For immediate release(March12, 1999)
For more information contact Steve Balkin, 312-341-3696, Email <mar@interaccess.com>
Chicago's historic Maxwell Street neighborhood has a powerful, new ally: the City of Chicago. This week, the City announced a new proposal to save 27 vintage buildings that the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) wants to destroy as part of its South Campus expansion. To emphasize its recommendation, the City may link historic preservation to approval of the tax increment financing district the University needs to complete its plans.
"The University is a public institution that wants more public money, in the form of special tax benefits, to enlarge its campus and build private housing in an existing neighborhood," said Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition President Charles Cowdery, as he announced the group's endorsement of the new City plan. "They should listen when the public says it wants Maxwell Street."
Preservationists will not get everything they want, even if the new plan is adopted. "This is a compromise," said Coalition Vice President Steve Balkin. "More than 90 percent of the neighborhood has already been destroyed by UIC, for parking lots and sports fields. About 60 old buildings are left and the City plan only saves 27. UIC should allow that sliver of old Maxwell Street to remain as a resource for future generations."
Christopher Hill, Commissioner of the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, presented the City's proposal to University officials on March 5. The Coalition saw it a few days later. "I think this is a great plan," said Bill Lavicka, who represented the Coalition at the meeting with Commissioner Hill. "The City has shown great vision and we hope the university will come on board." A City spokesperson added that Mayor Daley, "does not want to suburbanize this historic urban area."
The city's proposal is based on a study by the McClier Corp. that calls for 27 of the area's existing buildings to be retained and restored. Eleven buildings from Halsted and Roosevelt will be moved to vacant parcels on Maxwell Street. The Maxwell Street neighborhood is internationally renowned as the "Ellis Island of the Midwest," Chicago's first racially integrated neighborhood, and the birthplace of Chicago blues.
Although preservationists endorse the new plan, they still have a few questions. "We would like more details regarding business retention in the area and compensation for residents and businesses who are forced to move," said Balkin. "We are concerned about the fate of Original Jim's Hot Dog Stand (a Chicago icon), Heritage Bluesbus Music Store, the Creative Reuse Warehouse, and other area businesses and residents." Many long time neighborhood residents will lose both their jobs and their homes when the area is redeveloped.
Since its formation in 1994, the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition has urged UIC to restore and reuse the remaining buildings in the neighborhood to create an environment that acknowledges, cherishes and continues Maxwell Street's heritage and culture. The aims of the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition are supported by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, and many other groups and individuals.
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