This fall, our office launched the first community-driven zoning and development process in the 33rd Ward. Our elected representatives should be accountable to the people they represent, not politically connected developers. Therefore, this process makes zoning changes contingent on approval from community stakeholders, and commits our office to informing and involving community organizations at every stage. You can read the full policy we follow here. On Monday, the North River Commission and several neighborhood organizations held a meeting to brief residents about a proposed project at 2801 W Montrose, the current site of Ruby’s Dry Cleaners. The developers for the project, MVAH Partners, have not yet formally requested a zoning change–once they do, the decision will be subject to our community-driven zoning process. In the meantime, you can view the full details of the current proposal here, as well as downloading the developer’s full proposal. The current proposal includes 47 units, with a mix of affordable and market-rate rents. You can also take a survey put together by NRC. Both our office and the developer will receive and review the results. Thanks to those who attended the meeting to learn about the proposal and give their input! Finally, Block Club Chicago as a nice article summarizing the meeting and why the current owner, Jane Choi Kim, has decided to sell the land to be developed as affordable housing. From the article: 

When Jae Choi Kim moved to the U.S. from South Korea when she was nine, her family struggled to find affordable housing. The lack of stability extended into her teens, but her family eventually went on to buy and operate a successful dry cleaning business on Montrose Avenue in Irving Park.

So when it came time to decide on longterm plans for the land their Ruby Dry Cleaners sits on, the family remembered the early days — and decided to build an affordable housing complex.

“My father really wanted to build this for affordable housing because we have a history with it,” Kim said. “He was been helped by the kindness of people and institutions and policies all his life,” Kim said. “And he knew that there was something really valuable here. Something good that could happen on this land to help other people.”