Last week at the UN’s Climate Action Summit, 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg had a stern warning about global warming for world leaders and, by extension, city politicians and adults in general: “The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.”
But gentrification isn’t much of an issue in already affluent communities like East Lakeview. Therefore, the TOD proposed by Glencoe-based Optima, Inc., for the shuttered Treasure Island supermarket location at 3460 N. Broadway sounds like a pretty good project. The site is a ten-minute walk from the Addison Red Line station, and a five-minute walk from express buses on Inner Lake Shore Drive.
BOB cofounder Mike Wilborn, 70, a retired insurance agency professional who lives nearby, says parking isn’t one of the core organizers’ chief concerns. Rather, he says, they want the building to stay within the current zoned height limit of 50 feet (although there are plenty of high-rises nearby); with fewer units, which they say would mean less of an impact on traffic; and an architectural style that uses less glass to better fit in with existing structures on Broadway.
According to Peter Haas from Chicago’s Center for Neighborhood Technology, U.S. Census statistics, and other data, such as late-night parking counts the group conducted at similar local buildings, indicate that parking demand would be far lower than neighbors like Bernstein think. CNT’s eTOD Social Impact Calculator mapping tool allows users to analyze the financial, social, and environmental impacts of proposed development. “Given the location and the mix of bedrooms, we calculate that . . . there will only be 0.17 car spaces used per unit, or about 42 spots,” Haas says. “So I think [107 spaces] is plenty of parking, if not too much.”
Of course, if we continue with business as usual, including car-centric development, freezing cold Chicago winters won’t be a problem too much longer. v
