But, as mandated by Chicago’s current Affordable Requirements Ordinance, Optima would also include 13 on-site affordable units, and pay $1.5 million into the city’s fund to build low-income housing elsewhere. It’s geared toward relatively wealthy Chicagoans, with rents ranging from $1,500 to $5,000, and amenities like a rooftop pool deck, basketball courts, and a dog park. The eight-story steel-and-glass building would include 246 apartments, a mix of studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, with 107 car parking spaces and 129 bicycle spots. 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. Broadway sounds like a pretty good project. Therefore, the TOD proposed by Glencoe-based Optima, Inc., for the shuttered Treasure Island supermarket location at 3460 N. And it’s true the city needs to work harder to promote affordable TOD across Chicago, so that residents of all income levels can benefit from easier transit access.īut gentrification isn’t much of an issue in already affluent communities like East Lakeview.
The resulting transit-oriented development boom, which has mostly involved upscale projects, has been blamed for accelerating housing displacement in gentrifying neighborhoods like Logan Square. Aldermen passed a transit-oriented development ordinance that allows additional housing density and essentially waives the usual off-street car parking requirements for new developments within a quarter mile of rapid transit stops or a half mile on designated “Pedestrian Streets.” Recently the City Council took an important step to address global warming by encouraging transit use and discouraging driving.
#Treasure island parking free
It’s especially convenient to live “car lite” or car free if you live near a train station or express bus service. That’s relatively easy in much of Chicago, where there are a wealth of alternatives to private car ownership: walking, biking, Divvy, e-scooters, CTA, Metra, Zipcar, taxis, and ride hailing. One of the simplest things individuals can do to fight climate change is drive less, or not at all. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.” Last month 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.