New homes slated for vacant lots in North Kenwood-Oakland

We despair at the sight of all the vacant lots on the South Side and were pleased to hear recently that 14 vacant properties in the North Kenwood-Oakland neighborhood will be transformed into housing. The lots are on the 4300 blocks of Greenwood, Berkeley and Ellis avenues, not far from the lake.

The city recently put out a press release touting the proposed developments as a way of ridding the community of blight. The city is assisting the developer, named as Greenwood, Berkeley, Ellis, LLC., by reducing the price of the land.

The developer plans to build 16 two-story, single-family homes and eight condos on the sites. All very nice, but we can’t help wondering whether developers really need the incentive of discounted land to build in this community, which is already in the process of revitalizing.

We also wonder how much of a discount the city gives developers to purchase these vacant South Side lots, and what kind of profit they end up making.

So we’ve put in a call to the Department of Planning and Development and we’ll let you know. In the meantime, if anyone is knowledgeable on the topic of vacant South Side lots, Yo would like to hear from you.

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