CITY HALL — Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th) hopes he can turn a stretch of State Street into a thriving shopping district in Chatham, and he said the first step in transforming the street took place Tuesday.
The City Council Committee on Zoning approved Sawyer's request to rezone State between 76th and 77th streets to allow retail. The land had been zoned for industrial use.
“This is the first of a series of proposals I’m bringing forward to spur retail development down a street that is desolate,” he told the committee.
Ultimately, he wants to bring more businesses to the street between 69th and 79th streets because the area desperately needs economic development, he said.
He hopes to attract restaurants and health facilities, among other businesses, although there are no specific proposals on the table at this time. He said that he doesn’t just want to attract national chains, but local businesses, as well.
In addition, Sawyer said he has been working on making the State Street corridor more pedestrian-friendly for a year with the Chicago Department of Transportation.
“I just want make the corridor more walkable, but to do that, there has to be more retail added to the area,” Sawyer said.
He said he has yet to make up his mind on approving a hotel that was proposed last year in the 7600 block of South State Street. The owner of a vacant lot on the block proposed a $10 million, five-story, 90-room hotel be built.
Sawyer has met with the owner and community members, but no decision has been made. He said that he isn’t opposed to it, but that he still has unanswered questions, as well as concerns that need to be addressed.
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