LINCOLN PARK — The city is urging a judge to toss a lawsuit filed by neighbors of the former Children's Memorial Hospital site that has held up the redevelopment of the land for six months.
The lawsuit filed by neighbors and two neighborhood associations in June has prevented any work from being done at the 6.2-acre site. It alleged that the city’s approval to rezone the site was “dramatically inconsistent with the height and scale of the surrounding neighborhood.”
The developer of the site, Dan McCaffery, chairman and CEO of McCaffery Interests, said he intends to wait out the lawsuit before purchasing the parcel from the hospital.
"I'm not under any stress. I'm not being pressured," McCaffery said, adding that he has at least two years to finalize the deal to purchase the land.
"[The neighbors suing] are definitely hurting the hospital, but they aren't hurting my pocket and I'm determined to stay the course, to stay with the hospital," McCaffery said. "We aren't going anywhere."
Neighbors say they hope the lawsuit gets a fair trial rather than get dismissed on what they consider a technicality.
“We are still confident that the courts are going to hear the case," said Norm Wolfe, a 26-year resident of the neighborhood representing the Park West Community Organization.
As part of the process, the attorney representing the neighbors is required to notify all property owners within 250 feet of the site of the lawsuit, giving them opportunity to voice their opinion in court.
The city filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in July claiming the attorney representing the neighbors did not properly notify owners of residences within a 250-foot radius of the site at the corner of Lincoln, Halsted and Fullerton.
An attorney representing the neighbors said they made every effort to properly notify the 469 owners of tax parcels within the radius, but the city's attorney claims that in some cases where a husband and wife were both listed as owners, only one of the spouses were notified.
William Aguiar, the city's attorney, claimed the plaintiffs "have no idea what is going on with any of the marriages," and thus both should have been notified.
Because of that, the city wants the lawsuit dismissed.
"We simply don't know what happens in these marriages," Aguiar said.
The attorney representing the neighbors and neighborhood group called the matter a "hyper technicality" at a status hearing last week.
"A notice provision is not intended to be a trap or a game of gotcha," said Robert O'Donnell, the attorney representing the neighbors.
A judge is set to rule on the move to dismiss before the end of the year.
McCaffery, who had hoped the construction of the $350 million project would be underway at this point, said he respects the neighbors views and said the lawsuit is just part of the process.
"I would have hoped to be under construction four years ago, but there is a process and the process is a good one and the process includes the fact that the neighbors get a chance to say what they think," he said.
The delay in construction has occurred during a growing real estate market, which could in the end help the development obtain retail tenants, according to McCaffery. The improving market also has the developer considering turning the proposed 540 rental apartments into condominiums.
The plan, which was approved by the city council in April, calls for 540 apartments divided between two 21-story towers, a 60-condominium building and 156 assisted-living residences.
The development will include 105,000 square feet of retail space and a five-story fitness center.
"I think it gets to the point where the neighbors have to [examine] their own conscience and decide whether or not they are representing the neighborhood," McCaffery said.
