LOGAN SQUARE — Logan Square's "Twin Towers" project is headed for the full City Council after the Zoning Committee signed off on the development.
Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) championed the project before the Zoning Committee Thursday, where it passed without opposition.
"I'm so passionate, as you know, about affordable housing that I'm not going to let sort of 'Goldilocks' ideas get in the way of providing true affordable housing to Logan Square," the alderman said.
The opposition he referenced included Greater Goethe Neighborhood Association President Sally Hamann, who presented a petition to the council Thursday in an attempt to stall the vote, although Moreno took pains to point out the group's own zoning committee supported the project.
"I am really concerned about this project. Neighbors are not happy about it," Hamann said. "There is significant community opposition. It’s totally inappropriate to the neighborhood,” she said, arguing that the 11- and 12-story residential towers are “out of scale” with surrounding buildings.
The plan will now head to a full City Council vote where it is expected to pass with Moreno's blessing. As with most developments that require zoning upgrade approval, the council seldom runs counter to approval from the local alderman.
The towers have been a point of contention with residents, who have expressed both support and consistent objection to the proposal, but, after the development from co-owner Rob Buono sailed through a Chicago Plan Commission hearing April 16 and Thursday's vote, the towers will, in all likelihood, be constructed at 2293 N. Milwaukee Ave., the former Max Gerber warehouse site.
At City Hall Thursday, Moreno pointed out that the development is in a Tax Increment Finance district, but the project is not seeking any TIF funding.
Instead, it’s estimated that the tax levy on that property will go from $19,000 a year to $300,000, with the $281,000 difference going into the TIF fund for local capital improvements, Moreno said.
A petition urging Moreno to slow down the approval process for the structures emerged in mid-April and had gained more than 1,000 online signatures, Hamann said Thursday, hundreds of which were gathered through door-knocking campaigns.
A counter-petition in support of the construction also gained support among residents.
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