Activists Gain Alderman's Support For

Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30th ward) says he will continue to seek 100 percent affordable housing – or no less than 50 percent – on a proposed City-led development of 3.89 acres at the Belmont Triangle on the Northwest Side.

“I have asked the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) to look at 100 percent affordable housing,” the Avondale alderman said at an August 1 press conference outside his office at 3559 N. Milwaukee Ave. with youth of Palenque LSNA (Liberating Spaces through Neighborhood Action, formerly the Logan Square Neighborhood Association). “I read all those letters that the kids sent and I can truly understand where you are coming from.”

Totally affordable housing is difficult to achieve, because market rate units typically leverage the affordable ones – although advocates say the opposite is true.

“I am hoping they get at least 75 percent,” Reboyras told StreetWise afterward. “There are at least 300 units that are going to be built. If we can do no less than 50 percent, that is a big number. I am pushing for something higher. I will not sign off on the project if they tell me it is 20 percent. I will say the project is dead. I will let the community speak.”

Christian Urbano of Palenque LSNA and the 30th ward said that the Black and Brown Logan Square of his childhood has faded away before his eyes. Favorite “mom shops” closed down, to be replaced by fancy stores that “everyone thought would make the community better” and by bars. The joy of walking down the street is gone as families on his block moved away because they couldn’t pay rent. “Just a few weeks ago I was confronted by a white man telling me I didn’t belong here and I should leave.”

“Our people should be able to sleep at night without worrying about paying rent,” said Ruby Vazquez, another Palenque youth leader. “Thirty, 40, 50 percent is not enough; 100 percent affordable homes is what we need. It shouldn’t take rich people to make our community cleaner or better.”

In addition to entirely affordable housing, the advocates also want a library and park space at the Belmont Triangle, as expressed through surveys by Palenque LSNA and DPD.

Their model is the Pioneer Bank building at North Avenue and Pulaski Road in Humboldt Park, part of the INVEST South/West initiative for disinvested communities. The winning bid conceived by Team Pioneros will include the offices of JGMA progressive architecture and design, entrepreneurial incubator space, 75 affordable units, a Latino cultural center and possibly a Chicago Public Library branch.

Is there a comparable consortium in Avondale?

“I think there is,” Reboyras responded to StreetWise. “I am waiting to see who answers to the proposal. I advocated for members of the community – the Avondale Neighborhood Association, 30th Ward United, Palenque — to be part of this selection process.”

The DPD chose the Milwaukee Triangle, according to its Request for Proposals (RFP) released July 21, after assessing numerous vacant sites, their acreage, ownership, existing building stock and “potential for catalytic change on the corridor.” The site now includes a Walgreens and a strip mall with an H&R Block and tattoo shop at the south end and a Mexican restaurant, liquor store and hair salon at the north end.

The City does not own the properties, but would facilitate a private transaction between the selected RFP respondent and the owners, who have submitted letters of interest. The target price is $15.5 million, based on an appraisal last March.

Besides developing an opportunity site on the Northwest Side, the RFP seeks to maximize participation of neighborhood residents. New housing would be a mix of rental and ownership, affordable to a variety of people, in studios to three-bedroom units. There could be 300 units in two-flats, three-flats, mid-rise apartments and condominiums – and also 22 townhomes, according to the RFP. Ground level commercial space would be at key locations, with Milwaukee Avenue the access to open space.

The site is within the Fullerton/ Milwaukee Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District, set to expire in 2024. The TIF could help with assembling and rehabilitating existing parcels and with new infrastructure, such as sidewalks and public utilities.