BEVERLY — Jeff Danna remembers being a reporter and sitting in spirited community meetings that proposed new big box retailers and sprawling grocery stores.
Despite the often-heated debates, he felt residents' concerns were largely ignored. Complaints about parking, traffic and congestion never seemed to resonate with developers or politicians.
But those conversations resonated with Danna, who has since turned the spotlight on his own neighborhood with his Main Street Beverly blog.
Danna, 30, who now works in corporate communications, launched the blog on Feb. 22 and has already tackled such topics as Beverly's liquor laws, the vacant Borders bookstore, undervalued Metra stations and more.
"We've created a neighborhood where you have to drive everywhere," said Danna, who's been living in North Beverly since December 2013.
His preferred development model is one that pre-dates World War II and suburban sprawl. Many such developments remain throughout Chicago and on the Far Southwest Side.
In Danna's view, this classic model features small storefronts facing the sidewalk, often with residential property above. This model is counter to the mega-store, mega-parking lot developments popular among modern retail developers.
"We once had a way of building cities that allowed for very incremental growth," said Danna, who's also lived in Logan Square, Uptown, Pilsen and the South Loop.
Howard Ludwig says the new blog focuses on community activism:
Danna was raised near the Wisconsin border in far north suburban Antioch. He walked to high school and lived near a quaint downtown that included a movie theater, bike shop and joke store.
He described the walkability of his hometown as liberating and believes Beverly has the potential to embrace a similar pedestrian-friendly approach.
"The idea isn't to force people not to drive, it's to give people options," Danna said.
The main shopping areas in Beverly are along 95th Street and Western Avenue — both of which aren't particularly conducive to walking or riding bikes, Danna said.
Traffic moves too fast on Western Avenue, making crossing the four-lane road dangerous. The same can be said for 95th Street, which Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) is hoping will benefit from the renovation of The Plaza in neighboring Evergreen Park.
"Right now, 95th Street does a great job of getting people through Beverly. It doesn't do a good job of getting people to stop in Beverly," Danna said.
He believes reducing these roads to one lane in each direction — perhaps by adding a bike lane — would slow traffic and make the area more pedestrian-friendly.
Caroline Connors, executive director of the Morgan Park/Beverly Hills Business Association, represents store owners along Western Avenue. She believes there ought to be consideration for both cars and pedestrians.
Connors specifically noted the new Buona Beef that's under construction at 10633 S. Western Ave. in Beverly. She believes the restaurant can cater to customers living nearby as well as those who might want to pick up a catering order in their car or come from farther away.
In Danna's view, 95th Street has the greatest potential for a pedestrian-first approach. He believes the stretch from Western Avenue to Ashland Avenue has the potential to become a "restaurant row" by feeding shoppers headed to the big box stores proposed for The Plaza and others already operating nearby.
He also advocates for pairing new restaurants on 95th Street with more rental housing, which creates a built-in customer base. This approach could also help diversify the housing stock in Beverly, which mostly consists of single-family homes.
By adding more apartments and creating a trendy area nearby, Beverly natives would have an opportunity to progress from living with their parents to an apartment to buying a single-family home all within their own neighborhood.
"We could start to bring people back earlier than they otherwise would," said Danna, who believes many homegrown Beverly residents spend several years on the North Side before returning to raise a family.
Danna believes Andersonville could serve as a blueprint for Beverly, as bars and restaurants there share the streets with hardware stores and bakeries. And all of these businesses cater to customers on the sidewalk first rather than attempting to lure drivers zipping past.
Andersonville "focused on their strength, which is that it's a walkable place," Danna said.
For its part, Beverly has bits and pieces of this type of development already, including the small shopping area near Metra's 103rd Street Station. Belle Up, a women's clothing boutique, Calabria Imports, an Italian deli and Naja Lerus Photography, a specialty infant photography studio are just some of the unique and walkable storefronts in the area.
"That's the kind of incremental growth we need," Danna said.
The blogger is hoping to post new content to Main Street Beverly at least weekly. He believes the blog will spark the same type of conversations that once captivated Danna as a young reporter.
"Hopefully, it's a place for people to discuss building a better neighborhood on a grassroots level," he said.
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