PILSEN — Despite opposition, a plan to rezone a massive Pilsen site to an industrial use unanimously passed the city's Committee on Zoning on Thursday.
Ald. Danny Solis (25th) first announced his intention to rezone the property in May, blocking the planned redevelopment of the 7.85-acre site between 16th and 18th streets and Newberry Avenue and Peoria Street. A veteran alderman, Solis also serves as chairman of the Committee on Zoning.
Solis said the move would allow time for the community to develop the best plan for the site.
“I think the better development for that site is possibly residential,” Solis said. “Sometimes what a community needs or what a community wants isn’t exactly what a developer is proposing.”
Solis introduced the ordinance to rezone the property from residential to its original industrial use April 26. The plan will next go to City Council for a full vote.
In response, the developers said they were "obviously disappointed in the decision."
"Our last proposal ... consisted of a public park connecting to the new Paseo, a large-scale art garden cultivated by local residents, bike and walking paths, and contained, on site, more affordable housing units then any privately funded project in the history of the City of Chicago, amongst other community benefits," the statement from New York-based Property Markets Group said.
The statement said that it understands that Pilsen needs more affordable housing but said strict restrictions on development in Pilsen has led to no private affordable housing being created.
Last week, Pilsen and University Village neighbors living near the site said they didn't want to see the property rezoned to an industrial use.
At the Zoning meeting Thursday, Pilsen resident Michael Grill said the neighborhoods around the site need more density. Pilsen needs to “bring more folks to our neighborhood to live there and spend their money there," he said.
Vincent Cook, representing The Midwest Jesuits, who bought the land for $6.5 million in 2009, said the zoning change was "“not the best use of that property."
At a news conference, Julio Paz of the Pilsen Land Use Committee said that the zoning change would give the committee time to find the best use for the land. The new plan will commence as "an entire community planning process," he said.
The move to rezone the property comes after developer Property Markets Group announced in April that it would still develop the property without a zoning change. Developer Noah Gottlieb said that they would still buy the site, and instead of 500 apartments, a smaller mixed-use project would be developed that meets the site's current zoning rules.
The developers came to that decision after the Pilsen Land Use Committee nixed their plan in February to build 500 apartments at the site. The sticking point that led the committee to deny the 500-unit project plan was Pilsen's stringent affordable housing mandate, which requires any development of eight or more units that requires a zoning change must provide 21 percent affordable housing on site.
Solis previously said that development in Pilsen needed to be done responsibly.
"Unfortunately, the developer did not show good faith,” Solis said. “I have always taken affordable housing very seriously and this property must abide by this requirement to win the approval of the community.”
The property cannot accept any new permits while undergoing the zoning change, a Solis spokesman said.
Property Markets Group planned to develop 500 rental units on a vacant at 7.85-acre site between 16th and 18th streets and Newberry Avenue and Peoria Street in Pilsen. [PMG website]
In spring 2015, Property Markets Group revealed plans to develop 500 apartments on the vacant Pilsen property. The developer wanted a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units at the site.
In May 2015, Pilsen Alliance protested the Midwest Jesuits' planned sale of property in front of the Roman Catholic order's headquarters, calling the plan "gentrification on steroids."
Meanwhile, some University Village neighbors who live nearby are pushing for the long-vacant site to be developed soon. About 100 people have signed a petition in favor of developing the site.
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