Chicago Plan Commission [remote]
Chicago Plan Commission
Monday, Dec. 12, 2022
10:00 a.m. — 3:00 p.m. CST
Chicago, IL 60602 (Directions)
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Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team
Bally's Casino zoning
Good morning! Today I will be live-tweeting the Chicago Plan Commission meeting for @CHIdocumenters. The meeting has been called to order at 10 a.m. #CHIDocumenters
10:00 AM Dec 12, 2022 CST
The minutes from the November meeting were approved, as was the Plan Commission calendar for 2023.
There are 5 speakers signed up for today’s public comment portion. The first speaker is Brian Israel with the River North Residence Association speaking on Item 1 at 643-741 W. Chicago Ave.
Israel is concerned about the proposed housing, hotel, and commercial projects in an already dense area. He asks for fewer units + more space for landscape. Israel also raised concerns about space for bike lanes on already crowded streets.
Next, Mr. Adams is also speaking on Item 1. Adams is an architectural water tour guide and supports the casino and its potential expansion of the skyline. He has sent the commission a letter of support.
Next, Les Bernel of Stop Predatory Gambling is speaking against Item 1. Bernel says the casino business is separated from other businesses and vices because it is a con: “If you order a slice of pizza or a drink at a Cubs game, that’s what you get.”
Bernel says gambling is predatory consumer fraud. He says the DSM-5 shows gambling is just as addictive as many illicit drugs; why add this to our city?
Last, Bernel speaks out against the parallel being drawn between McCormick Place and the future casino: did McCormick make residents lose their personal wealth? Become homeless? Become addicted?
Next, Ms. Kimmy Jordan asks the commission to vote in favor of the casino. She is from the South Side, resides in Back of the Yards, and is a member of UNITE HERE Local 1, Chicago’s hospitality union.
Jordan says many of the members of her union are women of color who have struggled to find work since the pandemic. While she has returned to work at a hotel, many of her coworkers have not been as lucky and are struggling to find work.
Jordan asks for a vote of support because she sees the casino project as a way to send many of her unemployed union members back to work.
Next, the president of Neighbors of River West speaks in support of the casino project. He asks that the city creates an infrastructure plan and capital plan so that residents can better navigate River West, which he says is already a bit difficult to navigate.
At the top of the agenda: A proposed amendment to Air Rights Waterway Business Residential Planned Development by Bally’s Chicago
Bally’s wants to rezone the property at 643-741 W Chicago Avenue & 641-739 N Halsted to build a casino, hotel, entertainment venue & commercial space
The project is in the 27th ward in River West, a community of 88K people mostly between the ages of 20 and 34. The project site is in a well-serviced transit area (vehicle access, protected bike access, 2 blue line, 1 brown line, and 2 red line stations).
Christine Carlyle is presenting on the D-1 project. She says the goal is to create a vibrant entertainment district that centers around the casino.
The goal is to have the new entertainment district parallel past roadway framework so there will be increased connectivity.
A linear park will attempt to transition the mixed-use district to the casino property. There will also be a riverfront park just south of the casino and event center. There is a proposed total of 13.4 acres of open space.
Phase 1 development stats: 4,000 gaming positions, 10+ food & beverage offerings, 3,000-seat event space, 23,000 sq. ft. museum, 500 hotel rooms, 2500 parking spaces, 700 surface parking spaces.
Stats for the full entertainment district: 4,799 residential units, 800 hotel rooms, 125,000 sq. ft. of retail space, linear parking with a dedicated bike trail.
There is a future development maximum of 5.6 million sq. ft.
Pat Kennedy will be responsible for traffic and access to the site. He says a majority of the traffic from the north will come from 294. Traffic from the south will come from Halsted. Local traffic will enter at Jefferson, which will serve as “the spine.”
Some of the mitigation measures developed from the results of a traffic study include:
-Roadway improvements on Division, Halsted & Chicago. This work is to be done by @ChicagoDOT
-A new Chicago Ave bridge
-Construction of new traffic signals
A bit about Bally’s: the casino has held over 50 meetings with community groups and individuals. This would be the first casino in the nation led by a minority-owned group. Bally’s seeks to employ 60% minorities and 40% women.
The DPD has determined the proposed development is appropriate. Now, the floor is open for commissioners to ask questions.
Commissioner Villegas supports the project but wants to make sure that women, minorities, and veterans have the opportunity to invest in this project. He wants to see dividends locally in Chicago.
Alderman Riley asks why the supplemental economic disclosures filed since December 8 have not been made publically available.
He echoes the concerns of the public commenters who have traffic and transit concerns around the casino approval.
“It seems as if this airplane is being built as it’s flying,” says Riley.
He says zoning, planning, and traffic studies would normally be done prior to approval; not after it. He will be strongly advocating against this project in city council tomorrow.
Ald. Burnett asks for Bally’s workforce plan. “We cannot rely on people who have not been giving us jobs for a long time to suddenly give us jobs.”
Burnett says we will not give his support without seeing a workforce plan by tomorrow’s zoning meeting.
Burnett says he put his own job on the line by initially supporting the casino project when other neighboring aldermen opposed it. His support is contingent on people is his community being able to secure union employment.
Item D-2 is a proposed amendment to remove a portion of land and rezone the remaining property. The residential property is at 421-547 W. Division St on the Near North Side in the 27th ward.
The development began in the early 2000’s on the site of the former Cabrini Green housing project. The land is owned by CHA. Since that time, 6 of the blocks have seen significant development.
Timeline:
Community meetings began in October 2022. There has been great community input since the project has existed since 2006.
The projected construction completion date is December 2024, with leasing to begin early in the summer of 2025.
The project will be comprised of CHA replacement units (35.4%), 30 affordable units (30%), and market-rate units (34%). This is on par with the other units in Parkside.
The DPD has determined this proposal is appropriate for recommendation to the city council.
Alderman Burnett “supports this 100%.” He has been working in this area for more than 23 years. He hopes the developer’s momentum will continue so more units can be built in this community.
Commissioner Soto says there are delays in concrete being readily available, so she questions the accuracy of the project’s timeline.
The developers share this concern and have been discussing the matter with their general contractor and potential companies.
The motion to recommend the amendment to this development to the city council has passed.
Item D-3 on the agenda is also an application from Parkside Associates, LLC. The property is at 1101-1129 N. Cambridge Ave., 500-520 W. Hobbie St., and
1100-1128 N. Cleveland Ave on the Near North Side in the 27th ward.
Parkside plans to construct 3 buildings with a total of 93 dwelling units and 65 accessory parking spaces. The buildings are not to exceed 105 feet in height.
The DPD has found the proposal is consistent with the neighborhood development patterns and has a level of amenities appropriate for the scale of this project.
The department recommends this proposal be approved.
The motion to recommend the proposal to the city council passes.
The next item on the agenda is a proposed Industrial Corridor Map Amendment located within the North Branch Industrial Corridor at 1226 W. Augusta Blvd in West Town in the 27th Ward.
ChiSai Properties LLC seeks to rezone the property to allow for the construction of a new three-story, three-unit residential building with a basement and two off-street parking spaces.
The DPD found the project is appropriate for this site and supports the development.
The motion to recommend this project to the city council passes.
The last item on the agenda is a proposed technical amendment to a Business Planned Development submitted by Northwestern Memorial Healthcare.
The property is at 201-221 E. Erie St., 631-649 N. St. Clair St., and 200-212 E. Ontario St on the Near North Side in the 42nd Ward.
The amendment would allow medical services as a permitted use as well as add a pedestrian bridge. No other structural changes are proposed to the planned development.
The DPD recommends the approval of this proposal.
The motion to recommend the proposal to the city council passes.
Attachments
23 attachments
Agency Information
Chicago Plan Commission
The Chicago Plan Commission is responsible for the review of proposals that involve Planned Developments (PDs), the Lakefront Protection Ordinance, Planned Manufacturing Districts (PMDs), Industrial Corridors and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts. It also reviews proposed sales and acquisitions of public land as well as certain long-range community plans.