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Read the press release here.

City To Present 'Update' On North Branch Corridor Modernization Plan

By Mina Bloom | August 3, 2016 5:50am
 A cyclist in the city's North Branch industrial corridor, which stretches from Kinzie Street to north of Fullerton Avenue.
A cyclist in the city's North Branch industrial corridor, which stretches from Kinzie Street to north of Fullerton Avenue.
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DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser

LINCOLN PARK — The latest round of public meetings on the city's unprecedented plan to redevelop the North Branch industrial corridor, including the former Finkl Steel mill, kicks off next week. 

The meeting is set for Aug 10. at UI Labs, 1415 N. Cherry St., from 6-7:30 p.m., according to the city's department of planning and development.

Those who wish to attend must RSVP online. The city asks that each organization sends only one or two representatives to accommodate for as many people as possible.

At the meeting, city officials are expected to present drafts of potential "land use scenarios" to the community and gather feedback. It's the second step in a six-month process, which was laid out at public meetings in June.

In September, the city's department of transportation will conduct traffic studies on the area, which should be complete by the summer of 2017. A final plan for the area should be complete by early 2017.

Residents and community leaders continue to disagree on the plan to open up the industrial corridor to more types of development.

Some say the move would push out longtime industrial businesses and the families who depend on them, while others like staunch modernization supporter Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) argue that limiting the area to industrial use doesn't fit the future of the community.

The North Branch Industrial Corridor isn't the only district the city wants to update. The plan is part of a citywide initiative to reevaluate and potentially update all of the city's districts. 

Districts in Pilsen and Little Village are next, according to Eleanor Gorski, the city's deputy commissioner of planning and development.

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