CBS 2: Pullman Neighborhood Booms, While Roseland Neighborhood Struggles Nextdoor #Ward09

[VIDEO] I'm sorry I missed this report from over the past summer. WBBM-TV looks at a tale of two communities with Pullman to the west being revitalized with a variety of redevelopment with retail and most of historic Pullman now a national monument.

And now you have Roseland which even Ald. Anthony Beale (9th Ward) would refer to blight as he stands at the commercial area on Michigan Avenue. You see him speaking between Pullman and Michigan Avenue and he sees revitalization in Roseland.

I have thought about making a comparison say between Streeterville in Downtown Chicago and say River North or North Michigan Ave from east to west. Streeterville is a very wealthy area, but then the areas near by are also wealthy and probably can't compare so easily to Pullman and Roseland.

Pullman has the history, architecture and now a national monument and some other development. Roseland with it's own history and blight is waiting for it's own revitalization. If I had my own vision Pullman could be the area of choice for many because of it's history. Then again what about Roseland?

Roseland could be neighborhood for everyone else. It's the land of opportunity and like Englewood it's sort of blank canvas. The right vision will for example see a revitalized Michigan Avenue strip no more boarded up storefronts or vacant lots. And of course a wonderful place to live just like their neighbors to the east.

BTW, if any smart aspiring politicians are reading this blog I can only imagine the "campaign ads" that come from this short video.

Pullman Communicy Center opened on Thursday

[VIDEO] Sorry to have missed this. The new Pullman Community Center located near 103rd & Woodlawn has finally opened. We start with the above video from CBS 2 and then excerpt from this Sun-Times article

After nearly a decade of planning and a frenzied round of corporate fundraising, a $20 million, 135,000-square-foot sports, recreation and educational center opened its doors at 10355 S. Woodlawn Ave.

The massive U.S. Bank Pullman Community Center is one of the largest indoor sports facilities in Illinois and the fifth-largest in the country. It includes three basketball/tennis courts and three synthetic turf fields that can be used for baseball, football and soccer.

The facility also includes community meeting rooms and classroom space.

“We’re looking at keeping 1,100 kids a week off the streets, doing something positive and constructive. A facility that’s gonna be open probably 12 to 14 hours a day. That gives people opportunity. It gives ’em hope,” Beale said Thursday.

“If you’re struggling in school and you’re enrolled in this facility, we’re gonna provide free ACT, SAT and tutoring in whatever subject that you need.”

Chicago History Today: 115th/Michigan then & now #tbt

This time a shot of 115th/Michigan from 1895. And here's another shot from 1934 of the same corner and the scene doesn't look much different from today. The top shot you will find from J.R. Schmidt's Chicago History Today blog which was published last year. You will also see a shot from that corner from last year also.

Hopefully it'll look much different once the red line extension is built.

RELATED: What would you like to see at 115th/Michigan

Chicago Mag: Pullman’s Renaissance #Ward09 #BuildingwithBeale

Published on October 26th, 2018 I'm sorry that I only found out about it recently. A lot of good things is going on in that part of the city.

The iconic South Side neighborhood is on the brink of a transformation.https://t.co/hDbTfQbe15

— Chicago magazine (@ChicagoMag) October 26, 2018

In the coming weeks, construction crews will begin meticulously restoring the roof and upper floor windows of the landmark Pullman Clock Tower and Administration Building, the former headquarters of the company that developed the neighborhood and forever changed rail travel in the 19th century.

Nearly lost in an arson attack in 1998, the structure is being overhauled for its next life as the visitor center for the Pullman National Monument, Chicago’s first ever site in the national park system. The roof work, funded by a $2.2 million grant from the National Park Service, is expected to take six months.

Construction on the old administrative building comes more than three years after President Obama dedicated the site as a national monument, setting into motion a restoration that Pullman residents and preservationists have long called for. According to Kathleen Schneider, the first superintendent of Pullman National Monument, there are a mix of public and private funds earmarked for the restoration, including more than $13 million from the National Park Foundation.

“We’re only three years old with a staff of three people,” Schneider says of the new national monument. “Although it may appear that not a lot is happening, we’ve been working hard with the State of Illinois and community on the 2020 opening of the visitors center.”

Schneider says the site’s educational programming will center on Pullman’s legacy as a planned neighborhood and as an integral site in the labor and civil rights movements. Specifically, the visitor center will spotlight the internal clashes that led to the Pullman Strike of 1894 and formation of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

As for community partners, Schneider highlights the Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives (CNI) group, a nonprofit developer that has helped bring investment to the greater Pullman area in recent years. While the Clock Tower’s restoration represents a symbolic rebirth of the historic district, newer facilities including a Whole Foods distribution center, an expanded greenhouse by produce supplier Gotham Greens, and soap maker Method have reinvigorated the neighborhood’s identity as an industrial hub.

Great to see the progress in nearby Pullman.

Pullman Community Center hiring event #Ward09 #BuildingwithBeale

The long awaited Pullman Community Center is hosting a hiring event with walk-in interviews. Please bring your resume.

Location: 10355 S. Woodlawn
When: November 2, 2018
Time: 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

You may have seen this in an email blast from the office of 9th Ward Ald. Anthony Beale.

Refer to flyer below.

Two south side Target stores are closing

[VIDEO] In addition to this video report from Tuesday from outside the 87th & Cottage Grove Target store I'll give you an excerpt from this Tribune article

The decision to close the stores in the Morgan Park and Chatham neighborhoods “follows a rigorous annual process to evaluate the performance of every store in the portfolio and maintain the overall health of the business,” the Minneapolis-based retailer said in a statement. Four other stores are closing nationwide.

About 115 people work full or part time at the 128,000-square-foot Morgan Park store, which opened in 2008. Roughly 120 work at the 126,000-square-foot Chatham store, which opened in 2002.

Employees in good standing at both stores will be given the option to transfer to a different store in their area, Target said.
 ...
Target said it does consider the proximity of other stores when making decisions about closing locations. But it also looks at the store’s profitability over several years and other options available to customers, such as shopping online and having orders delivered, Target spokeswoman Jacque DeBuse said.

“This is based on the business and is not about a neighborhood or geography,” DeBuse said. “As you have seen, Target remains committed to Chicago, as we’ve been remodeling stores across the metro (area) and continuing to open new stores to serve new guests.”

Both stores are expected to close in February next year.

2019 race for 9th Ward Alderman #Ward09

Recently I procured a flyer for Paul Collins who is running for Alderman in Ward 9. He seeks to challenge Alderman Anthony Beale in 2019.

Visit his under construction website at www.friendsofpaulcollins.com and he also has a FB page Paul Collins for 9th Ward Aldermen

Early voting for #Ward09

This was sent out via on Wednesday by Ald. Anthony Beale's office with regards to early voting.You can early vote at both Palmer Park on 111th & Olive Harvey College on 103rd. Refer to flyer below!

Washington Heights Visioning Session - Red Line Extension Coalition

Red Line extension

This invited with an attached newsletter was sent to us via the West Chesterfield Community Association with regards to the red line extension.

• THE FOURTH AND FINAL WASHINGTON HEIGHTS VISIONING SESSION BY ENDELEO INSTITUTE.
  
  6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
  Thursday October 18th, 2018
  Woodson Library Auditorium
  9525 S Halsted, Chicago

 Red Line Extension Coalitio... by on Scribd