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| ward09.com |
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| Ward09.com |
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| Shedd School on Christmas Day 2017 |
The Rescue Missionary Christian School then presented their information to the district and 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale, along with another bidder (“We never got a name. All we knew was that it was a [housing] developer,” Tucker said). Both bids were rejected. “The highest bidder did not get community approval so my thought was, ‘Shouldn’t it go to the second highest bidder since you only had two?’ But no, he rejected both bids and put it back up for sale. At least that’s the story we got,” said Tucker.Too bad they didn't send a photographer to this property. When the weather warms up and the leaves on trees grow ago there are vines growing on what used to the the kindergarten class room. That's an eyesore enough although yes, the building itself may well still remain in good condition. Here's hoping a satisfactory plan will be created for the former Shedd School.
In fact, because Shedd was not officially considered one of the schools closed in 2013, there was no district requirement for community input or public meetings at the time (now, that requirement has been lifted for many schools closed in 2013 as well).
According to Beale, the bid by the Rescue Missionary Christian School was denied because he felt they did not have “the resources to accomplish what the community is looking to have done,” he said. “If the building needs redoing, they really don’t have the capital to rehab the building, keep up with the maintenance of the building, keep up with the landscaping, all those types of things.”
According to a Freedom of Information Act request, Shedd Elementary accumulated approximately $5,430 in gas and electricity costs from July 2015 to June 2016, which has residents wondering why taxpayers are still paying to keep the lights on in a closed building.
Beale explained that some buildings are secured by alarm systems. “You don’t want a school just sitting there open. You might want to make sure the heat stays at a certain temperature so the pipes don’t freeze. There’s a lot of things going on, just because a building is vacant doesn’t mean that there’s no activity in the building. There’s still a light amount of maintenance being done,” he said.
The building is still in good condition and has yet to become an eyesore in the neighborhood. But residents still want to see the building repurposed.
Here's the latest e-mail update from Ald. Anthony Beale, there's lots of information here. If you have an e-mail address feel free to visit his site @ www.ward09.com to sign up for his e-mails.. @WholeFoods has made a big investment on Chicago's South Side. https://t.co/SGOjr89MCz— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) January 9, 2018
Whole Foods distribution center opens in Chicago https://t.co/d318g0GYi7 pic.twitter.com/fG1tgpuqMO— NBC Chicago (@nbcchicago) January 9, 2018
Chicago Mayor breaks bread at the opening ceremony for Whole Foods distribution center in the Pullman neighborhood https://t.co/eC5FJrMPvt pic.twitter.com/zHUcxjcuAS— Curbed Chicago (@curbedchicago) January 8, 2018
A new @WholeFoods distribution center has opened in the historic Pullman neighborhood.https://t.co/3wbfbVaEJP— WCIU, The U (@wciu) January 8, 2018
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| www.ward09.com |
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| Shedd School as seen in December 2016 |
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| Click here to view e-mail |
Members of the 9th Ward Greater Roseland Community Coalition said they fear the potential environmental and health threats the cell tower could bring to the empty lot at 107th Street between Vernon and Eberhart avenues.Of course there's this:
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The neighborhood coalition has been circulating petitions opposing the cellphone tower. Members said they want the land cleaned up and turned into a park and botanical garden.
The city did an environmental screen of the site in 2014 to identify any potential environmental concerns and said the site’s history of pollution doesn’t make it the best location for a garden.This is a nice lot that could see some use in the future. How successful will this group be in getting it cleaned up and hopefully a garden could be placed there instead of a cell tower?
"The site is listed as an abandoned service station, and available records identified several underground storage tank (UST) installations and removals dating back to 1953," a letter from Fleet Management to [9th ward Ald. Anthony] Beale reads. "In addition, at least three USTs were abandoned in place in 1984, and a demolition notice was issued in 1996. Although no releases have been reported for the Site, the majority of the USTs were removed or abandoned in the 1970s and early 1980s, prior to requirements to have spill protection, conduct confirmation sampling, or report releases."
The letter says that since there is no data available to confirm a release hasn't taken place, the tanks "present an environmental concern to the Site."
It was recommended that the site not be used as a community garden because there is “high potential for both current and historic USTs at the site.”
Bryant Payne, a spokesman for Beale, confirmed Friday that the land is contaminated and that before anything is built there, it would have to be cleaned up.
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| Alderman Anthony Beale |
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| Click for larger resolution |
