In 2014, MPC partnered with the 35th Ward Office and stakeholders to host a series of public workshops through the Corridor Development Initiative (CDI) about the future of this site just above the Logan Square CTA station.
Dear Committee on Finance,
On behalf of the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), I strongly support the issuance
of Multi-Family Housing Revenue Notes, Series 2020A and Series 2020B, for costs of
acquisition of real property located at 2602-2638 N. Emmett Street, construction
thereon of the Emmett Street Apartments, and to pay costs of issuance of the Notes
and related costs of the Project.
In 2014, MPC partnered with the 35th Ward Office and stakeholders to host a series of
public workshops through the Corridor Development Initiative (CDI) about the future of
this site just above the Logan Square CTA station. CDI is a participatory planning
process that engages communities in proactively planning for real-world development
scenarios. Through three public workshops, an online survey and text polling, over 370
participants engaged with us and with one another, sharing a wide range of opinions
about the community’s needs and which of those could be met by redevelopment of
the Logan Square Blue Line station area. Ultimately, the community identified
affordable housing as their top priority for the use of limited public subsidy. We believe
this current proposal directly aligns with the priorities that emerged from that
participatory process.
Building more affordable housing in Logan Square is also critical for advancing racial
equity in Chicago. In recent years, MPC has led research and developed policy
proposals related to the deeply entrenched racial and economic segregation in our
region. As you know, over 20,000 Latinx Chicagoans have moved out of Logan Square
since 2000 driven by rising housing costs that have outpaced local incomes. The unjust
displacement of Latinx families only serves to perpetuate our existing segregation,
making the production of affordable housing in Logan Square all the more critical for
advancing equity in Chicago.
Last, MPC encourages growth near public transit to create thriving, balanced and mixed
income communities, and to ensure that the benefits of transit-oriented are
experienced by people of all income levels. Equitable transit-oriented development
(eTOD) advocates that people of all incomes experience the benefits of dense, mixeduse,
pedestrian-oriented development near transit hubs. In fact, the blocks neighboring
the current parking lot have among the lowest car ownership rates in the 35th Ward,
with only 34% of residents owning a vehicle. The proposed affordable housing
development is an important opportunity to advance equitable TOD in Chicago, and
one that will have minimal impact on nearby parking given the already low rates of car
ownership in the area.
MPC wholeheartedly supports the Emmett Street affordable housing proposal as one
of the many needed steps the city can take to advance a more equitable future.
Sincerely,
Juan Sebastian Arias, Manager
Find a PDF of MPC's statement here