LOGAN SQUARE — Development, gentrification, The 606, Riot Fest and restaurants were the talk of the neighborhoods in Logan Square and Humboldt Park this year.
Most of those topics are intertwined in one way or another in the changing neighborhoods that have seen a wave of new development and attention.
Here were five issues that mattered to locals this year.
1. The Development Boom
It's undeniable that there's been an explosion of development projects popping up all over Logan Square, specifically along Milwaukee Avenue this year.
Many of the projects have been hotly contested by neighborhood groups, activists and longtime residents, but the major developments are moving forward.
The Twin Towers and "L" projects are already under construction, while the Mega Mall redevelopment known as Logan's Crossing is moving ahead quickly.
2. The Fight Against Gentrification
Affordable housing and the fear of longtime Logan Square and Humboldt Park residents getting pushed out of their neighborhoods have been at the forefront of most discussions about both neighborhoods in 2015.
Along with the development boom came protests, calls for more affordable housing and questions of zoning practices that have paved the way for high-end apartment buildings.
Longtime neighborhood groups such as the Logan School Neighborhood Association have lead the affordable housing push, while new organizations such as Somos Logan Square got a younger generation involved in the fight.
3. Goodbye, Riot Fest
The three-day music festival sparked a major debate in Humboldt Park after leaving the neighborhood's namesake park damaged in 2014. There were heated meetings over the fate of the massive music festival including sparring between Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26th) and Ald. Proco Joe Moreno (1st) who disagreed on the location of the 2015 fest.
In May it was announced Riot Fest was headed to Douglas Park in North Lawndale following pushback from Humboldt Park.
The issue has festered in the neighborhood ever since, splitting music fans and some business owners who supported the fest, and longtime neighborhood residents who viewed it as detrimental.
4. The 606
After years and years of planning and building, The 606 finally opened this summer to much fanfare throughout the city. The trail, which cuts through four neighborhoods, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square and Humboldt Park, has been seen as an East-West connector and uniter.
Not everything went smoothly from the start, as late night skateboarders kept residents along the trail up, and kids peed on lawns due to a lack of bathrooms. There was also an issue of water fountains. The 606 got a set of "etiquette police" later in the summer.
Like the major development projects, The 606 has also raised fears of gentrification among those who fear they will be priced out by people who want to live near the 2.7-mile long trail and parks system.
5. Restaurant Row, and More
Logan Square and Humboldt Park have both seen an influx of trendy restaurants in recent years, and 2015 has ratcheted it up another level. Some in the industry have begun calling a stretch of Armitage Avenue the "new restaurant row," in comparison to Randolph Street in the West Loop.
Along that stretch new restaurants that opened this year include Dos Urban Cantina, a project from Rick Bayless alumni; Ugo's, a pizza spot from an Alinea alumn; and Sink|Swim. There's also a new mystery bar from the Scofflaw Group coming soon joining Osteria Langhe, Scofflaw, Table, Donkey & Stick and La Bomba on the hot street.
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