Don't worry: This garish rendering (inspired by MS Paint, maybe?) isn't going anywhere soon. After a community meeting Monday night, Ald. Joe Moore (49th) placed an indefinite hold on the 23-unit condo development planned for 7525 N Wolcott Ave.

In an email to constituents (forwarded to us by a tipster - thanks Brian!), Moore described his decision. "I decided to put the project on hold when the developer, Dan Schwegel, refused to guarantee he would develop the project as proposed if he received the requested zoning change. Without that assurance, I will not support a zoning change for the property."

According to the 49th Ward Web site, the parcel is currently zoned to allow a maximum of 16 residential units; the developer is requesting a zoning change to allow for 23 homes.

Chicago’s claim to the 2016 Summer Olympics is anything but a lock. The city faces stiff competition from six Asian, European and South American countries, and Mayor Daley and the U.S. Olympic Committee still have plenty of hurdles to clear before they can declare victory in their bid.

But if the City of Broad Shoulders does succeed in bringing the Summer Games to the shores of Lake Michigan, one thing is certain: The South Side will see a surge of construction the likes of which have not been seen since the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893.

At the center of this titanic undertaking will stand the Olympic Village, a $1 billion mixed-use development located on 105 acres of lakefront property immediately south of McCormick Place, in Chicago's Near South Side.

In an official application (PDF) submitted to the International Olympic Committee on Jan. 15, the USOC described the village as a collection of “new, accessible residential buildings that can host a minimum of 16,000 athletes, coaches and team officials in a peaceful courtyard setting.” A slew of amenities including a promenade of shops, clubs, movie theaters and concert stages will accompany the residences, the application states.

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"At a time when many homeowners are reeling from skyrocketing property taxes, and money is tight for so many families, people should absolutely be able to know how and where the over $400 million collected by TIFs is being spent."

- Rep. John Fritchey (11th District), on a proposal that would provide taxpayers with detailed information about how TIF money is collected and spent. Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley has pursued similar TIF reform over the years.

The Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards ceremony that was held last Thursday to honor a year's worth of forward-thinking urban development. Crain's has a brief writeup on the winners; read on to learn more about the winning projects, organizations and people.

Chicago Community Trust Outstanding Community Strategy of the Year: Lawndale Christian Development Corporation

Richard Driehaus Award for Outstanding Non-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Project: The Center on Halsted

Outstanding For-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Project: Rancho Verde (part of the larger Chicago GreenWorks eco-industrial park)

Special Recognition Award: St. Leo’s Campus for Veterans

Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Awards for Architectural Excellence in Community Design

First place: Solid Ground housing facility
Second place: Pacific Garden Mission
Third place: Margot and Harold Schiff Residences (formerly known as the Near North Apartments)

Friend of the Neighborhoods Award: Richard H. Driehaus

Norman Bobins Leadership Award: Carlos Nelson, executive director of the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation

We have a mayor who's not lacking in courage.

We found the video via 37signals, a local Internet applications development firm.

No surprise here: Aldermen completed the CTA bailout on Wednesday by passing a 40-percent transfer-tax increase for most (but not all) property buyers, the Trib reports.

Transfer taxes will rise from $7.50 per $1,000 of sale price to $10.50 starting April 1. The hike could generate as much as $2.3 billion for CTA pensions over the next 30 years.

Six aldermen voted against the bill, much to the chagrin of the mayor. Daley had some choice words for those who didn't fall in line behind the increase.

After the vote, Mayor Richard Daley claimed that the City Council "is not a rubber stamp" and that its 50 members "vote their consciences."

But minutes earlier, he angrily castigated a half-dozen aldermen who opposed the tax increase ordinance, saying they were taking the soft way out of a tough situation.

"It is easy to crawl out of here," he declared. "It is easy to say no."

Daley challenged the six to "Stand up and say, 'I want the CTA to bypass my ward.'"

He said that under the outrage by constituents that would result, "You won't last one day."

Seniors keep reaping the benefits of this CTA deal. Buyers 65 and older can apply for a refund if they purchase homes priced at $250,000 or less and attest to living in them for a year. The deal is also contingent on the CTA letting disabled veterans and active military personnel ride for free.

"This is one of those votes I think a lot of us will make, holding our noses… If this doesn't happen, you are not going to have buses."

- Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th), conveying the inevitability of a real-estate transfer-tax increase in today's Trib. Chicago's finance committee met on Monday but delayed a vote on the tax hike, which will be used to bolster CTA's pension and health-care funds. The additional tax - an increase from $7.50 per $1,000 of sales price to $10.50 - could generate as much as $2.3 billion in revenue over the next three decades.

Committee members are pushing to make seniors exempt from the 40-percent tax increase and to guarantee free CTA rides for active military personnel and disabled veterans. Some aldermen also want CTA to invest its money with more local and minority-owned management firms.

"Lee is right: the availability of public transit adds thousands of dollars to the value of every property in the city - particularly the downtown commercial properties which are valued at closest to 'par value' (and which pay a much higher property tax rate than we homeowners, anyhow). It's only fair that those of us who profit from transit pay to support it.

Indeed, I'm a stickler for 'taxation nexus,' the logical connection between what's being taxed and what government service that tax pays for. Schooling raises incomes, both individually and socially, so we should pay for schools with an income tax. My own condo's value has nothing to do with the nearby schools, but everything to do with the nearby 'L' stop - my property taxes should fund that service instead."

- PC, bumping a recent discussion about a real-estate transfer-tax hike tied to the recent CTA rescue plan.

As Joe Zekas mentioned this weekend, Chicago Realtors have launched a campaign against the 40-percent tax increase. The City Council's finance committee will review the levy today at 10 a.m.

The following is an abbreviated version of an e-mail from reader Bob Darrow, who reports on real estate in the Windy City Guide:

On Monday, February 4th come to City Hall to testify at 10:00 AM!

The Chicago REALTORS® continue to oppose the Real Estate Transfer Tax increase with a major advertising and lobbying campaign and a consumer Web site, WrongTAX.com.

This 40% increase in the Real Estate Transfer Tax to pay for CTA Pensions will be introduced on Monday, February 4th at the Chicago City Council's Finance Committee at 10:00 AM on the 2nd Floor at City Hall. This will be your only opportunity to testify against this 40% increase!

Please be prepared to spend the whole day downtown - so bring a lunch! The meeting is expected to take all day and we have no guarantees of when we will be able to testify. Let the Aldermen know how you feel about this tax and what it will do to your clients and your community.

Go to WrongTax.com to send an email to your Alderman.

In its latest review of the city’s threatened historical places, Preservation Chicago moved beyond buildings and neighborhoods and added a set of laws to its endangered species list.

The Chicago Landmarks Ordinance topped the 2008 Chicago 7 most-threatened list following the dismantling of the Farwell Building at 664 N Michigan Ave, the attempted facelift of the Palmer House at 17 E Monroe St, the proposed construction of 29 South LaSalle at the site of the New York Life Insurance Building, and the use of Jewelers Row facades to mask a parking garage at 21 – 37 S Wabash Ave.

Preservation Chicago president Jonathan Fine said the same strain of facadism that preserved only the faces of Jewelers Row buildings now threatens the Chicago Athletic Association building at 12 S Michigan Ave (pictured above), inside the Historic Michigan Boulevard District. Developers have proposed to demolish the rear two-thirds of the building to make way for a new addition for Omni Hotels. (more…)