NIMBY v. Wolf Point

As part of its efforts to stop a three-tower project planned at Wolf Point, NIMBY group Friends of Wolf Point is seeking to deny the Kennedy family and developer Hines Interests a permit to build a riverwalk on the 4-acre site. The group has petitioned the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), contending that the factors considered by the state agency when issuing a permit have not been met in this case. A joint venture by the Kennedys and Hines recently unveiled plans to build three towers and a new riverwalk at the long-vacant site in River North. So why this line of attack? Friends of Wolf Point believes that if the developer is ultimately granted the permit, it will have more leverage as it navigates through the approval process. Reuben Hedlund, an attorney who represents the group, had this to say to Crain's: "We believe they are using this permit application, if it's approved, as a leg up on, ultimately, their hearings before the Chicago Plan Commission." Game on! [Crain's by subscription, previously]