South suburban community is first in Illinois to achieve LEED for Neighborhood Development status
Core News Facts
- Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) and PNC have awarded the 2010 Burnham Award for Excellence in Planning to the Whistler Crossing development in south suburban Riverdale, Ill.
- The award was presented at MPC’s 2010 Annual Luncheon, Monday, June 21, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
- The award includes a cash prize of $5,000 underwritten by PNC, which will be used, in part, to improve a local community park.
- Each year since 1988, MPC has presented the Burnham Award – named in honor of Daniel H. Burnham, the creator of the 1909 Plan of Chicago – to a plan that: promotes and implements sensible planning and development policies; encourages public participation and follows an open process; provides long-term benefits to the community and its surroundings; is provocative, balancing realistic expectations with vision; is innovative, breaking new ground in planning practices; and is sufficiently completed to evaluate whether the desired results have been realized.
- Whistler Crossing is a new community in Riverdale, Ill., located at the site of the former Pacesetter development, a struggling neighborhood that had been on the decline for many years until Riverdale decided something needed to be done.
- Pacesetter was once a thriving community. The Pacesetter townhomes sprang up in Riverdale post-World War II, promising attractive, affordable homes near Acme Steel and other local employers.
- Just a decade later, in the 1960s, Pacesetter’s troubles began. Industrial jobs began to wane, and Pacesetter and its families became increasingly isolated – a trend that would continue until 2003, when Riverdale leaders embarked on a comprehensive redevelopment plan.
- The Village enlisted Urban Land Institute-Chicago and MPC to organize a Technical Assistance Panel, which advised the Village not to tear down the property, as was originally proposed. They urged Riverdale to rehabilitate Pacesetter as a mixed-income, mixed-use community.
- The Village enlisted the experienced Holsten Real Estate Development Corporation and Turnstone Development to engage the community in a plan, acquire properties from dozens of owners, and secure financing from 15 different sources, including the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Federal Home Loan Bank, TIF, Historic Tax Credit and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity, and other private and municipal funding sources.
- Farr Associates designed a beautiful, walkable, energy-efficient community, helping Whistler Crossing become Illinois’ first community to achieve LEED for Neighborhood Development status.
- LEED-ND promotes compact, mixed-use development; housing that is near jobs, services and transit; pedestrian and bicycle-friendly streets; and accessible open space.
- Ultimately, Pacesetter will be a $180 million, 500-unit housing and retail development located on a 40- plus acre site.
- Phase I has been completed and is comprised of 90 rental units and two mixed-use buildings. (Rendering available at Holsten’s web site.)
- Three additional development phases (approximately 125 units per phase) will consist of entirely new construction, including both rental and for-sale homes.
Quote Attributable to Joseph A. Gregoire, Regional President, Illinois Banking, PNC; Member, MPC Board of Governors; Presenting Sponsor, MPC 2010 Annual Luncheon
"Rather than turn their backs on the issues facing the Pacesetter neighborhood, Riverdale collaborated with several key partners to do the tough work required to turn it into Whistler Crossing, a beautiful, LEED-ND community. PNC is proud to recognize Whistler Crossing as the winner of Metropolitan Planning Council’s 2010 Burnham Award for Excellence in Planning. It is a model for the rest of the region of how to build a stronger, safer, more sustainable community.”
Quote Attributable to Riverdale Mayor Deyon Dean
“The redevelopment of Pacesetter into Whistler Crossing has benefited the entire Village of Riverdale, from the families who call Whistler Crossing home to local businesses and schools. By completely turning around our most troubled neighborhood, we’ve created a catalyst, sending a signal to the south suburbs and the rest of the region that we’re a community with vision.”
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Mandy Burrell Booth
Assistant Communications Director
Metropolitan Planning Council
312-863-6018 (o)
773-640-1206 (c)
mburrell@metroplanning.org
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Since 1934, the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) has been dedicated to shaping a more sustainable and prosperous greater Chicago region. As an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, MPC serves communities and residents by developing, promoting and implementing solutions for sound regional growth.