‘Come Home,’ -A New Program by Chicago to Bring People Back to City and to Develop Thousands of Vacant Lots
The “repopulation phase” of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s signature plan to revitalize ten commercial corridors in Chicago’s South and West sides was officially launched on Tuesday.
The plan proposes three strategies to spur “in-fill development” on 5,600 city-owned vacant lots in the Invest South/West communities of Austin, Auburn Gresham, Bronzeville, Greater Englewood, Greater Roseland, Humboldt Park, North Lawndale, New City, South Chicago, and South Shore, to stop what Planning and Development Commissioner Maurice Cox calls “the bleeding of Black and Brown families leaving Chicago.”
The first tactic is called “Come Home,” aptly named. The plan is to encourage the development of single-family homes, townhouses, and smaller multi-unit buildings on residential blocks adjacent to the revitalizing commercial corridors.
To kick things off, “a nationwide Chicago Architecture Contest” will be held to determine the “modern design typologies” constructed by new construction companies and made available to low-income homebuyers.
The “Ready Build” plan is the second option. It will provide “custom concept plans” for redeveloping corner lots into mixed-use communities with shops on the ground floor and residential units above.
“Chicago Block Builders” is the name of the third and final tactic. Starting with the 2,000 vacant lots available this year in the 10 Invest South/West neighborhoods, this online portal is designed to facilitate the sale of thousands of vacant, city-owned parcels to private buyers.
“Come Home” is meant to reverse the Black migration out of the country
People moved out of the South and West sides by the hundreds of thousands because they couldn’t get necessities like milk and bread. Their parks were not secure places to take children. That’s why we decided to kick things off on the main drag of businesses. To fill the voids, however, “it’s now about going into the streets and blocks where people live,” Cox said.
“We’re going to do some in-fill development along the corridors, and then we’re going to move into the city blocks to promote construction on the thousands of vacant lots throughout this community to create the rooftops that are so vital to the success and prosperity of these businesses,” he said.
According to Cox, “Come Home” is meant to reverse the Black migration out of the country. All of you who have a soft spot in your heart for the South and West Side are more than welcome to return. We’ll build new homes in the neighborhoods you know and love so you may move back in.
Project’s goal would be to locate multi-unit dwellings such as duplexes and triplexes
Cox explained that the project’s goal would be to locate multi-unit dwellings such as duplexes and triplexes, in which homeowners might amass money by occupying one unit while renting out the others.
Everyone can’t build a $40 million complex. But consider a convenience shop that also has six or twelve apartments above it. We’re going to look at those empty lots and start making smaller in-fill chances for developers already working in these areas and hoping to climb the economic ladder.
He described Invest South/West as “a completely different way to operate” for a city that “championed urban regeneration” by “tearing down everything” or doing “megaprojects that take decades” to finish. Several would-be mayors have criticized Invest South/West as being all show and no substance.
Despite this, Lightfoot held two groundbreaking ceremonies: one for a $47 million mixed-use building at 5200 W. Chicago Ave. and another for a $26 million streetscape project to commemorate the occasion.
“We cannot be a great global metropolis if we do not look at the core causes of violence and understand that there is a different recipe for fixing these problems than merely deploying law enforcement on every corner,” she said.
