CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Chicago Fire wanted to put soccer fields, a training facility, offices and housing on the site of the old Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) ABLA homes on the city’s Near West Side.
Critics, though, said residents were promised many more affordable homes when the CHA buildings were demolished some two decades ago.
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) was among those concerned that developer Related Midwest hadn’t kept earlier promises.
“How are we gonna ensure — I mean this is from 2003 until now that we’ve had the agreement with Related Midwest — we’ve only fulfilled one-third of that [promise],” Sigcho-Lopez said.
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He said the CHA is allowing soccer fields to be built where the community was promised affordable apartments would be.
CHA official Ann McKenzie sought to assure the committee. She said the process of replacing many of the housing units lost in the ABLA demolition would be accelerated with this agreement with the Chicago Fire.
But the vote was seven no’s and five yea’s. The measure failed.
Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) was a “no” vote after questioning how far the CHA was falling behind on it’s decades-old promise to replace housing lost when the ABLA Homes were torn down:
“This plan does not add to any affordable housing, though it will create some revenue for you to continue to maintain or make some improvements,” Hadden said.
She and others asked how using CHA land for soccer — and housing — squares with Fair Housing laws.
CHA Development official Ann McKenzie answered that the project would have to pass muster with Housing and Urban Development (HUD). McKenzie added that the CHA has used its land for other things in the community before.
She admitted, though, the federal department of HUD has not signed off on this project yet.
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