CHICAGO
M AROON The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892
Like a G6 Far East Movement sat down to talk about their new album Free Wired
Voices, page 6
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011 • VOLUME 122, ISSUE 50 • CHICAGOMAROON.COM
HYDE PARK
PROTESTS
Whole Foods signals Hyde Students march for housekeeper jobs Park potential for big business By Crystal Tsoi Senior News Staff Following the recent announcement that Whole Foods Market will open at 51st Street and Lake Park Avenue in 2014, new details have emerged regarding the specifics of the organic foods supermarket’s decision to come to Hyde Park, as well as an increased response from the community. Antheus Capital, which will own and manage Whole Foods’s property in Hyde Park, has worked closely with former Alderman Toni Preckwinkle and Interim Alderman Shirley Newsome for years to bring retail to Hyde Park, according to Director of Community Development at Antheus Capital Peter Cassel. “It used to be that developers picked retailers but that is no longer true,” Cassel said. “We didn’t pick Whole Foods. Whole Foods picked Hyde Park.” Ta l k s a b o u t p o s s i b l e r e t a i l ers coming to the development on the southwest corner of East 51st Street and South Lake Park Avenue started about a year ago in the midst of a wave of retail expansion in neighboring Harper Court.
According to Cassel, several national supermarket chains expressed interest in expanding into Hyde Park, “but in the end, Whole Foods was the retailer that was able to finalize a lease.” “I think that the people over at Whole Foods know who shops at their stores and they know Whole Foods best. They’ve put a lot of thought into it,” Cassel said when asked about whether Whole Foods’s high prices will appeal to the residents of Hyde Park. In a Chicago Sun-Times article on May 5, Michael Bashaw, president of Whole Foods’ Midwest region indicated that the company’s decision for real estate development in a certain area “requires [that] a complex set of circumstances be met, including available and appropriate property,” as well as the appropriate demographics. The “mixed-use project” consists of 110,000 square feet of retail and office space along with 179 residential units. Designed by Jeanne Gang and Studio Gang Architects, the project is expected to cost around $130 million and set to break ground in the fall of 2012. Construction will be completed
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First-year George Rapidis, third-year Noah Moskowitz, fourth-year Talia Barzel (left to right), and other students march and chant, demonstrating in support of campus workers outside the administration building at noon on Monday. MICHELLE YEO/MAROON
By Amy Myers News Editor Student protests about the facilities and housekeeping merger continued yesterday afternoon with a march to the Administration Building. Over 50 students gathered to demonstrate against a facilities change and new din-
ing hall contract which could threaten the jobs of University housekeepers and dining hall workers. The Student Solidarity March for Housekeepers and Dining Hall Workers marked another event in a series of public protests, as student groups openly criticize the potential job loss.
“Hey Zimmer, step off it! Put people over profit!” began the first group chant. By noon, about 25 students gathered to carry signs from Bartlett Quad to the Administration Building in a planned march. A half hour later, in front of the Administration Building, about 50 stu-
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ARCHITECTURE
OBITUARY
Logan Center leaves fate of current arts spaces up in air
Med owner Hans Morsbach dies at 78 By Sherry Cao News Staff
By Benjamin Pokross News Staff No w t h a t t h e Jo e a n d R i k a Mansueto Library has opened, the next big-ticket item on the U of C’s construction agenda is the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts (LCA), slated to open for classes next spring. The details of the new space have artists on campus abuzz. Bill Michel (A.B. ’92, M.B.A. ’08), executive director of the LCA, said that construction is on budget and on schedule. Michel said that the performance halls and the center’s café will open in the fall of 2012. The $114 million building is financed in part by the University and in part by alumni donations spurred by the L ogan family’s $35 million contribution, according to Michel. The future of existing art buildings, such as Midway Studios at East 60th Street and South Ingleside Avenue, is uncertain. “In general, it’s my hope that much of the space that’s being vacated will still be available for arts use,” Michel said. Michel said that University administrators were undecided about the fate of Midway Studios, but that he hoped the building would still be
Bill Michel, executive director of the Logan Arts Center, leads a tour of the construction Friday at the East 60th Street and South Ingleside Avenue site. JONATHAN LAI/MAROON
used for some artistic purpose. Much of the arts activity that is now scattered across campus will occur in the Logan Arts Center. According to Michel, the Logan Center will host 90 percent of visual arts and theater, as well as offering new music practice spaces and a cinema. “The building will be welcoming to the entire University community,” Michel said. He added that multiple student lounges will be
distributed throughout the building to ensure that the building is not simply a center of teaching but an integral part of student life. Michel said that he hopes the building will foster artistic collaboration. “We’ve paid close attention both to our architects and faculty and staff about how you can have multiple artistic media on one floor,” Michel said.
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A lover of German food, forestry, and all things Hyde Park, Hans Morsbach (M.B.A. ’61), who bought and developed the now-famous Medici Restaurant, died May 6 at Northwestern Hospital at the age of 78. He died from complications from a stroke following surgery. He bought the restaurant in 1964 for $1,600 on a whim and without any long-term visions for the restaurant. Now, the servers wear shirts touting “Obama eats here.” The proof is literally on the walls—Malia Obama left her signature upstairs among those of thousands of University students and visitors. Though the Medici restaurant has become a classic Hyde Park institution for University students and Hyde Park passersby alike, Jake Spicer (A.B. ’97), manager of The Pub and Morsbach’s long-time business partner and friend, describes Morsbach’s relationship with the University as “love/hate.” “He liked his experience at the business school and thought very highly of the academics,” Spicer said. “But he never felt like an insider with the University administration. That pained him as an alumnus and a resident of
Hyde Park.” Nevertheless, the graffitied furniture, walls, and surfaces of the restaurant reflect Morsbach’s legacy at the University. Though born in Kaiserslautern, Germany, Morsbach raised his family with his wife Kathy on Harper Avenue, sending both of their children to Ray Elementary and championing the preservation of Promontory Point, among other Hyde Park causes. “He was a champion for the downtrodden everywhere,” Spicer said. Morsbach also loved spending time on his farm in Wisconsin, where he planted hundreds of thousands of trees to foster his love of forestry. He published the book Common Sense Forestry in 2003, and his love of art and nature is reflected at the Med. “He helped make every piece of furniture in the restaurant, as well as handpick each piece of art,” Kirsten Esterley, manager of the Medici Restaurant, s aid. “The Indian temple guard especially reflects his impact on the restaurant. It took forever to get here from a Frankfurt antique store, but it’s here now and has been rotating once every hour.” According to his son Paul, he was a man who was never afraid to take
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