As The Paseo progresses, city strategizes to preserve nearby neighborhoods

Neighborhoods need improvements, but not at the cost of gentrification. That’s why the city is rolling out a comprehensive plan aimed at preserving affordable housing and improving community resources in Pilsen and Little Village, the mayor’s office announced Monday.

Following that, two related measures were introduced at City Council on Wednesday. The first ordinance allows the city to acquire four miles of a BNSF railroad corridor for The Paseo, a bike and pedestrian trail, much like The 606, which was first announced back in 2016. A second ordinance would increase affordability requirements in large residential projects within the area.

Aside from these two actions, the strategy also details new housing resources to help existing residents avoid displacement caused by gentrification, a designated landmark district to preserve art and architecture, ways to increase sustainable jobs, and open space improvements to build the neighborhood’s resources.

“These strategies directly address the concerns of residents and businesses that want to preserve two of the most unique and culturally significant neighborhoods in Chicago,” Alderman Daniel Solis said in a statement.

The plan backed by the mayor and aldermen Solis, Ricardo Muñoz, and George Cardenas is a response to gentrification. In recent years, Pilsen has experienced a lot of gentrification—property values have increased, developers are eyeing lots more frequently, low-income Latino families have moved out, and middle-class, white families have come into the neighborhood.

When the Paseo project was announced, residents in Pilsen and Little Village, while optimistic, were concerned that it could accelerate gentrification in their neighborhoods. The project is quite similar to The 606 Trail, which is a former elevated rail line turned into a bike and pedestrian trail in Wicker Park and Logan Square. When construction began, housing prices shot up spurring gentrification fears. Right along The 606, a home that sold for $121,000 in 2014 was renovated and resold for $642,000 in 2016, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The preservation strategy launched by the city aims to prioritize residents and make it harder for developers to come in and build luxury housing that doesn’t serve the neighborhood. Parents raising children outnumber single people in the neighborhoods, according to the 2016 American Communities Survey, so family-sized units would make sense for the area.

The two Southwest Side neighborhoods have been predominately Mexican for the last 50 years, according to the survey, and nearly 80 percent of 115,000 residents identify as Latino compared to 29 percent citywide.

“Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods are the backbone of our great city, collectively highlighting our rich culture, renowned restaurants and amazing residents,” said Mayor Emanuel in a statement. “This new strategy will help preserve these important elements of Pilsen and Little Village while keeping it affordable for residents and promoting economic opportunities for future growth.”

The first part of the city’s strategy includes increasing the Affordable Requirement Ordinance (ARO) Pilot from 10 to 20 percent of a project’s total units along with new provisions to add more family-sized units in each project. At least half of the affordable units would have to be built on site. If developers want to opt out, those fees would increase to about $180,000 per unit in Pilsen and $102,000 per unit in Little Village.

While this program will bring stabilization to the neighborhood, the Chicago Housing Initiative, an alliance of low-income housing tenants and supporters, and Byron Sigcho-Lopez are asking for greater measures. Sigcho-Lopez was the executive director of the Pilsen Alliance but is taking a break while he campaigns for a position as alderman in the city. For example, increasing the affordable housing requirement to 30 percent instead of 10 to 20 percent, removing to opt-out option, and expanding to more neighborhoods such as Chinatown, West Loop, South Loop, and more of Pilsen.

Right now the pilot area for the five-year program, which would begin on January 1, 2019, is bounded by 16th Street, Peoria Street, the Sanitary and Ship Canal, and Western Avenue. Sigcho-Lopez said in a statement questions what will happen with a luxury housing project proposed for 18th and Peoria. In an earlier version of the story, it was unclear whether or not the project was within the bounds of the ARO pilot area. While Sigcho-Lopez suspects it won’t be held to the requirement, it is indeed within the boundaries.

“All communities of the ward and city should benefit from equitable and fair development,” said Sigcho-Lopez. “The systematic and longstanding failure to recognize housing as a human right has necessitated bolder action.”

Fulfilling open space objectives, another separate ordinance allows the city to acquire four miles of abandoned freight railroad corridor for the planned route of The Paseo promenade. The trail goes through Pilsen and Little Village stretching from 16th Street to 31st Street linking up parks, incorporating local artists, and serving as a recreational amenity.

The city will also give financial assistance to developers who want to purchase or refinance multi-family residential buildings within the neighborhood in exchange for long-term affordable rental covenants. Owner-occupants of smaller properties will also be offered resources such as forgivable loans to upgrade their buildings and remain in their homes. The Chicago Community Land Trust and the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund will lead the outreach to homeowners in Pilsen and Little Village.

Certain portions of 18th Street, Blue Island Avenue, and other streets will be given a landmark designation through a formal Landmarks Commission review. The proposed district features Baroque-inspired buildings from 1875 to 1920 and will be considered for an initial landmark status next month.

The city is also in the process of enhancing the two industrial corridors in Pilsen and Little Village. Community meetings to develop a framework plan for Little Village began in April 2018 and the same planning process is expected to begin for Pilsen in 2019.

The framework plan for Little Village isn’t available yet, the draft will be posted in December or January and then the plan will be presented in early 2019. At the meetings residents discussed transportation, truck traffic congestion along 31st Street, maintaining jobs in agriculture and food manufacturing, air quality concerns, time for community feedback, and the need for simultaneous translation at meetings.

With neighborhood improvements like The Paseo set to move forward, ensuring neighborhood preservation with the ARO pilot program and other strategies represents a new approach by the officials. It’s a model that other neighborhoods and cities across the country could use, Alderman Cardenas said in a statement.

Correction: An earlier version of this story referred to Byron Sigcho-Lopez as an Alderman. He is currently campaigning to become Alderman of the 25th Ward, a position currently held by Alderman Daniel Solis.