WEST RIDGE — The former "eyesore" of a movie theater parking lot-turned-park along McCormick Avenue in West Ridge made some progress last week when Chicago Park District officials agreed to enter into a 39-year lease agreement with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District to convert the currently grass-covered lot into a part of the community.
On Aug. 12, Rob Rejman, Park District Division of Planning and Development director, presented plans to the district's board to use tax increment financing in order to fund the acquisition and development of the 1.8-acre expansion of Park No. 526.
"This property will further enhance recreational opportunities available at this passive park that abuts both sides of the Chicago River. This expansion will address the needs of the North Park Community Area and the 50th Ward," the proposal reads.
At the meeting, Rejman said the next steps would come from planning with Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th).
The theater at 6385 N. McCormick Rd. closed in 2005 and was bought by Cheder Lubavitch Hebrew Day School in 2008 when they planned to build a new school campus there.
Earlier this year, Rabbi Yitzchok Wolf, the school's executive director, told DNAinfo Chicago the theater had to close its doors after the water district significantly increased the property's lease rate. The theater's adjacent lot, where the grass now grows, is owned by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.
Since then, the lot has been torn up and fresh grass planted in its place, but no other development has taken place.
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