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Showing posts with label real estate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label real estate. Show all posts

Monday, November 20, 2023

REVISIT: Where is Roseland Heights?

This was posted to The Sixth Ward Blog on March 5, 2012 not long after the ward remap at the time. The topic of Roseland Heights being recognized was a topic of discussion within the Roseland Heights Community Association then.

I attended the recent Roseland Heights Neighborhood Association meeting where they discussed a number of topics that affected that particular community. It could be about landscaping, street lighting, trash, fly dumping, parks, ect. But they devoted a lot of time to the recognition of Roseland Heights.

At their November meeting they devoted a lot of time to address the remap situation. One of the subjects that came up was the recognition of neighborhoods. Look at any current map of Chicago neighborhoods or even the community area maps and Roseland Heights (which is bounded by 95th on the north, Dan Ryan Expressway on the west, Bishop Ford/Calumet Expressway on the south, and King Drive on the east)  is not to be found. The maps are made up by the city, the community area maps were created originally by the University of Chicago, and another map made up by the real estate businesses.

The maps change when the city recognizes a particular area. They may also change when real estate people decide to distinguish an area from the surrounding area. For example you build some new houses in Englewood, you may not like the general reputation of Englewood so you would elect to give your development a new name. One that is marketable!

That may well have been the case in Roseland Heights but then that neighborhood organization has been in existence since at least 1956. So why is it that particular neighborhood isn't recognized at all?

But then apparently there is another thread. It seems on a past map - according to association president Clevan Tucker - Roseland Heights did exist. He was looking up information regarding Abbott Park and he threw out the names of Olympia Park or Champion Park and I'll just assume those are the original designation for Abbott Park near 95th & Michigan.

However old that map was, what happened between now and then where Roseland Heights lost their recognition? Oh and I forgot to add that Roseland Heights according to a neighborhood map provided by the city is considered part of Rosemoor. I took a detail of that map and put an image here.

Also notice the thin Strip of Roseland in light green that comes on the west up to 95th Street. The western part appears to be State Street and the eastern part is Michigan Avenue and then it widens out by 107th Street. The purple shade is Roosemoor which does include most of Roseland Heights and Chicago State University.

Thursday, October 19, 2023

It's like looking into another world - 115th & Michigan 1965


 There has to be more photos of this shopping center that existed on the SW corner of 115th & Michigan. It had been torn down in the 2000s. There was a restaurant here known as The Coffee Pot. Once there was a Christian bookstore where the pharmacy was, well the pharmacy you see here in this 1965 photograph.

Back in the late 80s to early 90s it was a Perry Drug Store, what was it during the 1960s?

And that building compared to the strip mall that's there now - and seemingly vacant once home to a Hollywood Video store - well it's an improvement if it hadn't been torn down for that strip mall.

At least the lot where the former Roseland Plaza is located can be prime real estate once the Red Line extension is in service.

If you haven't had a chance join the Roseland History FB group.

Thursday, June 8, 2023

Al Jazeera: How the U.S. Government Segregated Chicago

 

[VIDEO] Not exactly a pressing topic right now, though one discussed with regards to our city's history. Of course we can talk about segregation in Chicago and it's ongoing economic and social impact to this day. This video is over six years old.

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Could social media be utilized to influence people to move into a neighborhood?

 Over at the Capitol Fax today there is a post about a Peoria, ILL resident who is using her reach on TikTok to influence people to live there. She doesn't work as a real estate agent or even for Peoria itself she is sure to tell people about what to do there (say entertainment or restaurants), what movers to rely on, or certainly another important aspect finding a job in a particular city.

The question I may ask is what things are available for people to do in say Roseland or Pullman? What restaurants exist? What entertainment options? What kind of retail?

Also the price of housing - that is rent or a mortgage. What kind of people live there? Certainly what types of opportunities entrepreneurial or employment might exist?

Perhaps there a person out there pondering these things whatever neighborhood in the city they live in. Of course if we're lacking in those attributes that makes a particular community attractive what can be done to change that?

The Chicago Neighborhoods

Monday, March 20, 2023

Chicago Tonight: CTA & City eyes community centric development around future Red Line extension #Ward09 #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] I suppose this could be a question for both Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson for the 2023 runoff, what is their position on the CTA Red Line extension. What would they be able to do to make this future extension into Ward 9/Roseland a reality?

Friday, January 20, 2023

McDonald's near 95th & Dan Ryan closed?

 I found this photo below on Facebook stating that it's now permanently closed.

Via Joe Myers on Facebook

This location has been here since the early 2000s and it was shocking within the last week to see that there was no one in the parking lot and drive through within the last two or so weeks. With it's location it's very odd that there was no one there or that it was closed.

On the other hand in the handful of times that I've been there as a customer I found that the customer service left a lot to be desired. One time I ordered something and the cashier said nothing and just pointed as if I knew what she was trying to say or ask. So my first thought was that well people finally got wind of the customer service up there and they started to lose business. Though again, this location was always jumping even if I rarely ordered any food there.

Other explanations I've seen has been about violent crime near this McDonald's say some people got shot. As you see in the above pic there is plywood over some of the windows though I don't know if there was a shooting there that affected the building or anyone inside or not.

Another explanation is that just as was done with the lots on the east side of the Red Line's 95th Terminal which used to have a Jim's polish stand, two gas stations and a strip mall, they also bought the property on the west side of the terminal. Just curious how much of this property CTA bought and can be expected to be demolished in the near future.

Regardless looking for something to eat once you get off the bus or train on 95th Street. McDonald's is now one less place to do so.

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

WBEZ: The other Michigan Ave in Roseland poised for a comeback

 I would like to see the shopping strip south of 111th Street at least get the attention it needs. From Chicago Public Radio:

Roseland is the last of the 10 communities targeted for redevelopment under the city’s ambitious INVEST South/West economic program; Michigan Avenue is a centerpiece. Compared to other neighborhoods struggling with vacant land, this part of Michigan Avenue has comparatively few – only 10 empty lots, according to my informal count.

The city owns three vacant lots in the vicinity, including the former Gately’s department store at the corner of 112th and Michigan. The city’s vision for that location is housing with retail stores. The planned CTA Red Line extension is a few blocks south near 116th and Michigan, and the city wants to develop the land next to it. And there’s a third vacant lot that was the site of a movie theater that Cox sees as a blank canvas.

Other elements of the city’s revitalization plan include affordable housing, transit-oriented development and retail connected to the emerging medical district anchored by the nearby Roseland Community Hospital. Normally when the city looks to redevelop land it owns, its department of planning and development, which Cox leads, puts out a request for proposals.

“We found that that was an unfair barrier for a lot of Black and brown developers,” Cox said. Instead Cox says the city is asking for a request of qualifications for Michigan Avenue. Developers and architects will then be matched up to create a joint venture. Those teams will each get a $20,000 to $30,000 stipend from a philanthropic foundation to pitch a proposal.

“We eliminate that barrier of smaller emerging developers from being able to compete and having to advance those dollars to come up with their proposals,” Cox said.

The community will hear the proposals by March 2023.

Read the whole thing. Perhaps this is something that those candidates running for Alderman in Ward 9 where this strip is located can express their ideas.

Oh and there is a theater in the neighborhood still standing waiting for redevelopment although if that vacant lot that once had a theater is the State Theater perhaps if they could make a good deal with the Post Office. 

Thursday, September 1, 2022

Crain's: New hotel, grocery store pitched for Pullman #Ward09

 Some exciting projects coming to the far south side. Pullman could get a hotel and Altgeld Gardens - which is a long way from Pullman - could be getting a new grocery story.

Via Crain's Chicago Business

One year after the Pullman National Monument debuted as a hopeful tourist attraction, two developers have lined up plans to add a hotel for visitors and a grocery store for residents in the burgeoning area.

In one of two projects proposed in and around the far South Side neighborhood, a venture led by Chicago investor Andre Garner is seeking a city grant to help develop a 101-room Hampton by Hilton hotel at 111th Street and Doty Avenue, a few blocks east of the clock tower building that has been restored as a visitor center for the historic site. In the other, Cleveland-based grocery operator Yellow Banana has applied for the same grant to help it develop a Save A Lot supermarket immediately south of Pullman at 130th Street and Eberhardt Avenue.

Both developers have applied for $5 million in assistance through the Chicago Recovery Plan development grant program, according to a joint statement they issued with Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th. The grants are partially funded by local recovery money from the federal American Rescue Plan Act passed last year.

The plans could add to a series of developments in and near Pullman along Interstate 94, where the 180-acre former Ryerson Steel plant site has been transformed in recent years into a mixed-use campus, dubbed Pullman Park. The historic-but-disinvested property now includes a Method Soap factory that opened in 2015, a pair of greenhouses from produce grower Gotham Greens and a Whole Foods distribution center and an Amazon delivery center, among other new developments.

Read the whole thing. 

 

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

The former Illinois Service Federal branch on 87th Street soon to reopen

 If you live in Chatham and do business with GN Bank - formerly known as Illinois Service Federal - is reopening their former branch on 87th Street & King Drive. According to Steve Daniels from Crain's:

Chairman Papa Kwesi Nduom, whose wealthy family rescued the bank in 2016 with millions in fresh capital when it was on the brink of failure, says the Chatham branch is open on a drive-thru basis for withdrawals and deposits. It will return to full service once licensing is completed, he says.

“This is being done to signal to the community that we are putting customer service high on our priority list,” he says in an email.

If you were following the FB page Concerned Citizens of Chatham the issue with this closure is what would replace the bank on this property. There were concerned about a marijuana dispensary possibly being located there. Well now a bank will be back on this property.

BTW, this article was from last year. GN Bank is a Ghanian-American company who rescued ISF in 2016 from failure. In this December 2021 article from ProPublica we find out GN Bank has a number of issues:

Five years later, the historic institution — renamed GN Bank — remains deeply troubled. Under the Nduoms, the bank has closed one of its two locations, cut staff, alienated many longtime customers and effectively stopped making new home loans, though that’s one of the central reasons for its existence. In 2020, the bank was again put under restrictions after regulators found “new violations of law, rule or regulation.”

Yet the Nduoms aren’t solely responsible for GN’s struggles. Regulators have failed to carry out a federal mandate to “preserve and promote” Black-owned banks, a ProPublica investigation has found.

Leading up to the Nduoms’ acquisition, the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ordered the bank to reduce the risk in its loans, which led to less revenue. Then, the agency signed off on the new owners, even though they lacked banking experience in the United States and had investments abroad that posed known regulatory risks. Since then, the bank has been under close watch, yet the Nduoms have made a series of decisions that diminished the bank’s profile and quality of service.

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Whole Foods Englewood closing

I'm sharing this news with you because Roseland can be viewed in the same way as Englewood. The Whole Foods store at 63rd and Halsted is closing in the near future after being open since Sept. 2016. It was supposed to be an oasis in the food desert.

I want to note the statement of the Mayor recently on this issue via Block Club Chi:
At an unrelated news conference Monday, Lightfoot called the closure a “great disappointment” and “gut blow” to Englewood. She said the Whole Foods was an “interesting experiment” from former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who she said championed a store that was too expensive for the neighborhood and where few residents shopped.

“I don’t know about most of you, but most Chicagoans are hard-pressed to pay, for example, $15 a pound for a piece of steak,” Lightfoot said.

The store was often empty, even on Saturdays when “grocery stores all over the city are absolutely crowded with people,” Lightfoot said.

“To me, what it underscores — and I wasn’t here when this decision was made — you cannot bring investment to the community without talking to the community and making sure the investment makes for that community,” Lightfoot said.
...
The storefront won’t be left empty, leaders said. Lightfoot said her team will work with the community to make investments that “make sense for those neighborhoods.”

“We’re going to work our tails off to get a new alternative — one that the community wants and can access and participate in,” Lightfoot said. “It shouldn’t be that we’re plopping something down in a community where we haven’t engaged with them, we haven’t talked to relevant stakeholders to see if it’s something that they want, they need and that they’re going to be able to take advantage of.”


Tuesday, March 1, 2022

John & Elizabeth Moutoussamy House in Chesterfield #Ward09

 

I like this house it's very different and fits into the Chatham community for sure. Located at 361 East 89th Place so really in Chesterfield it was designed by noted Black architect John Moutoussamy who designed a number of buildings around Chicago. I found this pic and these buildings he designed on fb

  • (1954) The John W. & Elizabeth R. Moutoussamy House, 361 East 89th Place, Chicago, IL
  • (1959) The Alex Poinsett & Norma R. Poinsett House, 8532 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, IL
  • (1962) The Lake Terrace Condominiums, 7337 South South Shore Drive, Chicago, IL
  • (1968) The Quadrangle Condominiums, 6700 South South Shore Drive, Chicago, IL
  • (1969) The Lawless Garden Apartments, 3620 South Rhodes Avenue, Chicago, IL
  • (1969) The Michigan Beach Apartments, 7251 South South Shore Drive, Chicago, IL
  • (1972) The Woodlawn Neighborhood Health Center, 6337 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL
  • (1972) The Regents Park Apartments, 5050 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL
  • (1973) Carver Military Academy High School (Chicago Public Schools), 13100 South Doty Avenue, Chicago, IL
  • (1976) Harry S. Truman College, (City Colleges of Chicago), 1145 West Wilson Avenue, Chicago, IL
  • (1981) Richard J. Daley College, (City Colleges of Chicago), 7500 South Pulaski Road, Chicago, IL
  • (1981) Olive-Harvey College (City Colleges of Chicago), 10001 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL
  • (1983) The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., International Headquarters, 5656 South Stony Island Avenue, Chicago, IL
  •  (1984) The Chicago Urban League, 4510 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL
  • – (1993) The Bessie Coleman Library (Chicago Public Library), 731 East 63rd Street, Chicago, IL

Whoever lives in that house currently I don't intend any disrespect by sharing a photo of their house especially since it was already shared on social media. This is one house that has definitely caught my eye over the years just architecturally stands out.

Here's more about John Moutoussamy, when you click the link you will see a pic of him outside of that very house on 89th Place.


Friday, February 4, 2022

WGN News: A final insult for a fallen officer

 

[VIDEO] Titus Moore died in his home of coronavirus or COVID-19 in November 2020 and one final insult has been that WGN reports that his home has been broken into. His family due to this pandemic hasn't been to enter his home to retrieve any of his belongings. The people who were caught breaking into his home have claimed when confronted by police there were there to secure and winterize his home. 

Thankfully the neighbors of West Chesterfield keeps an eye on suspicious activities at his home and unfortunately police were called but as you see in the story above police only just suggested they possibly "come back tomorrow". The home is said not to be in foreclosure and the implication is that there is no reason for any mortgage company to secure and winterize the home and of course some items have been stolen from the property.

Friday, December 31, 2021

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Gately's & S.S. Kresge Co. in Roseland #tbt

I found and saved these two photographs from Roseland south of 111th Street and Michigan Avenue. I feel as if these are appropriate because we're in the Christmas season although tomorrow will be Christmas Eve. And of course these two photos don't show South Michigan Ave during Christmas time. 

Probably during much warmer weather. The dates for these photos are unknown perhaps they were taken in the 1960s or 70s. The Gately's store as many of you may know went out of business in the early 1980s. The building that once contained that store has since been demolished after a bad fire. I do believe the sign survived however as I write this no idea as to the whereabouts of that landmark.

As far as S.S. Kresge Company I don't know when that store closed its doors right next door to Gately's. I have found out that S.S. Kresge Co outlets ultimately became the Kmart chain. Do you remember Kmart? I do and many Kmart stores have closed in recent years. Perhaps you shopped at the one that was once located in Oak Lawn on 95th or a number of locations around the city.

I hope you enjoy this look back and I do wish you a Merry Christmas and hoping that you've had a very joyous holiday season.

Thursday, December 2, 2021

#tbt Coffee Pot restaurant

 

Via Flickr

To be honest I hadn't thought about this site Flickr in years. This was a site for photographers to share their works. Of course it seems it has been supplanted by a number of sites as far as sharing photos such as Facebook, Twitter or even Instagram.

Sometimes it's just fun to see some of the items posted there, it's just amazing how advanced have propelled us from the old fashioned camera to a cameraphone.

I never thought I'd see a sign of the old Coffee Pot restaurant near 115th Street & Michigan Avenue. It was part of that mall that was demolished in 2006. And this area is very close to the future stop on the future CTA Red Line extension. Perhaps someone might decide to bring back another version of the Coffee Pot for future commuters.

Saturday, May 29, 2021

Sun-Times: Altgeld Gardens Commercial Building

Via WisconsinHistory.org

Since I mentioned Altgeld Gardens a few days ago on this blog, I found this Sun-Times article on an architecturally significant building in that part of town called the Altgelt Gardens commercial building:

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Update to the former ISF branch on 87th & King Drive #Ward09

 

You might have seen this on Concerned Citizens of Chatham where a sign was posted on the building to the former Illinois Service Federal now GN Bank branch regarding a zoning change from business to residential. That means they must come to Ald. Anthony Beale for any proposals for this property.

Monday, March 1, 2021

Food pantry coming to 119 E. 95th Street #Ward09

119-121 E. 95th St

This building has been vacant perhaps for over a year it was formerly home to an insurance company, and for many years before that it used to be a Trailways bus depot until that company got bought out by Greyhound. Of course that was at least back in the 1990s. Now it has another hat:

Endeleo Institute, a community group in the majority-Black Washington Heights and Roseland neighborhoods on the city’s Far South Side, received a grant that will allow it to open a food pantry at 119-121 E. 95th St., in a 3,500-square-foot building that once housed an insurance business.

“It’s going to be nothing like a traditional food pantry,” said Executive Director Melvin Thompson. “We really want to dignify the space, to destigmatize this.”

It will be a choice pantry, where people can select what they want. The plan is to offer cooking demonstrations, nutrition education and a financial opportunity center to help people with budgeting.

The building sits on a 12,000-square-foot lot and the hope is to eventually bring a mobile pharmacy to fill a gap left by the closure of several neighborhood pharmacies over the years, Thompson said.

“We really want to take advantage of people coming through the door and fortifying them beyond food but with things that will help them along the way,” Thompson said. He expects to serve 500 to 1,000 people weekly.

West Chesterfield and Roseland Heights Community Associations will partner with Endelo who is affiliated with Trinity Church further west on 95th Street per an e-mail that was forwarded to me.

The main thing is those who aren't able to put food on the table will have somewhere else to go to fill their pantries in their homes. 

Friday, February 5, 2021

Saturday, January 30, 2021

Bank branch at 87th & King Drive for sale

347-371 E 87th Street

This former Illinois Service Federal/GN Bank branch is for sale on 87th & King Drive. When driving by I've observed that there's hardly any business taking place there. I and perhaps others who live nearby wondered if this branch had been closed since ISF was purchased by GN Bank. And now we see some evidence of this with this listing shared by Concerned Citizens of Chatham.



This location is right on the borderline of both Wards 6 & 9.