Both Curbed and The Welles Park Bulldog have weighed in on a recent proposal for a 71-unit affordable housing development in the 2400 block of West Irving Park Rd.
Neither site has mentioned the rather curious nature of the proposed zoning change, which is made on behalf of a developer who does not have site control and, according to a filing on the 47th Ward Alderman Ameya Pawar’s Zoning / Development page, has only had contact with the broker for the property. This proposal contemplates millions of dollars of TIF funding.
Another filing on the Alderman’s site, also requesting a zoning change but to a lower-density category, indicates that the property is under contract to Noah Properties for conversion to five six-unit rental buildings. The proposal contemplates no TIF funding. It’s marked “NOT APPROVED” on the Alderman’s site. We can’t find any indication on the Alderman’s site of the reason for the disapproval.
The Alderman discusses the proposals in a recent newsletter as part, he states, of his “commitment to the highest levels of transparency.” He describes the property as currently under contract “with another developer seeking to build market-rate condos” and proceeds to a lengthy argument in favor of affordable housing.
Mis-stating one developer’s proposal while neglecting to mention the shaky status of another’s is apparently what passes for “the highest levels of transparency” in Chicago. And, in Chicago, developers of market-rate housing who build what renters can afford, don’t build affordable housing?
What could possibly be going on here?
NOTE: We’ve previously covered quite a few Noah Properties’ developments on behalf of Sergio & Banks, which is one of our clients. Noah recently built a similar rental project, which we visited in the above video.