CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Hundreds of residents and business owners near the Six Corners intersection in Portage Park staged a protest Friday evening against the decision by 45th Ward Alderman James Gardiner to block a proposed retail and residential project for a giant lot that has been empty for years.
"The Point" is a $130 million project that would have brought senior housing, a grocery store and other retail space to the lot near the intersection of Irving Park Road and Cicero and Milwaukee avenues, better known as Six Corners.
The protest was organized by James Suh, who lives in Portage Park and owns a nearby vehicle repair shop.
Suh said "The Point" would have given Portage Park a much-needed economic boost.
He said that Gardiner should have had an alternative plan ready to present to the public before he announced his opposition to the long-debated Point plan.
While Suh said "The Point" has broad support in the Portage Park community, Gardiner said in a newsletter to ward residents that he based his decision to oppose the project on community feedback.