OLD TOWN — The horse carriage industry is feeling the pinch after the loss of the city's only stable in a real estate development deal.
A proposed seven-story, 252-unit development in Old Town on the site of what had been a stable for carriage horses is set to move forward to the Plan Commission this month.
Along the way, Downtown carriage horses have been displaced from what had been the last stable in Chicago, according to Debbie Hay, owner of Antique Coach and Carriages, in what could be a death knell for the industry in Chicago.
Michael Ezgur, an attorney for LG Development Group, sent a letter to local residents last week stating that the project would go before the Plan Commission Dec. 15 for a zoning change.
The project has long been in the works, and drew criticism when it was originally proposed as a nine-story apartment complex. According to Ezgur's letter, the latest version is seven stories, but would be 96 feet tall.
The development, in the 1400 blocks of Orleans Street and Sedgwick Avenue, united by Schiller Avenue, is on the site of what had been stables for Downtown carriage horses and the Noble Horse Theatre.
Earlier this year, Hay moved her horses to a building in Lincoln Park, but declined to say exactly where.
"I can't divulge that," she said. "I've already been burned out."
The previous stable was the site of a fire determined to be arson in early 2015.
Hay said her new housing for the horses is less than satisfactory.
"This is not a facility for horses," she said. "It's a warehouse. It's less than ideal."
Hay was resigned, however, to the move.
"It's all private land. There isn't much I can say about anything," she added. "It's private enterprise, let's put it that way. You sold your house, you move."
According to Hay, the competing Great Lakes Horse and Carriage no longer stables horses in the city. "They're back to trailering back and forth," she added. "It's not a very good situation for him either."
While continuing to operate, Hay signaled that the horse carriage industry in the city could be on its last legs.
"You know the future," she said, "and it isn't good."
Great Lakes owner Jim Rogers, however, said he's determined to clop on.
Rogers admitted it was a hardship, "but I've done this at different times in my career," he added. "I'm not a stranger to operating like this, but this is not the preferred way. It's just the way it's worked out for now."
Rogers said he checks every month for properties that might serve as a stable.
"The real estate market dictates what happens," he said. "The places I can afford, the landlords don't want to let me put horses in there."
He expected something to break in that regard at some point, but in the meantime he's feeling the pinch.
"It is hurting me," Rogers said. "It's hurt how we do business. It cuts back how much we can work."
The hardships won't shut him down, Rogers said, especially during the relatively busy time of the holiday shopping season.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here.
