Editorial: The Avenue could again become magnificent #Ward09

The Chicago Neighborhood

This editorial from the Chicago Sun-Times makes reference to last year's fire at the former Gatelys Department store on the Michigan Avenue shopping strip south of 111th Street. It's probably time to redevelop that corridor, especially in time for that Red Line extension whenever it gets funded and construction starts.

Keep an eye on the Roseland neighborhood’s Michigan Avenue, once a retail strip so popular it was called Chicago’s second Magnificent Mile.

Shoppers could find anything from school supplies to furniture to brand new cars.

Rocked by two devastating extra-alarm fires within the last year, and now slammed by a pandemic that’s likely to change forever how we shop and gather, the faded and struggling commercial strip faces a tough future.

But “The Avenue” — as this stretch of Michigan Avenue between 115th and 107th was called in its heyday — now is being targeted by the city for possible redevelopment.

The plans were in place before the coronavirus broke out and they’ll need to be modified. But given that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit all traditional retail strips hard — have you seen the boarded up stores on North Michigan Avenue these days? — saving The Avenue should be even more of a priority.

When neighborhood shopping dies, neighborhoods die.

The Avenue’s day as a regional commercial giant are not likely to return. People just don’t shop in brick-and-mortar stores the way they used to, and the street’s major retailers, such as JCPenney, are long gone.

But the buildings still stand and could be reused in potentially exciting new ways. And if done correctly, the lessons learned here could be applied to troubled commercial streets in neighborhoods elsewhere on the South and West sides.

Probably excerpted a lot more than I should've so I'll stop there and hope that you'll read the whole thing.

The editorial itself makes reference to this strip's proximity to the Pullman National Monument. How could the businesses and the community leverage that. The Avenue - at least for those old school residents might refer to the strip - might not return to the glory days. I still would like to see what plans could develop with revitalization. What entrepreneurs can become successful in this area.

Curbed: Why U.S. cities need more multi-racial, mixed-income neighborhoods

This is something you might have seen on the national Curbed site yesterday. You may have even seen this as a link on Curbed Chicago also.

Why U.S. cities need more multi-racial, mixed-income neighborhoods. https://t.co/YsRVHdAyOc pic.twitter.com/KoY8cbmQuO

— Curbed (@Curbed) August 21, 2018

The report concludes that the U.S. currently has 1,300 neighborhoods home to about 7 million Americans which qualify as diverse, mixed-income communities. Many of these neighborhoods are in three U.S. cities—New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles—but a detailed map that accompanies the study reveals that of the 52 most populous metropolitan areas, about 80 percent have at least one neighborhood which fits this description.

There is growing consensus that integration is key to promoting a wide range of positive outcomes for all residents by improving access to economic opportunity. More integrated communities give more people better connections to jobs, schools, and civic resources.

Integration is also important from a fiscal perspective as cities are adversely affected by the financial burdens of segregation. A 2017 study by the Urban Institute and the Metropolitan Policy Center of the Chicago metropolitan area found that segregation cost the city of Chicago more than $4 billion annually.

Could it be integration will be the key to changing some of Chicago's neighborhoods? Especially the most violent neighborhoods?

Just bear in mind not just ethnic/race integration, but income integration. So-called upper, middle, or low incomes.

BTW, read the whole thing! 

Englewood is about to "buy the block"

Via @buyblackeconomics

You might have seen this on Curbed Chicago this week and to the Resident Association of Greater Englewood it's a good idea to be able to determine the direction of their neighborhood. You determine the direction of your neighborhood by buying up the real estate or someone else from outside of your community will.

Englewood residents organize to take back their block https://t.co/yJgcs9KsBA pic.twitter.com/M7wjJjoR3S

— Curbed Chicago (@curbedchicago) July 23, 2018

Englewood residents filled a room in the historic bank building at 63rd and Halsted in May to learn about purchasing apartment buildings in the neighborhood. During a pair of panels, landlords discussed how best to gut rehab a building and deal with difficult tenants, while banks and nonprofits gave advice on handling a past foreclosure or building a good credit score. The event was called “Buy the Block”—implying, as organizers said repeatedly that day, “or somebody else will.”

“The people I see who are purchasing property in Englewood don’t look like us, by and large,” Gloria King-Wright, loan officer at Seaway Bank, told attendees. “They’re investors, they’re speculators.”

“We need to buy the land in Englewood. Do believe there are people who are buying blocks at a time—at a time. You can’t complain about gentrification if you don’t own anything,” said Antoine Butler, a landlord, to a round of applause. “The property value is rising. They’re not gonna tell you that. They’re not gonna let you know that Englewood is probably the hottest land in the city of Chicago right now.”

Seaway Bank, interesting to see that long-time banking brand noted on Curbed Chicago.

Anyway, I went to the Portillo's located in the South Loop having lunch with a friend of mine. He just made a random comment noting how that general area along Taylor Street just west of the Chicago River had changed and now there's a Portillo's store there. Then noting the Whole Foods Market on 63rd & Halsted stated simply that this what the city "will do to Englewood".

There probably weren't many people fighting for Taylor Street since it's not known as a residential neighborhood to the same extent as Englewood. So at least Englewood has people fighting for the direction of their neighborhood. So hopefully they will be able to buy their block and give the neighborhood what it truly deserves.

From time to time you might have seen various buy the block messages on our ig page. Some memes regarding this which I wholeheartedly agree. What would you do if you have the opportunity to purchase a whole block?

Reason: Little Pink House

[VIDEO] As stated with an earlier video from Reason magazine, one of the things I pride myself in doing with this blog is presenting ideas that get you to think. With that last video it illustrated ways that bigotry can prove to be expensive and proved to be an opportunity for an enterprising real estate entrepreneur in the 20th century.

This video takes a different track. John Stossel in his recent video with Reason talks about eminent domain. You may have heard that term fairly recently with regards to the former Dominick's on 71st/Jeffrey as there was significant interest in getting another grocery store to that space.

What Stossel discusses in this video is a movie called Little Pink House. It's about a woman who lost her house in an eminent domain fight that went all the way up to the Supreme Court of the United States. Basically the city of New London, Connecticut wanted to condemn an entire neighborhood for redevelopment which as you see in the video above still hasn't happened even in 2018. You can read up on the Supreme Court case here.

Could this be how many low-income Chicago neighborhoods can ultimately become relatively affluent neighborhoods? Is this what could happen to Englewood or Woodlawn? Is it what's happening with Bronzeville?

Let me elaborate with Bronzeville, that area for many years contained those notorious housing projects that have been demolished in the course of the past decade. Now granted these were government housing projects - and certainly not a case of eminent domain - that unfortunately trapped crime, social issues, etc and now the land where these projects stood are up for grabs. Will the future developments on these lands be housing for the rest of us or will they be for the affluent?

Feel free to chime in on what you think about the video. Better yet feel free to chime in on the "dreaded G word".

Chicago Tonight: How Gentrification Takes Shape Across Chicago Neighborhoods

How often is it that I share a video from the news program of WTTW, Chicago Tonight?

Today we take a look at a segment aired on Tuesday further discussing the "strategic gentrification" comments of Chris Kennedy - a member of the Kennedy family who's running for the Democrat nomination for Governor. On this segment the discussion is between Natalie Moore of WBEZ Radio and Lynda Lopez of Streetsblog.

If I may focus on Moore for a second if there is this so-called "strategic gentrification" she's not seeing it in the Black areas of Chicago:

“We see many challenges in black South and West Side neighborhoods,” Moore said. “I don’t dispute his evidence is there about the challenges that those neighborhoods are facing but we are not seeing a replacement of people in those neighborhoods. We’re seeing population decline.”

In the above video, she specifically notes that the people who are leaving these areas aren't being replaced by more affluent people.

Also want to note this comment written to this particular segment:

 Some historical perspective. In the 1960's , 70's and 80's , many of us baby boomers and yuppies, moved into and changed neighborhoods like Old Town, Lincoln Park ,, De Paul, Lakeview , what became Wrigleyville, Ravenswood, Lincoln Square and Uptown. These were old, crumbling neighborhoods with old housing that badly needed renovation and/or replacing . Many of us did that work, or paid to have it done or paid the increased rents that ; incentivised landlords and developers to have it done.. In the process we pushed out or priced out the poorer residents who lived there. We didn't ask the questions posed by Lynda Lopez such as what is our impact and should we be doing this. We knew what we doing. We were making better housing for ourselves in an urban environment, near to where we worked and not in suburbia. We were buying housing we could afford and building up personal equity in the process. I and many other had no regrets about who we replaced, priced out or pushed out. Its a good thing we didn't because in the process, we changed the North side and made it into what it is today: a part of the city that is growing and a destination for new residents and tourists alike. It also provided tax revenue to support the city's taxing and spending plans. Some of the existing residents saw what was happening, jumped on the improvement train and improved their lives. Others were content to sit on their porches , watch the changes until the rising tide of improvement and higher prices swept them away. Overall, this process was no different than what others had been doing in Chicago for almost 200 years . Chicago was built on real estate speculation, development, building and improvement. Navel gazing questions like those raised by Lopez in her self indulgent tweet such as "Should a white person move into Pilsen" "What will be impact if I do" run counter to the very essence of Chicago. These are not the kind of questions to be asking if this City is to grow and prosper. We cannot build walls around islands of stagnation and poverty and say "hands off ". If our city is lucky enough to get Amazon's second HQ waves of improvement and change are going to come fast and furious and everyone living here had better be ready to handle it. Those who cannot handle living in a capitalist city that is always changing and growing should find a tranquil backwater where they can live out their days in peace and mind numbing tranquility.

I wonder, what if someone with the resources in a depressed neighborhood could do the work necessary on their home. It could be mostly outside with work on windows, roof, sidewalks, garage, outward appearance, etc. It could also be inside work as far as plumbing, electrical, redecorating, etc. It's your property and it's in your best interest to do the work necessary to keep it up. Perhaps if you're concerned about being squeezed out that's the best thing one could do.

Regardless this whole "dreaded G word" angle still has us talking since Mr. Kennedy made those remarks.

Capitol Fax: Kennedy alleges 'gentrification plan'

Yesterday from the Capitol Fax, Rich Miller wrote a syndicated column about Chris Kennedy - who's running for Governor in the Democratic primary this year - and further discusses his comments last week with regards to "strategic gentrification". Please give it a read right quick and also do you agree.

Kennedy: “To use the chief of police for political motives… That’s what they do in fascist countries” https://t.co/NfRWXrCDF3

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) January 9, 2018

To be fair and was noted in the column, the idea of getting "Black folks out of Chicago" is nothing new. A fringe mayoral candidate whom nobody likely remembers said this on her CAN-TV show - that nobody likely watched. So many years ago, and yet it's gotten some traction lately. 

Also the title you see for Miller's post at his blog, it's actually Kennedy's response to Superintendent Eddie Johnson. Kennedy clearly took issue with what he perception that Mayor Rahm Emanuel using his police chief to speak on the issue of crime - which Kennedy did refer to in his comments - as nothing more than political games.

The discussion of "strategic gentrification" continues

This time another angle as shown on the Capitol Fax blog today. Part of this strategic gentrification advanced by Democrat gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy - and yes he's related to the late President John F. Kennedy - at a news conference yesterday. His point, the fact that Black Chicago is in decline due to population because there is a strategic plan involved.

Kennedy “strategic gentrification” blast coincides with CTU’s Englewood protest https://t.co/yO9JW058t7

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) January 4, 2018

For example the angle in question, the four Englewood high school - which are generally under-enrolled are slated to close at the end of the school year - in favor of a new high school set to open in 2019 for freshmen. One aspect of this "strategic gentrification" are to close schools in minority areas such as Englewood.

As you see over at the Capitol Fax, we see a series of tweets by members of the Chicago Teacher's Union taking on this issue of closing the four Englewood high schools Harper, Hope, Teamwork Englewood & Robeson. The comments Kennedy - who was involved with the massive Merchandise Mart building downtown - has touched a nerve as he specifically directed his comments towards Mayor Rahm Emanuel yesterday. Some of the comments seemed to support Kennedy running for Mayor of Chicago next year.

Also, reported today on the Capitol Fax blog Kennedy appears to be backing down from his statements yesterday. He was on a radio show to somewhat clarify his remarks although he may not have been forceful, he chose to be a bit more artful in his clarification. Though Miller believes that Kennedy his backing away from his comments of course his campaign disputes this.

Kennedy seems to back away from his full-blown conspiracy theory https://t.co/uqJIPmiUcS

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) January 4, 2018

RELATED

• Black Caucus Chair on the decline of Black Chicago
• Is there "strategic gentrification" in Chicago?

 

Is there "strategic gentrification" in Chicago?

Yesterday at the Capitol Fax we see that Chris Kennedy - and if you want to know yes he's a member of that family Kennedy family related to the late President John F. Kennedy - made some comments. He believes in "strategic gentrification" so guess what in 2018 a return to the "dreaded G word".

From the Sun-Times:

If businessman Chris Kennedy is to have any chance of winning the Democratic nomination for governor, he needs to get black voters excited about his candidacy.

With that clearly in mind, Kennedy turned his sights Wednesday on Mayor Rahm Emanuel, accusing the mayor of being part of a “strategic gentrification plan” to intentionally push black residents out of the city.

“We’re cutting off money for schools, cutting off money for police, allowing people to be forced to live in food deserts, closing hospitals, closing access to mental health facilities,” Kennedy told reporters during a news conference that began as a criticism of the city’s efforts to stop gun violence.

“What choice do people have but to move, to leave, and I think that’s part of a strategic gentrification plan being implemented by the city of Chicago to push people of color out of the city,” he continued.
...
Pressed further, Kennedy said: “I believe that black people are being pushed out of Chicago intentionally by a strategy that involves disinvestment in communities being implemented by the city administration.”

Then he states who he blames for this:

Asked who is behind this alleged plan, Kennedy pointed to Emanuel.

“I believe in the tone at the top,” he said. “I believe the mayor is aware of what’s going on, and I think he is allowing that to occur and in some ways encouraging it.”
...
“And I believe Rahm Emanuel is the head of the city administration and therefore needs to be held responsible for those outcomes.”

What do you all think? Is this all politics? Is this something that will spice up the Democratic primary for Governor this year? Do you think Kennedy is right about "strategic gentrification"?

Also check out the reaction over at the CapFax. We see statements by Rahm Emanuel & Superintendent in reaction to Kennedy's comments. Also check out the comments section, who thinks Chris Kennedy should run for mayor if this Governor's thing doesn't work. Mayor Emanuel needs a challenger. :P

UPDATE: Mayor Emanuel's office compares Chris Kennedy to Trump, Rauner after Kennedy claims deliberate plan to force black people out of city https://t.co/Nu2OPKFqXP

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) January 3, 2018

BTW, when you think about it sharing this is a great companion to this morning's post about South Loop winning the Curbed Cup 2017. South Loop is a changing neighborhood or we could say gentrifying since the 2000s at least.

ALSO, here's another tweet from WGN's political editor Tahman Bradley

More Chris Kennedy. He says Mayor Emanuel is purposely
disinvesting in certain communities to push out black people.

"I believe that black people are being pushed out of
Chicago intentionally."

— Tahman Bradley (@tahmanbradley) January 3, 2018

Woodlawn is going to the finals....#CurbedCup2017

Woodlawn is back in the finals in the 2017 Curbed Cup, this year they will face the South Loop. Sorry no rematch with Uptown, although a lot of positive developments is coming to that part of town. We will hear from them again yet, especially if Uptown Update has anything to say about it.

Which neighborhood should win Curbed Cup: Woodlawn or the South Loop? Cast your vote now! https://t.co/VY0B47vpnA pic.twitter.com/G65TWsYR6u

— Curbed Chicago (@curbedchicago) December 29, 2017

While good things are expected to happen to Woodlawn with some construction going around for the Green Line - and I don't mean the restoration of service past Cottage Grove. There's the Obama presidential library that's expected to come to Jackson Park. A new Jewel-Osco is coming to 61st & Cottage Grove, so some things are happening there.

Meanwhile the South Loop which contains an area from roughly Cermak to the lakefront and then Congress to the Dan Ryan on the West. I've been following their progress through the Sloopin blog - which had been quiet about the Curbed Cup until today - and the area appears to be a hot neighborhood over the years. The redevelopment of that neighborhood even inspired a post years ago wondering if Chatham could be "South Looped".

Click the tweet you see above or click here and hopefully you will support Woodlawn to repeat in 2017. Voting will be open through January 2, 2018.

Once voting is over and the winner of the Curbed Cup 2017 is announced hopefully we can discuss what neighborhoods we'd like to see get their recognition next year. Curbed Chicago always looks for those neighborhoods with some development, for example new business activity, new construction especially for housing, and certainly it helps if a major project like a national park in the case of Pullman or in the case of Woodlawn getting a presidential library is being planned or created. Let's find ways to make something happen in our communities so that they get the attention they deserve!

Don't forget to support Woodlawn through January 2 and happy new year!

HUFFPOST: Wake Up, Black Community

N'Digo's publisher Hermene Hartman writes about the changes taking place in Chicago and how these changes affect Black Chicago:

There are two Chicagos, one Black and one White. There are two districts in the city – the White one north and the Black one combining the South and West Sides.

By the time Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s term is up in 2019, the city will be revamped, the redesign of Chicago will be complete, and the divide will be greater than ever through economic maneuvers.

The Black community, the Black vote, as usual is being taken for granted by the Democrats and ignored by the Republicans. You can see it everywhere and the Black community is losing as the renaissance of the city goes forth before your very eyes.

Taxes are increasing, housing is changing, and the cranes in the south loop and downtown Chicago are erecting condos and hotels as fast as possible. Hyde Park is a new community with high-rise rentals and new stores as they prepare for the Obama library.

And then it goes on:

The Black community is asleep, a sleeping giant, the voting elephant in a room where Black lives don’t matter in reality. Wake up, if you please, and look at the surroundings.

The neighborhoods are changing rapidly and Black folk don’t matter and we don’t know the plan. Hopefully we will look through the political talk and hold the politicians accountable.

Crime is rampant in our neighborhoods that will change soon, bringing new land development and new populations. Displacement abounds. New schools are coming. New stores are coming. New restaurants are coming, but they are not for the Black community that is currently in those neighborhoods now. Economic development is not coming our way. The newest innovation is pianos in the park, where Blacks are afraid to play, ride bicycles or picnic for fear of being shot, while listening to the tinkling piano music, I suppose.

I excerpted a lot more than I should've but read the whole thing & let me know what you think. Whenever the subject of the decline of Black Chicago comes up on this blog, there is a recurring theme. Blacks are leaving the city of Chicago and going to the burbs or out of state - perhaps to the south. Also we're losing population, however, there is a construction boom near downtown Chicago or in Hyde Park.

So right now what do we do to stem the tide?

DNA Info: Woodlawn Hasn't Gentrified Despite $400 Million In Investments, Report Says

Woodlawn won the 2016 Curbed Cup. With that said DNA reports that the south side neighborhood to be the recipient of former President Obama's presidential library has yet to gentrify:

Woodlawn has seen more than $400 million in investment in the last five years. In some neighborhoods, that kind of money would have inevitably led to gentrification, forcing longtime residents from their homes.

But that's not the case, the largest developer in the neighborhood said in a new report about the investments.

Preservation of Affordable Housing, a national nonprofit which has sought to revitalize some of the nation's largest cities while keeping housing affordable, released a report Monday showing $400 million was invested in the neighborhood in 2011. That year, the group started redeveloping Grove Parc Plaza through a $30.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Bill Eager, vice president for the nonprofit’s Chicago branch, which is behind more than $100 million of that investment, said the neighborhood has improved greatly and is still a ways away from gentrification.

“There’s lots of room still for everyone,” Eager said. “There can be lots of development still in Woodlawn before gentrification becomes a problem.”

Local religious and political leaders agree the development has not led to displacement, at least not yet.

As you'll see in this article there are some construction projects going on in the intersection of 63rd & Cottage Grove.

Perhaps if there is a tipping point in this community perhaps someone can advocate for a reconstruction of the CTA Green Line to send that line back past Cottage Grove. Time will tell on that.

News from the Red Line extension hearing

Rendering of the west option Michigan CTA station - CTA

 I didn't get to attend the recent Red Line extension hearing this past Tuesday at 211 E. 111th St, however, both the Chicago Tribune and DNA Info went. Judging only by the headlines two issues came up during the hearing the dreaded "G" word and eminent domain.

Concerns over gentrification:

Activist Lou Turner, though pleased the project is going forward after decades of discussion, said he also wished it hadn't taken so long and had concerns that some residents may get pushed out by gentrification once the L goes through.

"There could be unintended consequences," said Turner, director of undergraduate and graduate studies in the African-American Studies department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "This area has the largest stock of affordable housing in the city."

Turner said the CTA's draft environmental impact statement on the proposed $2.3 billion project does not address the issue of gentrification, which has driven up property prices by as much as 48 percent in some areas along The 606 trail on the city's Northwest Side. A final environmental impact study is needed to secure federal funding.

"It's a concern, but at the same time I am very happy," said Turner, who like Jones had pushed for the extension with the Developing Communities Project, a group that once included President Barack Obama.

And then of course the properties CTA would need to purchase to build the extension:

Under the east option, the CTA elevated structure would be built east of the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way from 99th street to 118th street. This option would affect 260 parcels, including 106 buildings, 90 of which are residential, officials said. Under this route, more single-family residences would be affected, officials said.

Under the west option, the line would run west of the Union Pacific Railroad from 99th street to 118th street. This option would affect more commercial and industrial properties, some 205 of them, officials said. About 46 would require building demolitions; 26 are residential.

Those homes and business owners would be compensated, including for moving costs, under federal regulations.

Roseland resident Aaron Mallory discovered his four-unit building could be demolished under the extension.

“It’s an investment property, so I have mixed feelings,” he said.

Mallory said he doesn't want to lose the building, but he also supports an extension of mass transit.

By next year it's said we'll know which option east or west the CTA will pursue as their preferred routing. That way any property owner will brace themselves for the impact. Thus anyone in the way would have to move.

If you want to know more about this project click this link.

Chicago Tonight: Whole Foods Brings Economic Development, Lower Prices to Englewood

Chicago Tonight did a story about the new Whole Foods Market Englewood that opened on Wednesday. Since this development was announced in 2013, there were plans to keep prices down at this store. It appears that they've kept their promise:

“Definitely there are lower prices here and some very reasonable prices. For an example, whole milk is $1.99 a gallon here, and it’s roughly $4 a gallon in our other locations,” said Michael Bashaw, regional president of Whole Foods. “I think you can go all through the store and look at commodity, day-to-day items that you need to feed your family, and you’ll find those good values.

“We are passing on the benefit of being here in Englewood … the rents are cheaper here, and so our operating costs are lower and that allowed us to have lower retails.”

The dreaded "G" word has come up in this excitement and it appears from this quote from Andrea Natay of RAGE that it's not a concern, “Whole Foods coming into the community does not equal gentrification. Whole Foods coming into the community equals great change. A great, positive change, at that.”

Also consider the fact that 63rd & Halsted had once been an important commercial hub as stated on Chicago Tonight which went into decline during the 1960s and 1970s. We see a fall and now a rebirth.

Speaking of that, it's funny how before 2013 another member of RAGE - in fact the founder - was on WCIU calling for a Whole Foods in Englewood and then guess what it happens. If only I could find that video and preserve it as it had been posted here but is no longer available online. A self-fulfilling prophecy?

Disclaimer: One of the bloggers at The Sixth Ward is a Whole Foods Market team member.

Dreaded G-word redux

A reader sent in this link to a DNA Info article out of Pilsen referring to her neighborhod Chatham as "under serviced" because as she puts it: "so that all the middle-class, black folks will want to leave: then the white folks can return and take back the city."

Anti-gentrification signs have again popped up at Bow Truss coffee shop on 18th Street, this time reading: 'White people out of Pilsen!"

The coffee shop, at 1641 W. 18th St., has been vandalized five times in the last two or three weeks, Bow Truss owner Phil Tadros said Monday. The latest anti-gentrification messages, posted sometime late Sunday or early Monday, are in the form of stickers fashioned to look like the Chicago flag.

In January, anti-gentrification signs reading "Fresh Roasted Gentrification Served Here!" and "Wake up and smellllll the gentrification" were plastered over the windows at Bow Truss. The next weekend, the shop was hit again, prompting the Chicago-based owner to ask those targeting his store to come forward and talk about the polarizing issue.
On Monday, Tadros renewed that call. To date, nobody has claimed responsibility for the signs, he said.

I'm a long way from saying Chatham is under the "gentrification gun". But on the fb page I see there are those who believe it's coming. I'd be very curious to hear from those who do and those who may not see it.

Perhaps it's time to revive an old discussion "gentrification prevention" or Chatham "South Looped".

BTW, I like how Tadros the owner of this coffee shop is attempting to handle this situation. At the same time, it appears those who opposes this business and gentrification may have no interest in talking.

DNA Info: Can Whole Foods Help Restore Glory to Formerly Thriving Englewood Strip?

Englewood Square lot in July 2015. [DNAinfo/Andrea Watson]

 And you know we all hope that the new developments out of Englewood (not only Kennedy-King College, Whole Foods Market, or even Starbucks) will bring about a rebirth of the intersection at 63rd/Halsted.

Those same residents today are encouraged by the much-heralded $362-million Englewood Square development, set to open next year at the intersection.

"It is an area that transitioned from a great place to a desolate place," said Glen Fulton, executive director of the Greater Englewood Community Development Corporation. "Now we think we can bring it back."

The Englewood Square development will feature retailers who just a couple years ago were considered unlikely to do business in the neighborhood. Whole Foods Market and Starbucks are both expected to open next year at 63rd and Halsted streets.

Residents like [86-year-old Obbie Nephew] say that the development will help keep people in Englewood. The new Whole Foods will help because right now “there is nothing else in this neighborhood, you have to travel out," Nephew said.

Other locations in the development also have been filled.

This is also excellent news:

After Englewood Square is open, Fulton will work to bring developments mixing retail and housing to the neighborhood.

"In the next five years you will see a whole new community," Fulton said.

That's what I'd like to see Mr. Fulton!

I'd like to refer you to this slideshow, the man who had been responsible for various incarnations of Chicago history blogs would be put to shame by reporters Tanveer Ali and Andrea Watson at DNA Info. They provided quite a few old photos of the formerly thriving Englewood business district.

Washington Post: Yes, 14th Street may be better these days, but something vital is missing

Last week I shared a story about Englewood to become host to a Starbuck's store right next to the coming Whole Foods Market on 63rd/Halsted. I often like to post a link to one of the posts here "The dreaded G word" in light of the coming Whole Foods.

This article discusses a Black community in Washington, DC eventually succumbing to gentrification. With the changes occurring in some of Chicago's Black communities, I sincerely hope that those neighborhoods here will prove to be the exception with gentrification.

I was walking along 14th Street NW in midtown Washington the other day and was impressed by the new look of the once-infamous strip. Where abandoned buildings and vacant lots had blighted the surrounding neighborhoods for decades, there were now chic new boutiques, home-furnishing stores, restaurants and condominiums.

But something vital was missing. There used to be thousands of black residents living and working along 14th Street. You could hear laughter and music. People sitting on the front stoops would shout greetings to passersby. There were children playing, young adults flirting and hardworking people trying to get a toehold on the economic ladder and claw their way up.

For years, the struggles of middle- and working-class black people animated life on 14th Street. Now all of that is gone. It’s been replaced by a stultifying air of aloofness. The millennial newcomers — most of them white — jog, bike and walk about the city as if in a trance, oblivious to the lives that helped form the place they now call home.

Read the whole thing.

Starbuck's coming to Englewood...

Starbucks.com

First the Whole Foods Market announced in 2013 and now Starbuck's. I've reposted a gram from RAGE and now the "dreaded G word" is rearing its ugly head again:

Another jolt of economic activity for Englewood: Starbucks will soon join Whole Foods at 63rd and Halsted.

The upscale coffee maker plans to serve more than lattes. Also on the menu will be job-training for the disadvantaged, CBS 2’s Dorothy Tucker reports.

Howard Bailey employs a half a dozen young people at his new cafe in Englewood. When he opened six months ago, he came in with a mission to hire youth from the community.

Bailey is doing exactly what Starbucks is planning. The coffee giant plans to build a shop and training center at 63rd and Halsted.

Like Bailey, Starbucks will target underserved youth aged 16 to 24. They plan to hire and train 20 to 25 at the Englewood location.

Look out for a job fair in August.

Whatever is happening in Englewood...how do we bring that to other parts of the city?

Monroe Anderson: Spike Lee’s #Chiraq could be KKK

Spike Lee via RAGE ig

So the new Spike Lee "joint" expected to be filmed in Englewood that's causing some controversy among some in Chicago - for it's title primarily - is the subject of a column from Monroe Anderson.

You can see why Chiraq is not the best title for what’s really happening here. So, I’ve got a better suggestion. I think Spike should look at the artwork of visual artist James Pate and either beg, borrow or buy his cutting edge artistic vision. A couple of years ago, Pate had a three-month exhibition at the DuSable Museum. Its title was KKK--Kin Killin Kin.

The detailed black and white drawings, beautiful yet powerful, were of boys from the hood, wearing Ku Klux Klan-like headgear with their black faces exposed or basketball jerseys with the initials KKK on them while pointing guns at each other’s heads. The bullets they fired were artistically frozen just before they entered each other’s heads.

That unnerving reality would make a much more powerful movie than a sequel to the Hughes brothers 1993 hit.

I was thinking this could be another one of those message movies which seemed very popular in the 1990s.  This time at least a movie will be set on the south side of Chicago instead of South Central Los Angeles.

Also if you read the another issue is at play, gentrification. Violence is an important issue of course but not the only one. Neighborhoods like Bronzeville is changing and in the future the eye is on Englewood - where this movie will be set.

Is Chatham being gentrified?

From www.thechicagoneighborhoods.com/

Was alerted to this posting at Nextdoor, a resource we should all utilize although to be honest I haven't utilized it enough myself. Regardless a longtime neighborhood leader - Dr. Marc A. Robertson - wrote this post and decided it was worth sharing here:

• Chatham is being Gentrified 
  Gentrification is taking place in our community. Just open up your eyes and see. How is Gentrification affecting you, your home/property value and your quality of life?
  
  GEN- TRI- FI-CATION (Noun) The buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper or middle income families or individuals, thus improving property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses.
  
  How Does Gentrification work and what are the signs? 
  
  The system, the world order (Kosmos) allows certain elements into chosen neighborhoods in order to destroy them (John 10:10). These elements are drugs, thugs, gang bangers, crime, burglary, guns, killings, prostitution, unpaid property taxes, foreclosures, deteriorated homes and unattended cars and trucks parked on our streets for months. Once this takes place, property values go down, home owners can’t refinance and investors come in and renovate the homes. They increase the property value of the homes thus increasing prices and pushing people out, while upper or middle class people start moving in. Just open up your eyes and see. Look on your block. Look around our neighborhood. I ask you! What do you see? Was Chatham like this, 20, 25 or 30 years ago? So why do you keep silent? Don’t you see what is happening or maybe you just don’t care about the inconsiderate, rude, selfish, destructive behaviors from others. We need to stop making excuses. Like Marvin Gaye, said In Inner Blues, “This ain’t livin, it makes me wanna holler and throw up both my hands.”
  
  Please get involved. Be informed. Please attend SOME of our community meetings and your block club meetings. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. We need to preserve our neighborhood. Who’s there to hold up a standard of excellence and pride on our blocks, if not you, then who? We have very few visible role models, but have a lot of gangsters/thugs, harlots/pimps, Ahab’s and Jezebels. “Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth”? (Galatians 4:16) Just examine the facts. Look around. Open up your eyes and see. Truth stands alone. You cannot go against THE TRUTH (John14:6). Chatham is being GENTRIFIED. It is part of the system’s plan to gentrify Chatham, while most of us are sleep walking, not paying attention, don’t understand or don’t care to understand how the master plan works until it’s too late “For my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6).
  
  Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “Our lives begin to end when we keep silent about the things that matter.”
  
  The Struggle Continues………….

In the earliest days of this blog we tackled this issue at least the theory that Chatham is better off with gentrification - or the dreaded G word. Regardless it's interesting that longtime Chatham leaders such as Dr. Robinson is already speaking out about it.

Do you think gentrification is the future in Chatham?

#MBMHMC: "Boricua" Humboldt Park

[VIDEO] The latest episode of Jahmal Cole's My Block My Hood My City takes us to the city neighborhood of Humboldt Park on the northwest side. Predominantly Puerto Rican this neighborhood was noted as diverse by their local alderman - Roberto Maldonado. Duration of this video is about five and a half minutes.

Ald. Maldonado who represents Chicago's 26th ward has something of an extended discussion with Cole over...the dreaded G word. Humboldt Park has been undergoing gentrification as of late. I share this episode as this is likely the discussion as the new Whole Foods Market Englewood is being built at 63rd & Halsted.

Is there anything you would like to say regarding gentrification?

Cole with Ald. Maldonado