Lincoln Park: luxury homes and homeless shelters

A home at Geneva Terrace EstatesYou just never know what is around the corner in Lincoln Park and money can’t necessarily buy freedom of mind, it seems. A storm is brewing just a block or so away from the luxury new single-family home development Geneva Terrace Estates on North Geneva Terrace.

A resident group is claiming that the patrons of Lincoln Park Community Shelter, a refuge for the homeless, are causing a surge of crime in the neighborhood, and the resident group is threatening legal action.

The group, Lincoln Park Neighbors for Safety, says theft and petty crimes have increased in the last couple of years. One resident reported that a man threw a rock at their maid, while others have even moved out of the neighborhood, according to Charles Werner, a member of the group. Werner says his group strongly suspects the troublemakers are clients of the shelter.

But Peg Wander, who sits on the board of the 22-year-old shelter, which houses about 40 people at two facilities, including one on the 600-block of Fullerton Parkway, disputes the claim that crime has increased in the neighborhood and says it is doing a vital service helping the homeless get their lives together.

The shelter does not have the required city permit to operate and the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals is in the midst of hearing the no-doubt impassioned testimony from both sides. We hear that the strains of “Amazing Grace” could be heard reverberating outside the meeting when the Board last held a hearing.

“There are 1,000 people who are from 60614 (Lincoln Park’s zip code) who give their money, time or talent to volunteering for us,” Wander tells us. “That tells me Lincoln Park is a very generous and giving community for the most part; 95-98 percent [of residents] are generous and willing to help.”

We hear that Ald. Vi Daley plans to broker a truce, saying the area has seen a crime increase but she doesn’t think it is linked to the shelter clients.

Rubloff Residential, which is marketing Geneva Terrace Estates ,where 10 out of the 22 homes have already sold, often for upwards of $1 million, tell us this is the first they have heard of the troubles.

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