Debbie Liu has seen a lot of change in her community. Born and raised in Chinatown, she’s noticed the ripples caused by local urban developments firsthand.
In 2017, she became very concerned about the city’s latest plan — “The 78.”
The ambitious $7 billion project by developer Related Midwest plans to transform a 62-acre site into Chicago’s newest “78th” neighborhood. “The 78” will be built in the South Loop, adjacent to Pilsen and the northern end of Chinatown. The planning behind it will directly impact Liu’s community.
“You're developing something that's meant to be its own neighborhood; it's meant to be community centric, but what does that actually mean?” Liu said.
Liu decided to get involved, and became co-chair of the 78 Community Advisory Council (CAC). The CAC was announced by Mayor Lightfoot in December 2019 in an attempt to serve as a pipeline for community input as construction moves forward. The 13-member council is composed of local residents who provide different technical expertise around things like river use, parks, education and urban planning.
“We want to make sure that we're centering the voices of people who actually should be centered, which are people who are long term residents in these neighborhoods,” Liu said.
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The project is massive. According to the city of Chicago, the development will include up to 13 million square feet of new commercial, residential and institutional construction; 12 acres of open space; multiple infrastructure improvements including a new Red Line subway station; and a commitment to 20% affordable housing for up to 10,000 residential units.
“The scale of this is immense and it requires a very strong public private partnership for these kinds of projects to come to fruition,” said Ann Thompson, Executive Vice President of Architecture and Design, Related Midwest.
Thompson said her team has had ongoing contact with a multitude of city agencies, including the mayor's office, the Department of Planning, Department of Transportation, Water Reclamation and the CAC. Thompson said Related Midwest has met with roughly 30 different community groups.
“No one knows these sites or these neighborhoods like the people who live there. So getting their feedback is really important to creating the best design solutions, and our projects are always, always better with that input,” said Thompson.
The CAC was scheduled to meet quarterly, making advisory recommendations ranging from public infrastructure design to traffic control to open space, among other issues. According to Liu, city officials and Related Midwest struggled to maintain contact with the CAC after COVID-19 hit.
Thompson said Related Midwest has met with the CAC and other community groups, including the South Loop Chamber of Commerce and Chinatown organizations. Thompson said Related Midwest met less with the CAC because “there was less happening” in the development of “The 78” during the pandemic.
“We look forward to continuing those conversations with the Advisory Council, and with all of those neighborhood groups,” Thompson said.
Community input has influenced Related Midwest’s design for the site, Thompson explained, sharing an example of a proposed Red Line stop location that has since moved due to community concerns.
“It really does make what we do better, and it helps inform the design for the entire site,” Thompson said.
Liu said she also looks forward to more meetings with Related Midwest while explaining that the CAC was not informed about previous changes in proposals.
“We learned that there was a casino proposal from the news; it was actually pretty terrible,” Liu said.
Liu said Related Midwest did not reach out to the CAC about the casino proposal on “The 78” site. The CAC approached the city regarding concerns of the proposal amid previous promises of community involvement.
“The Community Advisory Council played a fundamental role in having public meetings to review the casino proposal,” Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez said.
The CAC decided to conduct a survey of local residents regarding their thoughts on the casino proposal. They received hundreds of responses from community members that overwhelmingly rejected the casino proposal. Sigcho-Lopez said the CAC has played a major role in the proposal process and he’s excited for what “The 78” will become.
“I hope they continue to provide that level of oversight, that was of course the original intent, to make sure that even in the redistricting there will continue to be direct community involvement in such a big project,” Byron Sigcho-Lopez said.
The project currently resides in Ald. Sigcho-Lopez’s 25th ward. Beginning in 2023, the development will change to the 3rd ward. WBBM reached out to Alderman Pat Dowell of the 3rd ward but did not receive any comment.
Liu explained there is a lot of political maneuvering within the Chicago development process.
“There’s a typical way of how development gets done in Chicago and sometimes it’s really, really corrupt,” Liu said.
Liu expressed frustration that the city does not have more oversight over development projects.
“It’s a shame that there is really no oversight on these types of developments, and the best that the city does is a community advisory council that ultimately doesn’t hold a lot of power,” Liu said.
Liu said she is ultimately excited for “The 78” but wants to see it shaped in a way that’s meaningful for the surrounding residents and their communities. Liu is hopeful that Related Midwest will continue to work with the CAC and ultimately create a development that will greatly serve Chicago residents.
This story came from our community journalism initiative: Can you tell me more? An audience member asked us to cover the 78 development and we went digging. Have questions about Chicago you want us to answer? Submit them here.