CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Chicago Plan Commission has advanced a proposal for a luxury high rise on the north lakefront over the objections of advocates for the homeless who say the project is tone deaf.
The panel voted 9-3 to advance the redevelopment on what is currently a parking lot at Weiss Memorial Hospital at Wilson and Marine.
Activists like Carla Langston from Northside Action for Justice fear that plans for a high-end apartment building at 4600 Marine Drive will help push lower income residents and the homeless out of Uptown.
"We have over 2,000 units of late, of upper-income housing go in. In that same period, we lost over 1,000 low-income units," she said.
Marilyn Escoe, a single working mother, also worries the project endangers Weiss Hospital, and is bad for people who live and work in the area, regardless of income.
"We stand in solidarity with each other. We stand here to fight for each other. We stand here for care for each other. And we stand here to let them know we won't stand for just anything," she said.
Earlier Thursday, protesters pleaded with the City Plan Commission not to approve the project. One noted there are homeless encampments near the redevelopment site.
"Many neighbors feel the 4600 Marine Drive project will make the neighborhood less affordable, threaten the viability of Weiss Hospital, lower neighboring property values, and hurt our quality of life," said neighborhood activist Angela Clay. "Alderman Cappleman needs to stop shoving this project down our throats."
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