into
Edgewater, filling Winthrop and Kenmore Avenues with dormitories, classrooms, and greenspace. The
university in 2013 purchased the 6300 block of Kenmore from
NORTH LAKEFRONT OVER TIME
the City of Chicago and converted it to a pedestrian-only
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
street. West of its campus, Loyola built a public plaza at the
Population
Loyola Red Line station, two mixed-use buildings, and
197,197 178,477 184,896 189,213 167,874
apartments on a long-vacant stretch of Albion Avenue. In
12.4%
20.1%
22.7%
21.1%
23.1%
early 2015, it announced plans to build a 145-room Hampton
Inn at Sheridan and Albion.
10/90
Private investors have also played a role, stabilizing weaker
areas and attracting new residents. In Uptown and
18/82
19/81
25/75
33/67
Edgewater, Flats Chicago is rehabbing seven residential buildings and marketing them to young, hip
renters. In Rogers Park, billionaire Jennifer Pritzker’s Tawani Enterprises restored the historic Emil
Bach House on Sheridan Road and the Farcroft high-rise on Fargo near the lake; opened a bed-andbreakfast nearby; and is building a parking garage. On Morse Avenue, Pritzker’s Mayne Stage offers
live music and dining in a restored 1912 theater.
The area’s diversity has been a stabilizing force. All three neighborhoods have large populations of
white, Latino, and African-American residents, plus a mix of immigrants and second-generation
residents from many African countries, Southeast Asia, India, Pakistan, the Middle East, and Eastern
Europe. A fast-growing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population includes families moving
north into Rogers Park. Gay-oriented businesses, long a mainstay on Clark Street in Andersonville,
have more recently revitalized retail nodes along the Red Line at Morse and Jarvis.
Each of the neighborhoods has distinct subdistricts, creating cross-traffic among them via walking,
biking, bus, train, and auto traffic. Pedestrian streams are heavy at rush hours near transit stops, and on
weekends in Andersonville and on Argyle. Parking is tight, which further encourages non-auto trips.
The Metra Union Pacific North Line served 2,363 weekday passengers at the Ravenswood station in
2014 (up from 1,940 in 2006) and 1,498 at Rogers Park (up from 1,176), among Metra’s highest for
neighborhood stations. A $15 million station at Peterson is scheduled for construction starting in 2015.
The CTA Red Line, meanwhile, serves 45,600 boarding passengers at North Lakefront stations each
weekday.
CTA Red Line Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2013)
Howard
Jarvis
Morse
Loyola
Granville Thorndale
2009
5,925
1,479
4,145
5,039
3,517
2,745
2013
6,387
1,555
4,591
5,469
4,017
2,954
Bryn
Berwyn
Mawr
4,499
3,245
4,982
3,159
Argyle
Lawrence
Wilson
2,567
3,261
5,645
2,913
3,261
6,328
Rogers Park is largely residential, tightly packed with apartment buildings, two- to six-flats, and
single-family homes, with spines of retail along Clark Street and near the Red Line stops. The North of
Howard area, traditionally serving a large low-income population, saw major rehabilitation of its aging
housing stock in the 1980s and 1990s; it continues today as home to more than 5,100 people.
Retail strength has evolved and shifted in recent years:

Gateway Center at Howard and Clark Streets – bordered by suburban Evanston and adjacent to
the CTA’s Red, Purple, and Yellow Line terminal – is anchored by Jewel and LA Fitness and
almost fully leased. Retail along Howard Street remains under-developed, with several vacant
parcels and empty storefronts.

Clark Street has been a strong Mexican district for 20 years, though it experienced a loss of
businesses during the recent recession.

Morse Avenue is recovering from years of stagnation, attracting customers with new
restaurants, sidewalk cafes, bars, and the Mayne Stage. Artist galleries, an annual arts festival,
and the Glenwood Sunday Market have also enlivened the strip. A smaller node of vitality has
emerged near the Jarvis CTA station.
Edgewater includes a dense high-rise corridor along Sheridan Road; the Andersonville shopping
district along Clark Street, filled with independent shops and ethnic restaurants; 1890s-era brick
mansions in the Lakewood Balmoral Historic District; and the block-long Gethsemane Garden Center
that supplies thousands of area gardeners with flowers, trees, and vegetables. Recent investments
include:

New developments along Broadway Avenue, including a branch library, Walgreens, health
club, medical facilities, and a Whole Foods scheduled to open in 2015.

Redevelopment of multi-unit apartment buildings and some new construction, including a 42unit loft conversion of a former laundry building on Broadway.

Continued rehabilitation of century-old brick and wood-frame homes, with some demolition of
older structures to allow new construction.
Uptown is a mosaic of sub-neighborhoods including the residential Buena Park east of Broadway near
the lake; the Asian-dominated shopping district at Argyle and Broadway; and a cluster of newconstruction townhouses and condominiums around Lawrence and Clark. The Uptown Entertainment
District, around Lawrence and Broadway, includes the active Aragon and Riviera theaters, small clubs,
and restaurants, plus the larger-but-vacant Uptown Theater, which is owned by Jam Productions and
recently received a $10 million state appropriation to support an estimated $50 million or more in
renovation needs. Side streets are lined with multi-unit buildings, single-family homes, and two-flats.
Investment drivers include:

The $151 million Wilson Yard development on a former CTA train yard includes Target, Aldi,
and smaller stores, plus 80 affordable family apartments and 98 senior units.

The $203 million rebuild of the Wilson CTA station, which began in late 2014, will revitalize a
long-neglected corner adjacent to Truman College, which serves about 22,000 students a year.

At Ravenswood and Lawrence, Metra is rebuilding its station next to a new Mariano’s grocery
store and 150-unit housing development.
History of action
All three neighborhoods have been shaped by citizen activism and “Lakefront Liberals,” including a
long history of independent aldermen in the 46th, 48th, and 49th Wards. Rogers Park residents saved
their beloved street-end beaches from development by sending bags of sand to the first Mayor Daley;
organizers have fought steadily to preserve and
maintain the area’s affordable housing; and
block clubs and neighborhood associations
hold annual parties, multi-street yard sales,
garden walks, and tours of historic houses. The
area has many nonprofit organizations that
provide social services based on particular
needs, neighborhoods, ethnic groups, and ages.
Business-development and community groups
have been instrumental in maintaining stability
and attracting economic development.
EMPLOYMENT – NORTH LAKEFRONT
Retail Trade
Other Services (except Public Admin)
Manufacturing
Total # jobs in planning district
2005
10,350
6,523
2,788
2,547
1,831
2,006
34,902
2011
12,348
5,728
3,313
2,978
2,488
2,080
35,341
District
8.9%
Citywide
12.9%

The Andersonville Chamber of
Commerce in 2002 rallied city support for $8 million worth of new pavement, trees, and
planters that strengthened Clark Street’s corridor of independent businesses. A subsequent 2005
study, Preserving, Supporting and Extending Local Retail, recommended further strengthening
of the core and strategic improvements to adjacent areas.

Uptown United co-sponsored the Discover Asia on Argyle planning process in 2008 to
revitalize the area’s aging cluster of Southeast Asian stores and restaurants. Its
recommendations for a “night market” and new signage have been implemented and in 2015
the Chicago Department of Transportation will convert Argyle between Sheridan and
Broadway into a “shared street” with sidewalk cafes, pedestrian amenities, and landscaping.

The North Lakefront was an early leader on traffic-calming improvements and bike lanes, and
is seeing significant new investment, including protected bike lanes on Broadway in Uptown
and a “road diet” for Lawrence west of Clark. A $6 million streetscape is on tap for the
Entertainment District, and a 2014 North Broadway Corridor Plan seeks to improve that
commercial corridor.

The Rogers Park Business Alliance, which partnered on development of the Gateway Center at
Howard Street, provides maintenance of retail strips with revenue from Special Service Area
taxing districts, and supports the thriving Glenwood Sunday Market.

Edgewater Development Corporation recently helped attract four more small theaters,
strengthening the local art scene. In Uptown, the Black Ensemble Theater built a 170-seat facility
on Clark Street in 2011.
Though almost completely built up, the North Lakefront communities have some vacant land and
pockets of underutilized real estate, as shown in Development Opportunities below.
Two longstanding challenges on the North Lakefront are preservation of affordable housing options
and improvement of local schools. Recent development across all three neighborhoods has reduced the
percentage of renters (to about 67 percent in 2010, from 81 percent in 1990) and increased rental prices
in most areas. Conversion of low-rent and Single-Room-Occupancy apartments by Flats Chicago has
prompted community opposition that led to a commitment by Flats to maintain 58 affordable units in
partnership with the Low-Income Housing Trust Fund. That is just one-tenth of the units converted by
that company, and market pressures continue to drive up rents elsewhere.
Improving neighborhood schools is a priority of many community groups to attract new families and
retain existing residents. Performance is uneven, with some top-rated neighborhood schools but many
others at Levels 2 and 3 (lower standing). Senn High School is now a “wall-to-wall” International
Baccalaureate school and has achieved a Level 1 rating, but Sullivan High School in Rogers Park
remains a Level 2 school requiring “intensive support.” Two schools in Uptown were closed in 2013
due to declining enrollment. The area has a number of private alternatives including Chicago Waldorf
School, Rogers Park Montessori, and Northside Catholic Academy.
Safety is a related issue, with an increase in gang-related shootings in recent years. All three
neighborhoods are attempting to address this issue through active partnerships among residents,
neighborhood groups, elected officials, and police.
Two long-term projects are likely to attract new investment. The first phase of the CTA’s Red and
Purple Modernization will include complete rebuilds of the Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn, and Bryn
Mawr stations plus all track and structures; the work will require demolition of some existing
properties along Broadway and subsequent redevelopment after construction is complete. Later phases
will rebuild north to Howard. The rebuild would increase capacity by as much as 40 percent.
Equally large is the Redefine the Drive plan to completely rebuild North Lake Shore Drive from Grand
to Hollywood, including the Inner Drive, overpasses, bike and pedestrian paths, and the bottleneck at
Hollywood and Sheridan. The north end of the Lake Shore Drive corridor each weekday handles 60,000
to 100,000 vehicles, 56,000 transit passengers, and 7,400 trail users. The rebuild seeks to improve safety
and overall volume without increasing auto usage. Construction would begin in 2019 at the earliest.
With strong reinvestment already underway and large new projects on the horizon, the North
Lakefront appears to be well positioned for continued stability and growth. The area’s longstanding
support for economic and racial diversity will be an important factor in maintaining the area’s unique
culture and streetlife.
Place
Howard at
Ashland
Address
7519-33 N. Ashland
Ave.
CTA Wilson
station area
Two sites adjacent to
new station, on south
side of Wilson Ave.
5700 N. Ashland Ave.
Edgewater
Hospital (vacant
since 2001)
Status
City Request for Proposal issued May 2014
seeks transit-oriented development for 1.05acre site near Howard CTA station.
Parcels will become available in 2017 after
completion of Wilson station project.
Notes
Peterson Garden Project has developed a community garden on the
site as an interim use.
Buildings remain on 2.58 acres; requires
demolition.
Demolition of the parking garage along Edgewater Avenue is
scheduled for early 2015, with subsequent development of 15 singlefamily homes by CA Development. Plans for the larger hospital plot are
not finalized.
There are some empty parcels in the area and more that are
underutilized. The long-vacant Carson’s Ribs site at 5970 N. Ridge was
purchased by Crossroads Development in January 2015; development
plans have not been announced.
1908 decorative brick structure was designed by Dwight H. Perkins; an
invitation from the 40th Ward alderman resulted in five proposals for
mixed uses in the building.
Waldorf School in Rogers Park has expressed possible interest; the
Metropolitan Planning Council led workshops to discuss re-use
options.
Vacant parcels
Various locations
Infill and transit-oriented opportunities on
Clark, Howard, Sheridan, Loyola, Lawrence,
Ridge, and other streets.
Trumbull School
(closed 2013)
5200 N. Ashland
No mechanical or exterior work needed; site is
.65 acres.
Stewart School
(closed 2013)
4525 N. Kenmore
Mechanical work needed; 2.33 acre site has
green space on Broadway.
Development concepts were created during 2014 community sessions
sponsored by the Metropolitan Planning Council.
Data note: Unless otherwise stated, demographic and other information is provided by Chicago Community Area, which may differ slightly from the boundaries of the
CN2015 Planning Districts. Community Areas included in this profile are Rogers Park, Edgewater, and Uptown.
Research support for Chicago Neighborhoods 2015: Assets, Plans and Trends was provided by a team convened by The Chicago Community Trust. The summary of assets for
this planning district was created by LISC Chicago and Teska Associates with materials from Metropolitan Planning Council, Place Consulting, Institute for Housing Studies at
DePaul University, and many other sources. Author: Patrick Barry.
Learn more about the North Lakefront and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/NorthLakefront. Learn more about data and sources at
NORTH LAKEFRONT PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
AN
SHERID
Evanston
CLARK
Gale ES
A Just Harvest
HOWARD
Rogers Park Farms
Howard
Northtown-Rogers Park Mental Health Ctr
Access
Gateway Center
Lang House B&B
Emil Bach House
Jarvis Square
Jarvis
ROGERS PARK
Chicago Math & Science HS
Loyola
Park
Former Adelphi Theater
Heartland Health
Rogers Park
Field ES
St. Jerome's Church
Morse
New Field ES
Rogers Park Business Alliance
Mayne Stage Theater
Glenwood Ave Arts
Glenwood Sunday
New 400 Theater
Rogers Park
ASHLAND
Kilmer ES
Sullivan HS
Chicago Waldorf School
Ruby Garden
See North Central
Planning District
Loyola
LAKE MICHIGAN
Loyola
Leather Archives
University
& Museum
Heartland Health
24TH
DEVON
Northside Catholic Academy
Centro Romero
Raven Theater
Hayt ES
Granville
Kindred- Lakeshore
Edgewater
Jewish Day School
Edgewater Workbench Thorndale
Rickover Naval Military HS
Swift ES
Senn HS
Broadway Armory
EDGEWATER
Former Edgewater Hospital
BRYN MAWR
Peirce ES
Bryn Mawr
Jewel Osco
Andersonville
Edgewater Historical Society
Lakewood
Balmoral
Historic District
Berwyn
Women and Children First
RAVENSWOOD
Methodist
Bezazian
Mccutcheon ES
St. Bonafice Cemetery
Asia on Argyle
Chinese Mutual Aid Association
Argyle Night Market
Uptown Entertainment District
Uptown Theater
Aragon
Riviera Theater
RefugeeOne
Uptown United
Bridgeview Bank
Org of the North East
Argyle
Lakeshore
Alternatives, Inc.
Peoples Music School
Inst of Cultural
Community
Ravenswood
Wilson Abbey
Affairs
Chase Park
Counseling Ctr
Cornerstone
Weiss
Wilson Skate Park
Arai Int’l MS
Winthrop Garden
Uptown Neighborhood Health Center
YCCS
Truman
AICC
Uplift Community HS
Wilson
Cricket Hill
Montrose Beach
Truman College
Former Stewart School
Black Ensemble Theater
Courtenay ES
Target
LAWRENCE
Dover Street District
Foster Beach
Swedish American Museum
Marianos
The Neo-Futurists
Goudy ES
FOSTER
Sheridan Park Historic District
41
Edge Theater
SHERIDAN
Asian Human
Services - Passages
St. Gregory the Great HS
Rainbo Condos
MONTROSE
Ravenswood ES
East Ravenswood
Historic District
41
UPTOWN
Graceland
Cemetery
Brennemann ES
Uptown
Target
Hutchinson Street
Historic District
Profiles Theater
Buena Park Historic District
Lake View HS
Thorek
Disney ES
Lycee Francais
DATE | 01.16.2015
NORTH LAKEFRONT PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
Evanston
JONQUIL
HOWARD
SSA#19
AN
SHERID
ASHLAND
PAULINA
CLARK
Howard/Paulina
Ward 49
Rogers Park Business Alliance
SSA#24
LAKE MICHIGAN
See North Central
Planning District
Devon/Sheridan
Ward 48
BROADWAY
DEVON
Devon/Western
Edgewater Chamber of Commerce
Edgewater/Ashland
RAVENSWOOD
Clark/Ridge
SSA#26
Hollywood/Sheridan
Edgewater Development Corporation
BRYN MAWR
SSA#22
Bryn Mawr/Broadway
Ward 40
Andersonville Chamber of Commerce
FOSTER
Lawrence/Broadway
Business Partners, The Chamber for Uptown
Uptown United
Clark/Montrose
LAWRENCE
Lakeside/Clarendon
Wilson Yard
Western Avenue North
SSA#31
SSA#34
Ravenswood Corridor
Montrose/Clarendon
MONTROSE
Ward 46
Ward 47
Planning District
*This planning area is located within the North Business & Industrial Council (LIRI)
DATE | 01.16.2015
15. LINCOLN PARK LAKEVIEW
Dense, high-income communities support healthy housing, retail
A short bike ride from the Lakefront Trail, close to
downtown, and filled with entertainment and shopping
choices, Lincoln Park and Lakeview are among Chicago’s
most in-demand neighborhoods. A destination for recent Big
10 college graduates, hangout for fans of the Chicago Cubs,
and location of theater, music, and comedy venues, these
adjacent lakefront neighborhoods are experiencing heavy,
ongoing reinvestment in residential, commercial, and public
structures.
Lincoln Park and Lakeview were once solidly working-class
neighborhoods whose residents worked in factories and
workshops along the river and rail spurs – or at downtown
jobs reachable by CTA trains and buses. The communities
were crowded and worn out after World War II, peaking in population with 227,000 residents in
1950. Ever since, as household sizes and population fell, the neighborhoods trended upward in
homeownership, education levels, and income, and became less diverse in the process.
The district has a remarkable mix of housing types, with 110-year-old rowhouses and cottages
alongside new balconied condominiums, just down the street from corner apartment blocks and highrises. Land uses are just as varied. The lakefront park is half-a-mile deep in many places, strung with
paths and lagoons, Belmont Harbor, Lake Shore Drive, and the free Lincoln Park Zoo and
Conservatory. Retail corridors have widely varied character, including the Belmont theater district,
gay-oriented Halsted Street in Boystown, and bars and restaurants along Clark Street in Wrigleyville.
To the west along the river and Ravenswood Avenue are reminders of the area’s industrial past, from
metal-recycling companies to big-box stores on former factory land.
The district has one of Chicago’s consistently strongest
LINCOLN PARK LAKEVIEW OVER TIME
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
housing markets, though today it faces fresh competition from
other neighborhoods to the north, west, and south. The
Population
182,747 154,665 152,123 159,137 158,484
highest housing values have traditionally been in Lincoln
Park, where new mansions go for $3 million or more, and
13.2%
13.1%
10.4%
8.7%
11.4%
elaborate rehabs are interspersed with new single-family,
townhouse, and condominium developments. After decades
12/88
24/76
28/72
34/66
39/61
of growth, the scarcity of available land means that teardowns
of less-valuable property are common. On the 2700 block of
North Lakewood, for instance, worker cottages once lined the
street and railroad tank cars served a candy factory at
Diversey. Now the tracks are abandoned, the factory is gone, and the block is almost full of new singlefamily homes with as many as six bedrooms and bathrooms, at prices to match.
Slightly less expensive than Lincoln Park, the Lakeview community has been coming on strong for
years, offering thousands of units in lakefront high-rises and many more on less-dense interior streets.
Like Lincoln Park and other hot neighborhoods to the west, including North Center, developable
parcels are mostly claimed by local developers, and “underutilized” buildings, including Single Room
Occupancy apartment buildings, are being converted to higher-end uses or torn down.
Investment drivers
In 2015, four major parcels are in transition to new uses that are likely to create ripple effects:

River Works – When steelmaker A. Finkl & Sons relocated to the South Side two years ago, this
parcel and the adjacent Guttman Tannery and A. Lakin rubber sites became available for future
uses. Extending along the river on both sides of Cortland Street, the 40 acres are in two Planned
Manufacturing Districts where retail and residential uses are prohibited. The economic
development group North Branch Works is conducting a $200,000 study to determine the
potential for new job-creating uses, including advanced manufacturing.

The 32-acre Lathrop Homes public housing complex is in the beginning stages of a
controversial $1.6 billion redevelopment to create a mixed-income community. The latest
master plan for the area calls for preservation of 14 historic structures north of Diversey and
construction of modern mid-rise buildings south of Diversey, for a total of 1,208 units. The plan
calls for improved riverfront access and new park space. Community debate has focused on
historic preservation and the reduced number of affordable housing units (212 affordable
rentals and 400 public housing units, versus 925 original units) in this increasingly expensive
part of the city.

Children’s Memorial site – Six acres that once served thousands of workers and visitors a day
have been idle since 2012 when the renamed Lurie hospital moved to Streeterville. A $300
million mixed-use redevelopment plan by McCaffery Interests was approved by the City
Council in 2014 but a lawsuit by residents in the surrounding historic district delayed
movement on the land sale (the lawsuit was dismissed in January 2015). Objections centered
around the development’s proposed density, with 540 apartments, 60 condominiums, and 160
senior units, plus retail space and a health club. In the meantime, nearby sandwich shops and
other businesses that once served the hospital have closed.

Wrigley Field and adjacent blocks are in line for years of construction as the Chicago Cubs
move forward on a $500 million renovation of the ballpark and construction of an adjacent
public plaza and 175-room Sheraton hotel on the west side of Clark Street. A separate
development on the south side of Addison will add 148 apartments and 170,000 square feet of
retail space fronting on both Addison and Clark. Many businesses in Wrigleyville cater to the
large crowds that converge on the area for Cubs home games.
Also in the works is a $31.5 million expansion of Lincoln Park at Fullerton as the Army Corps of
Engineers adds 5.8 acres of new park space to prevent shoreline erosion and relieve a pinch point in the
Lakefront Trail, which serves 13,800 bikers, hikers, and roller-bladers at Fullerton on an average
weekday. The improvements include conversion of the summer-only Theater on the Lake to a yearround performance and event space with a 400-seat theater.
Housing and retail
The resurgence of Lincoln Park began in the 1970s during the hippie era, when Old Town’s eclectic mix
of music clubs, shops, restaurants, and bars began attracting a citywide clientele. Housing was mostly
inexpensive and deteriorated, but that began to change as century-old cottages and townhouses were
rehabbed and upgraded. On the 1300 block of North Wells, the former Dr. Scholl’s foot-product
complex, a warren of 30 buildings, was converted to loft housing in the 1980s and renamed Cobbler’s
Square. This spurred development of brand-new housing on previously forbidding blocks to the west,
bringing new retail stores to Wells Street and more customers to the Second City comedy club at North
and Wells.
High-rise residential buildings were already the dominant use along the lakefront, but vitality spread
into the mixed low-rise areas to the west, which were well served by express buses to the Loop via
Lake Shore Drive. By the late 1980s, many of the older structures in Lincoln Park had been rehabbed
and the first waves of gentrification were moving into Lakeview. Just as hippies marked the first phase
of Old Town’s renewal, a growing gay
EMPLOYMENT – LINCOLN PARK LAKEVIEW
population was transforming Halsted Street
2005
2011
north of Belmont, where the concentration of
9,664
11,014
gay bars, music venues, and other attractions
9,350
9,693
Retail
Trade
9,016
8,657
became known as Boystown. East Lakeview is
Other Services (except Public Admin)
3,346
3,516
virtually shut down one weekend each year for
Professional, Scientific, and Tech Services
1,709
2,056
the Gay Pride parade, and the area remains a
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
1,950
1,883
Total
#
private-sector
jobs
in
district
46,706
48,327
major center of the city’s LGBT population,
despite outmigration of couples and families to
District Citywide
Andersonville and the North Lakefront. In
4.9%
12.9%
2004, the Center on Halsted opened at 3656 N.
Halsted as the Midwest’s largest community
center for the LGBT community, and in 2014, the nearby Town Hall Apartments debuted as the city’s
first LGBT-friendly senior housing development, with 79 units in a former police station and adjoining
new building.
With more than 23,000 residents per square mile – second highest density among the planning districts
after the North Lakefront – and relatively high incomes in many households, the Lincoln Park
Lakeview district supports more than 2,700 small businesses spread along Clark, Broadway, Halsted,
Lincoln, Southport, Belmont, and other streets. Character varies from street to street and continues to
evolve as rents increase and populations shift. Boutiques and specialty shops created a cluster early on
at Armitage and Halsted and continue to thrive there even as some shoppers have moved on to
Bucktown, Pilsen, and other new hotspots. The area around Cubs park, known as Wrigleyville, is
heavily served by sports-oriented restaurants and bars, some serving not just Cubs fans but Big 10
alums who gather to cheer their favorite college teams. Much of Lincoln Park benefits from DePaul
University, which has invested heavily in its 36-acre campus around Fullerton and Sheffield.
Belmont Avenue maintains its dominance as a theater district, with about 20 venues including the Briar
Street Theater, which has headlined the Blue Man Group continuously since 1997; the Athenaeum,
which hosts a dozen resident companies as well as touring troupes; the Laugh Factory and Comedy
Sportz; and the four-theater Stage 773, which features long-running shows and comedy festivals. The
blocks of Belmont near the CTA Red and Brown Line station were once known for punk clothing, army
surplus, and tattoo parlors, but are changing along with the neighborhood. At the triangular
intersection of Clark and Belmont, the former Dunkin Donuts and its surface parking lot are being
replaced by an eight-story, 90-unit apartment building with two floors of retail. Proximity to the
Belmont CTA station qualifies the building for reduced parking; it will have just 39 residential spaces.
CTA Red and Brown Line Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2013)
Red Line
Clark/
North/
Fullerton Belmont Addison Sheridan
Division Clybourn
2009
7,025
4,293
11,518
11,434
7,950
4,853
2013
7,468
5,707
13,362
12,822
7,981
Brown Line
Sedgwick Armitage Diversey
5,483
Wellington Southport
Paulina
3,308
3,811
5,133
2,426*
2,927
1,569
3,900
4,313
5,749
3,035
3,299
2,779
Source: Chicago Transit Authority Annual Ridership Reports. * Wellington ridership in row for 2009 is actually from 2010, because the station was closed
for reconstruction in part of 2009.
All of this activity is supported by the CTA’s heavily used Red, Brown, and Purple Line trains that
serve the neighborhoods. The area includes several of the CTA’s highest-ridership stations and has
shown substantial passenger growth in recent years.
After many years of strong demand for its housing and retail space, both Lincoln Park and Lakeview
face growing competition from other neighborhoods that offer similar or different lifestyle choices.
Most big-box retailers are now within a few miles drive; Logan Square, River North, and Humboldt
Park offer “edgier” street environments; and neighborhoods farther north have become bigger
attractions for the city’s LGBT population. High-quality housing choices, whether for families or
singles, are now more available in other neighborhoods than they were two decades ago, when Lincoln
Park and Lakeview were among the few upscale choices in Chicago.
Recent plans and studies include strategies to help the area maintain its competitive edge. The 2011
Lakeview Area Master Plan concentrates on the interconnected retail districts along Ashland, Belmont,
Southport, and Lincoln Avenue. It suggests better landscaping, “living” walls of greenery, gateways,
and branding of subdistricts to bring more life to the sidewalks and more shoppers to local stores. To
bring pedestrians from one district to another, the plan recommends turning the unused pathway
beneath the Brown Line tracks, between the Paulina and Southport stations, into a “Low Line” walking
trail with natural landscaping.
The 2013 North Clark Street Strategic Plan identifies a lack of recent reinvestment along Clark Street
between Diversey and Belmont. The diagonal street is heavily oriented for auto uses north of
Wellington, with big-box stores, parking lots, and drive-through banks creating a hostile environment
for pedestrians, especially at the six-way intersection of Halsted, Clark, and Barry. South of Wellington
is a more traditional Chicago streetscape, with stores on the ground floor and apartments above, but
sidewalks are too narrow for sidewalk cafes and landscaping is drab or missing. The plan recommends
bump-outs and wider sidewalks, landscaping improvements for parking lots, an inviting connector
alley between Clark and Broadway to bring foot traffic in both directions, and reconfiguration of the
six-way intersections to provide more public spaces and safer street crossings. Specific building and
façade improvements are also suggested to enliven the corridor and attract new retailers.
The 2010 Halsted Triangle Plan addresses a very different environment on the edge of the North
Branch Canal, between Division and North Avenue. This former industrial area has transmuted into a
mixed commercial, industrial, and entertainment zone, taking advantage of its location near the North
and Clybourn commercial district. A master plan suggests delineation of districts within the triangle
and related streetscape and pedestrian improvements, including better access to the riverfront. When
the Whole Foods store relocated to Kingsbury Avenue in the triangle, from north of North Avenue, it
extended the existing riverwalk and opened its back doors to a riverfront plaza, exactly the type of
changes recommended by the plan.
Three pending transportation projects will create additional opportunities in the district:

Ashland Bus Rapid Transit – The first phase of this proposed service would bring new transit
stations to North Avenue and Cortland Streets at Ashland, creating new nodes of activity; the
second phase would continue the line north to Irving Park Road.

CTA Belmont Flyover – This bridge for northbound Brown Line trains, over the Red and
Purple Line tracks, will provide more-frequent trains and relieve overcrowding on the CTA’s
busiest corridor. Construction would require demolition of up to 16 parcels north of Belmont
for track realignment, creating transit-oriented-development opportunities after project
completion.

Redefine the Drive – The 2014 North Lake Shore Drive Phase I Study is the first step in
complete redevelopment of the lakefront transportation system, including the drive itself, inner
drive, Lakefront Path, and connections to east-west arteries. The project offers major
opportunities to expand overall capacity, reduce traffic accidents and conflicts, and improve
conditions for CTA bus riders, cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.
With continued heavy reinvestment in both the commercial and residential sectors of Lincoln Park and
Lakeview, and with multiple plans in place to address weaknesses and barriers to growth, this
planning district is positioned for growth. The primary challenge for the district is to find a balance
among competing interests, and to maintain the social and physical environments that have made it
such a strong attraction.
Examples of development opportunities (to come)
Place
In-fill sites
Location
Various locations
Status
Small lots continue to be
developed with single-family
homes or three- and four-flat
residential buildings.
Notes
River Works (Finkl,
Guttman, Lakin
properties)
Around Cortland Avenue on
east side of Chicago River.
40 acre site in Planned
Manufacturing District is being
studied for potential uses.
North Branch Works, an economic
development nonprofit and city delegate
agency, is managing the study process.
Children’s Memorial
Hospital site
South of Fullerton, east of
Lincoln Avenue.
McCaffery Interests has
created detailed development
plan but had not yet purchased
the site as of late 2014.
Lawsuit by neighborhood opponents had
stalled progress but was dismissed in January
2015.
Former industrial areas
Multiple underutilized sites,
generally along Kingsbury,
Elston Avenue, and Chicago
River.
Many sites are in buffer zone
near Planned Manufacturing
District, allowing retail but not
residential uses.
Retail big-box stores have been added at
multiple locations on the western edges of
Lincoln Park.
CN2015 Planning Districts. Community Areas included in this profile are Lincoln Park and Lakeview.
Learn more about Lincoln Park Lakeview and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/LincolnParkLakeview. Learn more about
data and sources at cct.org/CN2015/DataSources.
LINCOLN PARK LAKEVIEW DISTRICT ASSET MAP
Wilson Yards
See North Lakefront
Planning District
Sheridan
Greeley ES
A
CL
RK
Straw Dog
Blaine ES
Music Box Theatre
Center on Halsted
Wrigley Field
19th
Wrigleyville
LAKEVIEW
St. Alphonsus Academy
Athenaeum Theatre
Wellington
Diversey Golf Course
Lakeview WIC Clinic
Signal of Peace Monumnet
DIVERSEY
Diversey
Riverfront Plaza
Alcott ES
Costco
RACINE
LOGAN SQUARE
Lakeview
Historic District
Timeline Theater
ArtDe Triumph Gallery
Agassiz ES
Lathrop Homes
Coyote Logistics, Green Exchange
Belmont Theater District
The Vic
Annoyance Theater
Laugh Factory
Briar Street Theater
Mt. Carmel
Belmont
St. Peter's Episcopal Church
Illinois Advocate Masonic
Mariano's
Northwestern Clinic
Schneider ES
AY
Burley ES
City Day School
Nettelhorst ES
Merlo
The Pointe
at Clark St.
Stage 773 and
Theater Wit
Future Retail
St. Luke
Academy
ADW
BRO
Lincoln Belmont
City College
Lakeview Learning
Hawthorne ES
Whole Foods
LGBT Senior Housing
Boystown
Southport
LAKE MICHIGAN
Lakeview Academy
Addison
Hamilton ES
Paulina
See North Central
Planning District
Anshe Emet Day School
Inter American
Magnet ES
Prescott ES
Chicago
Whirlyball
FULLERTON
Children's Unit
Mayer ES
Sheffield
Historic District
Lincoln ES
Fullerton
Mariano’s
Lincoln Park Conservatory
Former Children's
Memorial
DePaul University
St. Josaphat School
P. Notebaert Nature Museum
Lincoln Hall
Lincoln Park
Fullerton Plaza
94
Lincoln Park
Apollo Theater
St. Vincent de Paul Parish
Francis Parker
Lincoln Park Zoo
Mid North
Historic District
St. James Lutheran School
ARMITAGE
Lincoln Park HS
Armitage
Park West
LINCOLN PARK
See Milwaukee Ave
Planning District
CH Robinson
North Branch
Industrial Corridor
Home Depot
Newberry ES
North & Sheffield
Commons
NORTH
Lasalle ES
Steppenwolf Theatre
North/Clybourn
ELS
Wrigley
TON
Planned UI Labs
Apple Store
New
City
iO Theater
British School
of Chicago
McGrath Acura
Schiller ES
North Ave.
Volleyball
Courts
Old Town Triangle
Historic District
North Ave. Beach
Chicago History Museum
Second City
Latin School of Chicago
Sedgwick
Former Near North HS
CICS
ChicagoQuest
Zanies Theater
Catherine Cook School
Manierre
ES
Franklin ES
Stanton Park
Jewel
McGrath Lexus of Chicago
Near North
Old Town
Second City
Clark/Division
See Central
Planning District
DATE | 01.16.2015
LINCOLN PARK LAKEVIEW PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
47th Ward
HALSTED
RACIN E
See North Lakefront
Planning District
ASHLAND
See North Central Side
Planning District
46th Ward
SSA#18
LAKE MICHIGAN
ADDISON
Lakeview Chamber of Commerce
Central Lakeview Merchants Association
Lincoln/Belmont/Ashland
BELMON T
SSA#27
SSA#17
Addison South
SSA# 8
44th Ward
33nd Ward
DIVERSEY
32nd Ward
1st Ward
SSA#23
SSA#35
FULLER TON
North Branch North
43rd Ward
ARMITAGE
Planning District
Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce
Old Town Merchants &
Residents Association
North Branch South
2nd Ward
NORTH
SSA#48
Weed/Fremont
Goose Island
27th Ward
Eastman/North Branch
Division/North Branch
Near North
DIVISION
See Central
Planning District
*This planning area is located within the Local Economic &
Employment Development Council & North Business and Industrial Council (LIRI)
DATE | 01.16.2015
16. CENTRAL AREA
Booming business center supercharged by residential growth
Chicago’s Central Area has undergone transformational
changes over the last 40 years as the region’s commercial
core has added thousands of new homes, high-rise
university campuses, and regional recreational attractions.
The central city is booming, attracting new residents, new
businesses, and thousands of new jobs. It is by far the
biggest and most powerful economic driver of the city and
the region.
The Central Area has become a place to live, not just on the
Near North and Near South Sides, but in every quadrant
including the Loop. There have always been pockets of highincome residents on the Gold Coast and Prairie Avenue, but
in the 1970s the central city was home mostly for lowerincome families in housing projects and individuals living in
Single Room Occupancy hotels. Today, the 131,000 centralcity residents are a diverse mix of homeowners, high-rise
renters, college students, families, and empty nesters. Their
presence has helped fuel massive reinvestment in the central city, from transit infrastructure to the
lakefront park system, where the wildly successful Millennium Park is getting three new neighbors:
Maggie Daley Park with its ice-skating ribbon and enormous playground, a skateboard park in Grant
Park, and peaceful natural habitats on Northerly Island.
Nobody has done a full tally of investments recently completed or underway in the Central Area, but
they undoubtedly total in the tens of billions of dollars, including a pipeline of 6,400 new residential
units; a dozen hotel projects; clusters of new office towers at Wolf Point and elsewhere; McCormick
Place expansion; and construction of transit stations. Along with new corporate headquarters, the
central city is attracting digital technology businesses, filling huge spaces in the Merchandise Mart,
former Montgomery Ward catalog complex, Sullivan Center on State Street, and loft buildings in River
North. Filled with college students, theater-goers, and more tourists than ever before, the Central Area
is also upping its game in the eat-and-drink department, offering everything from sleek hotel bars and
fancy restaurants to vegan fare and food trucks.
Steady evolution
Today’s investments follow decades of incremental change that
began in the 1960s, when the Loop was not healthy at all. On State
Street, department stores were moving out, theaters were closing,
and porn shops were taking space in empty South Loop corridors.
Helping hold the center were the 1964 construction of Bertrand
Goldberg’s Marina City as a self-contained residential community,
the 1968 opening of the John Hancock Center on North Michigan
Avenue, and the 1973 debut of the Sears (now Willis) Tower as the
world’s tallest building. But downtown Chicago was in the same
situation as so many other Rust Belt cities. It was built for an
earlier era and struggling to adapt.
CENTRAL AREA OVER TIME
1970
1980
Population
83,887 80,869
1990
2000
2010
81,636
98,708
131,157
24.0%
26.4%
22.2%
16.4%
13.5%
6/94
25/75
29/71
42/58
45/55
Chicago adapted. Not dependent on a single industry like so many other cities, Chicago weathered the
decline thanks in part to strategic investments by corporations, developers, and city officials, all
designed to buttress the core economy and the half-million jobs it supported.
The next step was pivotal: conversion of downtown into a place to live. First came conversions of
vacant industrial lofts in Printers Row, starting in the early 1980s, which ultimately produced 1,260
apartments and condos on Dearborn south of Congress Parkway. At the same time, civic leaders and
developers engineered the creation of the Dearborn Park community on vacant railyards south of the
Dearborn Station clock tower. With financial
backing of the city’s top corporations, they
produced phase after phase of red-brick
townhouses, high-rises, senior housing, and
single-family homes, all within a subtly
designed fortress that walled off the harsher
realities on South State Street and beyond. By
1989, about 9,500 mostly middle-income
residents lived in Dearborn Park, Printers Row,
and nearby developments, as reported by
journalist Lois Wille in her book, At Home in the
Loop. A survey estimated the residents were 54
percent white, 40 percent African American,
and 6 percent Asian and Latino.
EMPLOYMENT – CENTRAL AREA
District
6.4%
Citywide
12.9%
Public Administration
2005
88,082
82,135
14,735
38,915
33,918
26,455
2011
104,900
78,209
75,645
48,626
41,077
38,516
447,283
559,858
That was the start of a 30-year virtuous cycle as vacant railyards, factory districts, and then public
housing developments were reclaimed for mixed-income or high-income housing and other uses.
South of Roosevelt Road, private developers extended Dearborn Park to 16th Street, while a different
team built the $3 billion Central Station neighborhood on 80 acres of Illinois Central land just west of
Lake Shore Drive. This reconnected downtown not only to the 19th Century mansions of Prairie
Avenue, but to the Museum Campus on the lakefront, the historic Motor Row on Wabash, and the area
now being recast as the McCormick Place entertainment district. More condos and townhouses sprang
up in a former auto-parts district at 19th and State Streets, and to the west on the edge of Chinatown.
Similar growth was taking place up north, first with the addition of residential lofts and art galleries in
River North, then new high rises on the Gold Coast and in Streeterville, and finally as old factories and
vacant lots east of Michigan Avenue were re-populated with residential high-rises and pricy
townhouses. There were pauses when the market stalled, such as in the 1990s when the current Illinois
East development served temporarily as a nine-hole golf course, and again when demand for
condominiums evaporated after the housing bust of 2007. Now, Illinois East is filling up with high-rises
and townhouses, and has enough families that the private Gems World Academy has opened a highrise school and is building a second tower to serve high school students. The condo market hasn’t yet
rebounded, but upmarket rental units are being built by the thousands.
The most recent change has been in the Loop itself, as Class C office buildings have been converted to
residential uses alongside modern residential high-rises, some with views of Millennium Park. About
15,000 of those now living in the central core are college students, many in dormitories developed and
managed by DePaul, Roosevelt, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, East-West University, and
Columbia College. Private developers are also building dorms, including the 111-unit conversion of the
Old Colony Building, 407 S. Dearborn, which began in late 2014. A study that year by the Chicago Loop
Alliance estimated that 22 colleges and universities in the Central Area served 58,000 students and
supported 14,000 employees. Their economic impact on the Loop alone: about $174 million in 2013.
Beyond residential
With 50,000 more residents than in 1990, and thousands more expected to fill the new units under
construction, the Central Area has evolved well beyond the nine-to-five environment that once
prevailed. Retail and grocery stores, once few and far between, are now tucked into existing buildings
and splayed out in mini-malls along Roosevelt Road, Clybourn, Division, Halsted, and State.
Residential and retail uses are intertwined with employment centers, creating unique districts on every
side of the Loop, each with its own challenges and opportunities.

Streeterville medical district – With the 2012 addition of Lurie Children’s Hospital, alongside
the Northwestern Memorial Hospital campus and the expanding Rehabilitation Institute of
Chicago, Streeterville now supports 66,500 jobs and 29,000 residents, according to the 2014
Streeterville Neighborhood Plan. Adjacent to Navy Pier, the area is straining under heavy
pedestrian, transit, and automobile loads; the Chicago Department of Transportation will lay
out improvement options in its 2015 River North Streeterville Transit Study. Placemaking,
environmental improvements, and preservation of historic structures, along with
transportation, are priorities outlined in the Streeterville neighborhood plan.

Roosevelt Road corridor – Land alongside the raised Roosevelt Road bridge between State
Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway has been built up with big-box shopping centers, the
Roosevelt Collection residential and shopping development, and a Target store. Just north of
Roosevelt, the private British School of Chicago in 2015 will open its new 1,000-student
preschool-to-12th-grade facility. East of State Street, new separated bike lanes and wider
sidewalks are being added to provide safer connections to the Museum Campus.

West Loop – Presidential Towers was the first of many residential developments on what had
been Chicago’s Skid Row, adding 2,347 rental units in four towers. Office high-rises, loft
conversions, retail, and corporate facilities have followed, drawn in part by immediate access to
Ogilvie and Union stations. Two 2015 projects to speed access to and from those stations are the
Central Loop Bus Rapid Transit system, linking the stations to Michigan Avenue and Navy Pier,
and the Union Station Transportation Center, which will provide off-street bus boarding and
underground access to the rail platforms. The 2012 Chicago Union Station Master Plan Study
calls for platform and access improvements to boost capacity for Metra and Amtrak.

River North – Once a jumble of parking lots and half-empty loft buildings, the area north of the
river and west of State Street has incorporated a restaurant and entertainment district amidst
dozens of glassy residential buildings. Merchandise Mart has become Chicago’s high-tech hub,
home to Motorola Mobility and the 1871 incubator, with many other tech businesses nearby.
Three new high-rises are under construction at the river’s bend: Wolf Point West, a 500-unit
apartment building; 150 N. Riverside, a 53-story office building; and River Point, a 52-story
office tower that will include a river walk and park.

North and Clybourn – Like Roosevelt Road, the North and Clybourn shopping district has
become a regional attraction, jamming the local streets with cars and shoppers going to the
Apple Store, Whole Foods, Crate and Barrel, and home-furnishings stores. The New City
development along Clybourn east of Halsted will add a Mariano’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, 14screen theater complex, bowling alley, and 200 residential units.

Goose Island – Goose Island was losing jobs and companies in the 1980s when local
manufacturers and economic development activists rallied to create Chicago’s first Protected
Manufacturing District. The close-in location proved out as new facilities were built and others
rehabbed; now Goose Island and surrounding areas support 100 businesses and 5,000 jobs,
including the Wrigley Innovation Center. Kendall College runs its hospitality and culinary-arts
programs on the island; South Street Capital is building or rehabbing 600,000 square feet of new
tech space; and the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute will open in the
former Republic Windows plant in 2015.
All this is in addition to continued investment in the central corridors. Once-struggling State Street now
has few vacancies; even the long-troubled Block 37 mall is filling up, adding a dine-in theater complex,
new restaurants, and a 690-apartment tower. Activity along North Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent
Mile has been strong enough to push development south of the river, where boutique hotels and tourist
stores face Millennium Park. Convention and tourism numbers are at an all-time high, exceeding 48
million in 2013, pouring fuel on the hotel boom and boding well for the 2015 debut of the Chicago
Riverwalk and new lakefront parks.
With a 31 percent share of workers walking to work and 27 percent more arriving by public transit, the
Central Area is the most pedestrian-oriented part of the region, creating a dense and lively
environment of workers, shoppers, tourists, students, and families. More even than before, the central
city is a mixed economy, with a dozen drivers from government and finance to tech and tourism.
The Central Area’s core challenge is to extend and leverage today’s growth as much as possible – and
as widely as possible – while avoiding potential consequences such as unmanageable traffic congestion
or high costs that make the area unaffordable for residents, merchants, or workers. Here are four
opportunities to extend the gains:
Mixed-income communities already exist and could be expanded on either end of the Central Area as
the Chicago Housing Authority redevelops the former Cabrini-Green site on the Near North Side and
the Harold Ickes development at Cermak Road. Options for the Cabrini site are outlined in two plans,
the CHA’s 2014 Cabrini Green Draft Redevelopment Zone Plan and the forthcoming 2015 Near North
Quality-of-Life Plan. The area now includes new mixed-income housing including 434 public housing
units, a new Jesse White Tumbling Center, and 438 vacant units in the Cabrini rowhouses, whose
redevelopment is controlled by a court consent decree. CHA plans more mixed-income developments
on large vacant parcels it controls. Also in the area is the 307-unit Atrium Village at Division and Wells,
whose careful economic and racial integration in the 1970s set a high standard for similar
developments; a city-approved redevelopment plan for the aging complex calls for up to 1,500 units,
with 20 percent reserved as affordable.
On the south, the CHA in late 2014 issued a request for proposals for the 11.3-acre Ickes site on the
southwest corner of Cermak and State. The RFP sought proposals for a mixed retail and housing
development with at least 200 public housing units as well as affordable and market-rate housing; the
usual CHA mix is one third in each category. The site is one-half block from the CTA Green Line’s new
Cermak station, which will open in 2015.
Transportation improvements are critical to support further growth in central city jobs and
population. Numerous studies have called for faster circulation from the Metra stations to Michigan
Avenue, Streeterville, the Museum Campus, and other locations. The Central Loop Bus Rapid Transit
project, under construction in 2015, will partially address this need, while a mayoral task force prepares
transit recommendations to serve the Museum Campus and proposed Lucas Museum. Other priorities
include expanded capacity at Union Station; on the Red Line, which is at capacity during rush periods;
and on lakefront express bus routes. CTA stations downtown serve 220,000 boarding passengers per
weekday; Metra serves about 124,000 (see transit ridership charts at end of section).
Public schools in the Central Area have not kept pace with residential development, offering little
choice in terms of neighborhood schools that admit all students living in the attendance area. The
Central Area has very strong private schools (Francis Parker, Xavier Warde, British School, Latin
School) and selective-enrollment high schools (Payton, Jones), but few high-performing neighborhood
elementary schools. This is a longstanding barrier to maintaining economic and racial diversity in the
central city.
Finally, digital technology. Chicago has rapidly evolved as a center of software firms and data centers;
the new Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute offers new potential for growth. The
institute began work in late 2014 with more than 30 academic partners and 40 corporate supporters
including Caterpillar, John Deere, Boeing, Siemens, GE, and Dow. With $320 million in startup
commitments from the federal government and other partners, the institute could position Chicago as a
national center for new manufacturing technologies, and create spinoff benefits in nearby industrial
corridors.
The city’s heritage as an industrial and railroad behemoth has already fueled 40 years of growth in the
central area. Much more opportunity exists. The enormous Main Post Office over the Eisenhower
Expressway (I-290), vacant for 18 years, was put up for sale in December 2014. Sixty-two acres of empty
railyard are just south of Roosevelt along the South Branch, and will be served by the planned
Wentworth Avenue Extension. More land is available on either side of Bertrand Goldberg’s River City
development on the South Branch. On the North Branch, the Chicago Tribune plans redevelopment of
seven acres next to its printing plant. The 2003 Chicago Central Area Plan suggests “decking over” the
Kennedy Expressway (I-90/94) between Monroe and Washington, which would create new park space
and spur high-density development nearby. As transit capacity is improved, much more can be done
on land now dedicated to surface parking lots and other low-value uses.
Always the city and region’s economic engine, the Central Area remains a powerful driver of change,
with its full potential not yet realized. Coordinated and context-sensitive efforts by civic leaders,
government agencies, neighborhood groups, and private developers will be key to building a better,
stronger central city.
Place
Rail land south of
Roosevelt
Location
Bounded by Roosevelt,
16th, Clark, and Chicago
River.
Main post office
Over the Eisenhower
Expressway west of the
Chicago River.
Status
City of Chicago in 2014
approved acquisition of
this parcel for
redevelopment.
Former owner put the
property up for sale in
late 2014; has been
vacant for 18 years.
Notes
City is soliciting interest from developers; the
planned Wentworth Connector project will create
access via Wentworth through middle of site.
Very large site will require major investment and
multiple uses.
Surface parking lots
Multiple locations in West
Loop, River North, South
Loop.
East of Chicago
River South Branch,
adjacent to River
City
West of Wells Street,
south of Van Buren
Many of these properties
generate revenue with
parking while awaiting
development
opportunities.
Properties have been
vacant since before
construction of River City
in mid-1980s.
Condominium developer CMK Companies
purchased 1.8 acre site south of River City in late
2014.
CTA Central Area Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2013*)
Red Line
Cermak
Roosevelt
Chinatown
2009
3,414
9,547
2013
4,428*
11,739
3,316
11,760
9,593
15,827
9,149
13,440
Clark/
Division
7,025
4,199
10,932
10,141
18,372
10,763
15,085
7,468
Harrison
Jackson
Monroe
Lake
Grand
Chicago
Loop (Orange, Pink, Green, Brown, Purple Lines)
Harold
Washington/ Quincy/
LaSalle/
Adams/ Madison/ Randolph/
Washington
Wells
Wells
VanBuren
Wabash
Wabash
Wabash
Library
2009
6,845
7,326
3,092
4,126
7,757
5,683
6,956
2013
7,481
7,978
2,933
4,148
7,205
7,027
7,330
Blue Line
2009
1,768
7,125
5,746
7,427
2,648
2,737
2013
2,501
10,504
7,314
8,267
3,027
3,462
6,908
Washington
Monroe
5,707
Clark/
Lake
9,043
18,135
9,806
19,260
Brown Line
Merchandise
Mart
5,859
Grand
State/
Lake
North/
Clybourn
4,293
Jackson
LaSalle
Clinton
Chicago
Sedgwick
5,121
3,308
6,757
3,900
Source: Chicago Transit Authority Annual Ridership Reports. * South Red Line reconstruction in 2013 shifted ridership to the Green Line and buses,
creating variance in normal ridership patterns. Cermak Chinatown ridership is from 2012 rather than 2013 because that station was closed for five months
during reconstruction.
Metra Central Area Ridership (weekday boardings, 2006 and 2014*)
2006
Union
Station
54,388
Ogilvie
Station
37,564
2014
54,422
39,553
LaSalle
Millennium
Van Buren
Station
Station
17,026
13,152
4,634
13,239
10,353
Museum
18th St.
Campus
443
29
3,325
429
41
McCormick
Place
137
92
Source: Metra Commuter Rail System Station Alighting/Boarding Count, Summary Results, Spring 2014. Note: 2014 ridership
Important aspects of Central Area growth could not be adequately covered here, but are referenced in other
narratives in this series: the Near West Side, which includes the Greektown and Fulton Innovation districts;
Lincoln Park Lakeview, which touches on Old Town and the riverfront at North and Clybourn; Stockyards, which
discusses the expansion of Chinatown into surrounding neighborhoods; and Bronzeville South Lakefront, which
includes the areas from McCormick Place south.
CN2015 Planning Districts. Community Areas included in this profile are Central Area, Near South Side, and Near North Side.
Learn more about the Central Area and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/CentralArea. Learn more about data and
CENTRAL PLANNING DISTRICT ASSET MAP
DIVISION
Clark/Division
18TH
Gold Coast
Seward Park
Jenner ES
Payton Prep HS
Salazar ES
Moody Bible Institute
Ogden ES
St. Joseph MS
NEAR NORTH SIDE
See Milwaukee Ave
Planning District
North Michigan Avenue
Water Tower
John Hancock Center
Museum of Contemporary Art
Water Tower Place
Water Works
Le Cordon Bleu
Francis Cabrini Row Homes
CHICAGO
Loyola University Chicago
Chicago
Groupon
Rehabilitation Institute
Lurie Children's Hospital
Northwestern Memorial
Driehaus Museum
STATE
River North Gallery District
Grand
Jardine Water Plant
41
Magnificent Mile
Navy Pier
Chicago Children's Museum
Grand
GRAND
U of C Gleacher Center
Google
KINZIE
Tribune Tower
Museum of Broadcast Communication
Chicago Riverwalk
Merchandise Mart
Kinzie Bike Lane
Chicago School of Psychology
Chicago Sun Times
Hispanic Housing Dev. Corp.
Merchandise Mart
The Wrigley Building
University of
Phoenix
Illinois Institute
of Art
Argosy University
Clinton
Harold Washington College
Clark/Lake
94
City of Chicago
Ogilvie
Willis Tower
Maggie Daley Park
Monroe
Jackson Jackson
Grant Park
LaSalle/Van Buren Pritzker Park
Van Buren St.
Harold Washington Library
Clinton
Chicago Bus Terminal
Buckingham
Fountain
Jones Prep HS
Columbia College Chicago
Harrison
Spertus College
LaSalle
HARRISON
LaSalle St.
Chicago
NEAR WEST SIDE
Public Schools
Noble Charter Muchin
YCCS Charter Innovations
Noble Charter Academy
LAKE
MICHIGAN
Culture/Entertainment
The Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago Symphony Center
American Academy of Art
Pritzker Museum & Library
The Art Institute of Chicago
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Adams/Wabash
Quincy
Union Station
Safer Foundation (CWF)
Monroe
LOOP
Union Station
Kent College of Law
Harris Theater
Millennium Park
Washington
Adler School
of Psychology
Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Millennium Station
Macy's
Washington
Washington/Wells
Civic Opera House
See Near West Side
Planning District
Northwestern University
Chicago
Holy Name Cathedral
Jesse White
Field House
Universities
Westwood College
Notre Dame Exec. Business and Law
DePaul University
John Marshall Law School
Roosevelt University
Robert Morris University
National Louis University
The School of Art Institute
East-West University
Village Leadership Academy
90
Museum Campus
Shedd Aquarium
Target
Whole Foods
Roosevelt
Roosevelt
MICHIGAN
CLARK
LOWER WEST SIDE
Soldier Field
Daystar School
16TH
Ping Tom Mem. Park Fieldhouse
Planning District
Glessner House Museum
Clarke House Museum
Chicago
Perspectives Charter HS
Women's
Park
Chinatown
CERMAK
Future Hotel
ARMOUR SQUARE
St. Therese Chinese School
Sun-Yet-Sen Park
18th St.
Future Lucas Museum
DePaul Basketball
Arena
National Teachers ES
Redmoon Theater
Northerly Island
41
1ST
Chinatown
Coal for a Better Chin Am Comm
Chinese American Srvc League
Chinatown Square
Chinatown Chamber of Commerce
Midwest Asian Health
Chinatown Gateway
Nine Dragon Wall
Adler Planetarium
The Field Museum
South Loop ES
Arie Crown Theatre
G
NEAR SOUTH SIDE
Chinese American Museum
Haines ES
Chinatown
Graham ES
Park 540
McCormick Place
McCormick Place
55
DATE | 01.16.2015
CENTRAL PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAP
Near North
27th Ward
2nd Ward
Chicago/Kingsbury
Streeterville Chamber of Commerce
Ohio/Wabash
GRAND
River North Business Association
River West
42nd Ward
KINZIE
Kinzie Industrial
Corridor
Planning District
West Loop Community Organization
Chicago Loop Alliance
LaSalle Central
LAKE SHORE DRIVE
COLUMBUS
MICHIGAN
CLARK
Canal St/Congress Expy
STATE
SSA# 1
LAKE MICHIGAN
HARRISON
See Near West Side
Planning District
Jefferson/Roosevelt
ROOSEVELT
4th Ward
River South
11th Ward
Near South
25th Ward
Roosevelt/Canal
Pilsen Industrial
Corridor
CERMAK
3rd Ward
Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce
Calumet/Cermak Rd
Michigan/Cermak
Archer Courts
24th/Michigan
Planning District
Near South Planning Board
See Stockyards
Planning District
See Bronzeville/South Lakefront
Planning District
*This planning area is located within the North Business & Industrial Corridor, the Local Economic &
Employment Development Council, and the Eighteenth Street Development Corp. (LIRI)
DATE | 01.16.2015
Focus group meetings
LISC convened 15 focus group meetings between June and October 2014 at locations around the city. Each meeting included a
mapping exercise to identify assets, followed by general discussion of neighborhood characteristics. The assets information was
combined with data, recommendations from past plans, recent news, public announcements, and historic information to create the
narrative descriptions in this booklet.
Bronzeville South Lakefront – June 26 – hosted by Quad Communities Development Corp., 4659 S. Cottage Grove Avenue
Calumet – June 26 – hosted by Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives at U.S. Bank, 1000 E. 111th Street
North Lakefront – June 27 – hosted by Uptown United and Bridgeview Bank, 4753 N. Broadway Avenue
Stockyards – July 29 – hosted by Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council at Back of the Yards High School, 2111 W. 47th Street
South Side – July 30 – hosted by Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corp. at Urban Partnership Bank, 7801 S. State Street
Stony Island – July 30 – hosted by Claretian Associates, 9100 S. Burley Avenue
Far Southwest Side – August 5 – hosted by Beverly Area Planning Association, 11109 S. Longwood Drive
Midway – August 5 – hosted by Southwest Organizing Project, 2558 W. 63rd Street
Northwest Side – August 6 – hosted by Northwest Side Housing Center, 5007 W. Addison Street
North Central – August 12 – hosted by North River Commission at North Park University, 3225 W. Foster Avenue
Milwaukee Avenue – August 14 – hosted by LUCHA at Humboldt Park Residence, 1152 N. Christiana Avenue
Lincoln Park Lakeview – August 14 – hosted by Near North Unity Project at DePaul University, 1110 W. Belden Avenue
West Side – August 27 – hosted by BUILD, 5100 W. Harrison Street
Near West Side – August 27 – hosted by Near West Side Community Development Corp. at Westhaven Park, 1939 W. Lake Street
Central Area – October 15 – hosted by LISC Chicago, 135 S. LaSalle Street
LISC did not convene a meeting for the Pilsen Little Village district because the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning had
conducted multiple meetings with stakeholders in 2013 and 2014. LISC used material from those meetings for this report.
Participants
LISC Chicago thanks the following individuals for their participation in focus groups between June and October 2014. Lists were
compiled from sign-in sheets and may not include all participants. Our apologies for any omissions or spelling errors.
Malek Abdulsamad, Streeterville Organization of Active Residents
Patricia Abrams, The Renaissance Collaborative
Mimi Acciari ,Lincoln Bend Chamber of Commerce
Ramesh Ariyanayakam, Northalsted Business Alliance
Ed Bannon, Six Corners Association
Kimberly Bares, Place Consulting
Kevin Barbeau, Old Town Merchants and Residents Association
Jeff Bartow, Southwest Organizing Project
Alyssa Berman-Cutler, Uptown United
Ciere Boatright, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives
Michael Boos, Wolf Lake Initiative
Andrew Born, Austin Coming Together
George Borovik, Portage Park Chamber of Commerce
Raul Botello, Albany Park Neighborhood Council
Trinette Britt-Johnson, Edgewater Development Corp.
Lorraine Brochu, Pullman Civic Organization
Patrick Brosnan, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council
Roslind Buford, BUILD
Asiaha Butler, Resident Association of Greater Englewood
Kate Calabra, Metropolitan Planning Council
Emilio Carasquillo, Neighborhood Housing Services
C.W. Chan, Coalition for a Better Chinese-American Community
Craig Chico, Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council
Tameeka Christian, St. Anthony's Hospital
Alice Collius, Beverly Area Planning Association
Bill Curry, Breakthrough Urban Ministries
Dr. Paul De Neui, North Park University
Mike Demetriou, Baum Realty
Dave Doig, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives
Michael Edwards, Chicago Loop Alliance
Mary Ellen Drake, Chatham/Avalon Park Community Council
Sr. Regina Dubickas, Sisters of St. Casimir
Emily Emmerman, Gary Comer Youth Center
Sue Enright, Lakeview Pantry
Chris Fahey, Illinois Medical District
Maureen Fitzpatrick, Wright College (City Colleges)
Sol Flores, La Casa Norte
Leana Flowers, Bronzeville Retail Initiative
Ghian Foreman, Greater Southwest Development Corp.
Val Free, The Planning Coalition / South Shore
John Friedmann, North River Commission/Horner Park Neighbors
Glen Fulton, Greater Englewood Community Development Corporation
Judy Gall, Alternatives
Rev. Tom Gaulke, First Lutheran Church of the Trinity
Stephen Gazaway, KLEO Community Family Life Center
Kenneth Gilkes Jr., South Shore Chamber of Commerce
Peggy Goddard, Catholic Youth Ministry
Margie Gonwa, Beverly Area Planning Association
Chely Gonzalez, The Resurrection Project parent mentor
Mike Granzow, Habitat for Humanity
Linda Greene, Lucas Greene Associates
John Groene, Neighborhood Housing Services West Humboldt Park
Perry Gunn, Teamwork Englewood
Marva Hall, Kennedy-King College
Donna Hampton-Smith, Washington Park Chamber
Major David Harvey, Salvation Army
Vorricia Harvey, Interstate Realty Management Company
Tim Heppner, Ecotelligent Design
Tiffany Hightower, Developing Communities Project
Jenn Hockema, Near North Unity Program
Mike Holzer, North Branch Works
Phil Hunter, Faith Community of St. Sabina
Angela Hurlock, Claretian Associaties
Manny Jimenez, Marquette Bank
Brandon Johnson, SECC/QCDC Board Member
John Paul Jones, Sustainable Englewood Initiatives
Hannah Jones, Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago
Kristin Komara, The Resurrection Project
Mark Kruse, Hispanic Housing
Frank Kryzak, Beverly Area Planning Association
Grace Kuikman, Beverly Area Planning Association
Abraham Lacy, Far South Community Development Corp.
Valerie Leonard, Consultant
Paul Levin, Logan Square Chamber of Commerce
Juan Carlos, Linares LUCHA
Teresita Lopez, Catalyst/Maria School
Joseph Lopez, Envisage Strategy, LLC
Michelle Lugalia-Hollon, Polk Bros. Foundation
Reid Mackin, Belmont-Central Chamber of Commerce
J. Brian Malone, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization
Maureen Martino, Lakeview East Chamber of Commere
Dominica McBride, Be-Come Inc
Melissa McDaniel, North River Commission
John McDermott, Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA)
David McDowell, Southwest Organizing Project
Gail Merritt, Alliance for a Greener South Loop
Harry Meyer, Southwest Organizing Project
Chase Morris, LUCHA
Sharyne Moy Tu, Chinatown Chamber of Commerce
Salvador Munoz, LUCHA
Tracy Murry, 9th Ward - Alderman Beale
Liz Muscare, Avondale Neighborhood Association
Carlos Nelson, Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation
Sharon O'Malley, Presence Healthcare
Dennis O'Neill, Connecting 4 Communities
Jennifer Parks, Habitat for Humanity
William Pettis, South Chicago YMCA
Kris Pierre, Northeastern University
Andrea Porter, Claretian Associates
Lee Pratter, The Community Builders
Sandy Price, Rogers Park Business Allliance
Mike Quinlan, Near West Side Community Development Corp.
Andrea Reed, Greater Roseland Chamber of Commerce
Tasha Robinson, South Chicago Art Center
Gabriela Roman, Spanish Coalition for Housing
James Rudyk, Northwest Side Housing Center
Shari Runner, Chicago Urban League
Dennis Ryan, Holy Cross Hospital
Peggy Salazar, Southeast Environmental Task Force
Norma Sanders, Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation
Rosalind Scufield, Clara’s House
Danny Serrano, Bickerdike Revelopment Corp.
Ellen Shepard, Andersonville Chamber
Darnell Shields, Austin Coming Together
Janece Simmons, Neighborhood Housing Services
Lesley Slavitt, Roosevelt University
Casey Smagala, Albany Park Community Center
Debbie Smith, Greater Northwest Chicago Development Corp.
Martin Sorge, Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce
Ted Stalnos, Calumet Area Industrial Commission
Josh Stillman, LUCHA
Melvin Thompson, The Endeleo Institute
Angela Tomaka, Holsten Development Corp.
Mike Tomas, Garfield Park Community Council
Morgan Tomaso, Baum Realty
Sandy Traback, Peace & Education Coalition
Joanna Trotter, University of Chicago Community Engagement
Mildred Wiley, Bethel New Life
Alex Wilson, West Town Bikes
Carla Wilson, West Town Chamber of Commerce
Sherelle Withers, Lake Kinzie Industrial Business Council / Garfield Park
Renaissance Corp
Madeleine Tudor, Field Museum
Victor Valle, ONE Northside
Kace Wakem, West Town Chamber of Commerce
Wendy Walker-Williams, South East Chicago Commission
Marcie Walsh, Beverly Area Planning Association
Sr. Immacula Wendt, Sisters of St. Casimir
Sharon Wheeler, Near North Unity Project
Jessica Wobbekind, Wicker Park Bucktown SSA #33
Tracie Worthy, Lawndale Christian Development Corp.
Ted Wysocki, U2Cando
Lisa Young, The Michaels Organization
LISC also conducted an online citywide survey to identify additional assets and solicit comments about each planning district. The
survey was promoted heavily by email and social media; it engaged more than 209 individuals and resulted in 61 completed
responses. All 16 of the districts were represented in the survey results, which were incorporated as appropriate into the narratives
and maps.
Notes on Data and other Sources
LISC Chicago gathered data from many sources to provide accurate, consistent information in the Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 profiles.
Context and Trends
 Focus group discussions in each planning district were used to identify investment trends, population shifts, and other
dynamic information; this was verified with relevant data and further research.
Demographics
 Population by community area is from U.S. Census in 2010, 2000, and previous years. These high-level numbers are
considered more accurate than more-current estimates from the American Community Survey.
 Racial and ethnic mix, income levels, housing composition, housing market conditions, education, local employment, and
other details are from sources developed by the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University. That data and details on
sources is at cct.org/CN2015/datasources.
 Household income mix by community area is from the Woodstock Institute data portal, using data from Easy Analytic
Software Inc., updated January 2014.
Projects with Government Support
 Dollar amounts, acreage, square footage, construction schedules, and other details are from official announcements by City of
Chicago, State of Illinois, and other agencies.
Private Development
 Dollar amounts, acreage, construction schedules, and other details are from news sources (Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times,
Crain’s Chicago Business, DNAinfo, Curbed Chicago, Chicago Magazine, etc.) and/or websites of owners or development firms.
Schools
 Information on 2013 school closings and possible reuse of empty buildings is from 2013 School Repurposing & Community
Development, Chicago Public Schools.
Transportation
 Chicago Transit Authority ridership is average weekday boardings in year-end reports, 2013 and earlier.


Metra ridership is from 2006 and 2014 ridership counts. Since 2014 ridership was counted in the spring, versus fall counts in
2006, it reflects a roughly 5 percent lower, seasonal ridership level. Any variance greater than -5% is likely reflective of
changes in population, employment, usage, and other factors.
CREATE freight rail information is from project fact sheets at createprogram.org.
Plans
 The narratives were informed by many previous plans as well as new plans now underway; direct links to the referenced
plans are provided whenever possible. Summaries of plans reviewed by Metropolitan Planning Council can be found at
cct.org/CN2015.
History
 Landmarks, dates of construction, locations, and other data are from official sources and/or published books, plans, and
reports. Primary references used include:
o At Home in the Loop: How Clout and Community Built Chicago’s Dearborn Park, Lois Wille, Southern Illinois University
Press, 1998
o Black Metropolis: A Study of Negro Life in a Northern City, Revised and Enlarged Edition, St. Claire Drake and Horace R.
Cayton, The University of Chicago Press, 1945, 1993
o Central Station: Realizing a Vision, Gerald W. Fogelson with Joe Marconi, Racom Communications, 2007
o Chicago: A Historical Guide to the Neighborhoods: The Loop and South Side, Glen E. Holt and Dominic A. Pacyga, Chicago
Historical Society, 1978
o Chicago: Metropolis of the Mid-Continent, Second Edition, Irving Cutler, The Geographic Society of Chicago and
Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1973, 1976
o Chicago 1910-29: Building, Planning, and Urban Technology, Carl W. Condit, The University of Chicago Press, 1973
o Chicago 1930-70: Building, Planning, and Urban Technology, Carl W. Condit, The University of Chicago Press, 1974
o Confronting the Color Line: The Broken Promise of the Civil Rights Movement in Chicago, Alan B. Anderson and George W.
Pickering, University of Georgia Press, 1986
o Ethnic Chicago: A Multicultural Portrait, Fourth Edition, Edited by Melvin G. Holli and Peter d’A. Jones, William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1977, 1995
o Local Community Fact Book, Chicago Metropolitan Area 1990, The Chicago Fact Book Consortium, 1995
o Local Community Fact Book, Chicago Metropolitan Area, Based on the 1970 and 1980 Censuses, The Chicago Fact Book
Consortium, 1984
o
o
Rusted Dreams: Hard Times in a Steel Community, Robert Bensman and Roberta Lynch, McGraw-Hill Book Company,
1987
South Chicago U.S.A., A photographic essay by James J. Klekowski, Ellis Avenue Studios, 2002
Asset Mapping Sources
Focus Groups
 A focus group in each of the planning districts included an asset mapping exercise in which participants corrected and added
assets to base maps.
City of Chicago Data Portal
 Streets, Community Areas, public schools, waterways, industrial corridors, landmarks, libraries, transit stations, and parks
were obtained from City of Chicago Data Portal as of July 2014. The information was corrected based on a review of field
data, past projects, and participation with focus groups.
Review of Plans
 Teska reviewed the plan summaries conducted by MPC/PLACE and referred to original maps and lists of assets in the
planning documents for inclusion in the CN2015 Asset Maps.
Asset Studies
 Creating Development Opportunities in Chicago’s Calumet Region, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives
 The Greater Englewood Community Asset Report, Greater Englewood Community Development Corporation
 accelerate 77, Institute for Cultural Affairs, www.accelerate77.net
Notes on Methodology
 The Asset Maps do not include all possible categories or individual places of interest. These maps are an initial guide to local
and regional assets based on data, input from local stakeholders, and past plans and studies.
 Only a limited number of non-profit organizations are shown due to limited spacing and the rich non-profit environment
throughout the City of Chicago. More comprehensive listings of service organizations, community gardens, and other nonprofit organizations are available via special-interest listings or citywide aggregations such as accelerate77.
 Similarly, while Chicago Public Schools are noted, only a limited number of private and parochial schools are identified.
Early childhood centers are not shown on the maps due to the large number of locations throughout the city.
Research support for Chicago Neighborhoods 2015: Assets, Plans and Trends was provided by a team convened by The Chicago
Community Trust. The summary of assets for this planning district was created by LISC Chicago and Teska Associates with
materials from Metropolitan Planning Council, Place Consulting, Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University, and many other
sources.
Susana Vasquez, Executive Director
Keri Blackwell, Deputy Director
Jake Ament, Program Officer
Justin Altay, Intern
Patrick Barry, Author
Scott Goldstein, AICP and LEED AP, Principal
Heidy Valenzuela, Associate
Brittany Bagent, Associate

All 16 District Summaries

Transcription

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