ARCHIVED NEWS: Chatham Club TIF

I posted an e-mail last night and here's one aspect of it I would like to focus on...

Not to mention, with a significantly, heavy senior population in Chatham and the reality of more homes going up for sale due to owner deaths, shouldn't this community start to plan on how we will attract new middle class families before it's too late?

Do we want to see a surge of rentals happening where we as a community have no control over what types of tenants are placed there?

Last night the Ald. Lyle posted a very strong response to that post but for this moment let's focus on the TIFs:

Fact 1. The 6th Ward has 2 TIF Districts, on this side of the Dan Ryan. Fact 2. One of those TIFs i.e. The Chatham Club TIF was designed to and did create more than 100 new homes at 89th & Indiana for middle class families. Fact 3. The second TIF, known as the Cottage Grove TIF, was created prior to the opening of Target and covers Cottage Grove from 69th-95th St. Coincidentally it also extends down 79th St. So the truth is that a TIF does exist in Park Manor; and also on 79th St. in Chatham; and TIF funds from the Chatham Club TIF brought new middle class families to the Ward.

BTW, if you don't believe her on the Chatham Club TIFs you can read this excerpt from an August 1998 article from the Chicago Citizen (via HighBeam and you may have to pay to see the whole article).

Chatham Club gets 28 `affordable' homes

Mayor Richard M. Daley announced 28 units of the Chatham Club's $33.6 million housing development have been designated affordable since its recent Tax Increment Finance (TIF) designation.

TIF's are economic incentives provided for business and industry in an effort to encourage development and redevelopment in a designated area.

Chatham Club is a new housing development of 143 homes that range from $135,000 to $225,000 located at 89th St. and Indiana Ave.

"They (the homes) are affordable as defined by city specifications," said the mayor.

Under the city's proposal, the affordable homes are priced from $135,900 to $159,000. Prospective buyers' household incomes are to be up to 120 percent of the area's median income, said Department of Housing (DOH) Commissioner Julie Stasch.

The development is at 89th Street on Indiana, the former site of the Select-Canfield Enterprises beverage company.
...
With TIF financing there will also be demolition of existing Canfield structures and public infrastructure improvements.

The TIF proposal was submitted to the Chicago City Council on July 29 will receive up to $3.6 million through the program, or 10.7 percent of total projects costs.

In February of last year, I posted a pic of a Chatham Club house and with it a link to an article on the same subject of the Chatham Club TIF courtesy of Medill Reports although when I clicked thru, unfortunately the link was no longer live.

Hmm I should find more info on these TIFs along Cottage Grove and 79th Streets.