CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — As former President Barack Obama prepares to break ground Tuesday afternoon on his new presidential center in Jackson Park, area residents called for guarantees they won’t be pushed out by development in the area.
The city, last year, agreed to protections for people who live in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side.
But, the Community Benefits Agreement Coalition said the city has been dragging its feet in abiding by that agreement and with offering protections for other communities near the planned Obama Presidential Center such as South Shore, Washington Park and Greater Grand Crossing.
“We’re working with folks in South Shore now to come up with demands that reflect the needs of the community and that are community-informed,”CBA Coalition spokesman Dixon Romeo told WBBM Newsradio.
One of the things the city has agreed to is to have 52 vacant lots in Woodlawn developed with a certain percentage of housing units set aside as affordable housing. Romeo said the city has yet to allow his group to decide which lots will be developed.
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Other provisions in the city ordinance protecting Woodlawn residents include:
— Giving tenants the “right of first refusal” to buy if their landlord decides to sell their building,
— A $1 million commitment to the Home Improvement Grant Program that allows Woodlawn residents who have owned and lived in their homes for more than five years to apply for grants of up to $20,000.
— A $500,0000 commitment to the Renew Woodlawn program, which helps low and middle income people buy homes in the community.
Right now, Romeo said it’s like “the wild, wild West” in those communities and rents are already going up.
“There are no protective guardrails in place so that there can be development, so that good things can come in without dramatically displacing, adversely affecting long term residents who have been here,” Romeo said.
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