Fix Wilson Yard

Fix Wilson Yard!

Wilson Yard, located at the corner of Montrose and Broadway, is the largest parcel of undeveloped land on the North side of Chicago. It sits in a prime location a half mile from Lake Michigan in the Uptown neighborhood, an area that has seen much positive change over the past decade but which now teeters between socio-economic progress and stagnation. Its future lies in our hands. The current Wilson Yard redevelopment plan centers on a failed housing model, funded in part by a whopping $52M in tax increment financing dollars, that will erase our past progress and become a new slum for Uptown. It must be stopped. Here’s why.

Radical Changes and Promises Ignored

Uptown residents were promised mixed income housing, a movie theater, a big box store and street level retail. Over the years the plan has changed dramatically as four of the five original developers abandoned the project, leaving only Holsten Real Estate Development, who primarily develops low income housing. Whereas the original redevelopment plan envisioned a vibrant commercial and entertainment district, we are now left with a plan whose defining characteristic is a failed low income housing model.

Failed Housing Model

The commercial and entertainment components at Wilson Yard have taken a back seat to 178 units of 100% low income housing which cover more than 60% of the site, with family housing income ceilings of 21% low income, 56% very low income and 23% extremely low income. This plan recreates the failed housing model of the CHA projects currently being torn down all over Chicago: two towers of densely packed low income units which serve only to warehouse the poor. Residents of this failed housing model will be easy prey for the gangs and drug crews that terrorize Uptown today.

24% of all housing in the Wilson Yard census tract is government subsidized. In addition, over 5,500 units of low income housing - one of the highest concentrations in the city – surround this site. The Illinois Housing Development Authority and the CHA refuse to fund the development of subsidized housing in census tracts that contain over 20% low income housing. So why are we paying for it?

Irresponsible Use of Taxpayer Dollars

The TIF commitment for Wilson Yard has soared to $52 million, over 33% of the cost of the entire project. Instead of spurring economic development and increasing city revenues, this investment of taxpayer dollars will actually impede commercial growth and decrease property values. Additionally, the construction cost of each low income unit is now higher than the going price for many condos on the private market in Uptown!

Fix It!

We demand that the City of Chicago and Alderman Helen Shiller halt the current redevelopment plan at Wilson Yard. Should there be a new plan, any use of taxpayer dollars must include complete transparency and guarantee the following:

• a project that honors proven urban planning principles and upholds Uptown’s diversity
• a competitive process to identify the highest and best use for the TIF property, and
• a vibrant commercial district that will spur economic development in Uptown

Wilson Yard will define Uptown for generations to come. We hold you our elected representatives accountable. Do not fail to support us in ensuring a positive future for this important development.