As the battle over the dual tower proposal for Milwaukee Avenue in Logan Square continues, one thing is becoming increasingly more apparent: the battle over the towers is really just a battle between generations. No doubt Logan Square has changed quite dramatically over the last several years, and the neighborhood is attracting new residents who want to live near the area's popular nightlife destinations, farmers market and green space. And to at least one neighborhood organization, these towers represent that continued change towards a younger, perhaps more affluent demographic. In the last couple of flyers that the organization Save Our Boulevards has passed around the neighborhood, the organization refers to these would-be residents as the "hipsters who want to live and drink fancy cocktails here." Ouch.
However, there's more to it than just cocktail sipping hipsters who love public transit and loathe cars and grouchy old homeowners who loathe hipsters with disposable income. The proposal has been a polarizing one due to its height and density. Urban planners say the proposal is a good fit for the area, meanwhile neighborhood groups are taking their battle against the towers to the streets. The stretch of Milwaukee Avenue from Western to Fullerton is one of the most blighted stretched of the long diagonal street, and with the plethora of new residences planned for the area, this stretch is poised to look and feel completely different just in the next few years. The latest flyer from Save Our Boulevards makes reference to a map on Curbed that highlights the development boom along Milwaukee Avenue. And as of late October, between all of the proposals that have been approved and those that were still in early stages, nearly 1,500 apartments are slated for Milwaukee Avenue from the busy Grand, Halsted and Milwaukee intersection all the way up to the Diversey, Kimball and Milwaukee intersection. And of these 1,500, nearly 500 are being proposed within a short walking distance of the California Blue Line station. And depending on what kind of numbers the Mega Mall redevelopment and Logan Square Blue Line station plaza redevelopment puts up, the Logan Square neighborhood could become awash with new apartments.
It might be unfair to chalk up the battle over this development into two separate opposing camps, however, it's very clear that it's quickly turning into one of two separate age groups. When the next meeting takes place (our guess is after the Aldermanic elections), it'll be interesting to see what the new modified proposal looks like and how the neighborhood will react to it.
·Pro-Parking Logan Square Residents Rip 'Fancy Cocktail'-Sipping 'Hipsters' [DNAinfo]
·Logan Square Dual Tower Proposal Faces Stiff Resistance [Curbed Chicago]
·Logan Square Gearing Up for Battle Over Dual Tower Proposal [Curbed Chicago]
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