“Development is a highly localized thing. If you live in a 10-story building, on the fifth floor facing south, and someone was going to build a 25-story building across the street to the south . . . [with] several retail spaces and a fancy restaurant in the lobby, you on the fifth floor might be highly unhappy about this development because you’re losing your view and might be concerned about the construction noise.
“But imagine someone living on the same floor, but facing north. This development wouldn’t have an impact on them at all, and they might feel very good about the fact that one of their favorite restaurants is opening up a block away.”
– Brian Israel, president of the River North Residents Association, on how proposed projects can divide communities