CMH Planning

The Children's Memorial Hospital Redevelopment Coalition has asked that the following be included in discussions and as part of the record. The following is their statement.

Response to the CMH Site Re-Use Feasilility Study prepared by HOK

The Children's Memorial Hospital Site Re-use Feasibility Study Handbook prepared by HOK is informative but it does not include any specific requirements for development. The Children's Memorial Hospital Redevelopment Coalition requests the following specific requirements be added to any RFP that is let to interested developers:

1) The handbook notes "The importance of a flexible development plan" and the need to include "Housing for a variety of income levels" which are both important points that are supported by the community; throughout the community-wide meetings and break-out sessions there was consistent support for workforce/senior housing. This support reiterated the 2006 Affordable Housing Referendum that the Lincoln Park electorate passed overwhelmingly. With respect to this issue, The CMH Redevelopment Coalition calls for a mandate to provide a minimum of 20% "affordable housing" as part of any new housing developed on the Children's site.

"Affordable housing" is defined as housing available for residents earning 30-80% of AMI, or $22,200-59,000, for rental housing, and 80-100% of AMI, or $59,000-74,000, for for-sale housing. The goal is to provide a variety of housing options for young people, young families, people working in the community, and elderly and disabled residents, and to create a significant amount of new rental housing. In-lieu of contributions to the Chicago Affordable Housing Trust Fund is not an acceptable alternative to affordable on-site units.

The CMH Redevelopment Coalition would be pleased to assist the Alderman in exploring and securing financing possibilities to ensure that affordability goals can be achieved.

2) The many historic structures on the site are of particular concern and interest to the community. Developers should prioritize adaptive re-use for housing as a development option wherever feasible, particularly with Kohl's House, Nellie A. Black + James Deering Building, and the Martha Wilson Memorial Pavilion. The Boiler House + Laundry, the Annex Building, and the White Elephant Resale Shop are also important buildings with considerable nostalgic and aesthetic support in the community. It is expected that any developer will consider the options for Kohl's House, Nellie A. Black and Martha Wilson carefully and the Alderman provide necessary parking amnesty or alternatives in order to allow the buildings to be re-used. The existing garage should be considered in determining parking requirements.

3) Nowhere in the handbook is there any mention of specific zoning requirements or limitations. Prior to any RFP, it is critical that community representatives have an opportunity to preview and discuss the zoning potential of the site with the Alderman and are allowed sufficient time and access to information in order to respond to development options. Moreover, any planned development ordinance should include detailed community agreements as to use, density, etc.

4) The feasibility study offers "morphologies" that are only suggested as general conceptual planning principals. It would be in the interest of the neighborhood if those concepts were more specifically linked to the proposal.

Traffic, architectural character, streetscape, parking and density are all issues of concern to the residents. For instance, there is a considerable variety of opinion regarding the need and/or desire for tall buildings. It is critical that the Alderman and CMH representatives present zoning studies that clarify the relationships among building height, total unit count, density, traffic and affordable housing choice prior to offering a public RFP for a new development at the CMH site.

5) While the report shows an appreciation for green building practices, there are no clear suggestions for building sustainably at the Children's Memorial redevelopment site. Our suggestion would be to promote green, sustainable, and smart growth principles. We also request a minimum green standard that should apply to all contruction and renovation on this site, and that the selected standard should be the LEED rating system mentioned in the study.

With sustainable building being a clear goal for future development in our neighborhood, we feel that requesting that all buildings on the site be certified at a minimum level of LEED Silver is reasonable. There is documenatation showing that for most commercial buildings, achieving the LEED Silver standard does not increase the construction budget. In addition, LEED certified buildings also show impressive savings over the operational life of the building.

Buildings pursuing LEED certification are also eligible to go through the Chicago Green Permit program, which typically allows for faster building permits as well as a significant reduction in permit fees, which would benefit the developer.


This amendment is respectfully submitted to Alderman Vi Daley for inclusion in the HOK Report, which will be distributed to the real estate broker representing Children's Memorial Hospital, as well as potential developers of the site.

Signed,

The Children's Memorial Hospital Redevelopment Coalition

Helene Berlin
Liz Brake
Alan Cravitz
The Rev. Jeffrey Doane, Pastor of Lincoln Park Presbyterian
Lisa Elkins
Sarah Flosi
Deirdre Graziano
Tom Henry, Senior Pastor, St. Pauls United Church of Christ
Jane Addams Senior Caucus
Debra Krause
Pete Landon
Kathleen Moore
Sheila Sachnoff
Fr. Ken Simpson, Pastor, St. Clements Church
Curtis Smith, President, Lakeview Action Coalition
Michele Smith
Garth Taylor

The final meeting of this first phase of the Children's Memorial Site Re-Use study will take place on Monday, June 16th at 6:30PM at the St. Vincent dePaul Center, 2145 N Halsted Street. The document developed from the previous meetings will be presented for our use as the basis for future discussions on the redevelopment.

Wednesday, February 18th is the date for the third community meeting regarding the redevelopment of the Childrens' Memorial Hospital site.

Agenda:
Welcome + Recap
Reveal Concept Development Process
Present Concepts
Break Out Sessions
Summary + Wrap-Up

The meeting will take place at the St. Vincent dePaul Center, 2145 N Halsted at 7:00PM. Please share this information with your friends and neighbors.

The second community meeting regarding the Children's Memorial Hospital Site Redevelopment will take place on Thursday, January 8th at the St. Vincent dePaul Center, 2145 N. Halsted beginning at 6:30PM. This will be a full working session - all attendees will be encouraged to participate in structured activities.

Tentative Schedule & Agenda:

1. Welcome & Review of 11-13-08 meeting

2. Initial findings report from the consulting teams
a. ERA - Demographic & Market Analysis Summary
b. METRO Transportation - Traffic and Parking Stats
c. Granacki Historic Consultants - Comments on existing structures
d. HOK - Urban Design

3. Public Engagement Activity 1: Keypad voting - Approximately 30 questions - Results will be generated instantaneously.

4. Public Engagement Activity 2: Themed Break Out Sesssions - Consultant led groups
a. Neighborhood Context
b. Development Economics
c. Transportation & Infrastructure
d. Planning Framework
e. Development Character

5. Summary & Wrap-Up
a. Summarize Public Engagement Activity
b. Next Steps

Dear Friends,

This site has been created to provide an additional resource for interested community members to submit concerns and feedback on the redevelopment of the Children's Memorial Hospital site. This site will serve as an alternative for residents who are unable to attend every community meeting and as a point of clarification. Every effort will be made to provide access to all presentations, back-up documentation and reports from community meetings. In the coming months, I will provide a location that will showcase copies of all plans and designs as an additional option to encourage community review and comment.

The creation of a framework for future development is dependent upon input from a diverse representation of the community to bring a breadth of issues, ideas and perspectives. Public outreach, engagement and transparency are major factors in the planning process for the Children's Memorial site. All interested community members are encouraged to take part in this process. Each opinion is equally valued.

Healthy discussion will add to everyone's appreciation of potential uses and their drawbacks and benefits. The discussion will be moderated to prevent spam, profanity, postings that are not on- topic, etc.

I hope that you participate in every aspect of this process. Attend community meetings, post thoughts to this site, and encourage friends and neighbors to comment. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions and look forward to continuing this process together.

Alderman Vi Daley

Open space suggestions:

• landscaping
• trees
• not "Clybourn"
• wide sidewalks

Public uses:

• community meeting space
• grade school/junior high school
• parking
• plaza

Commercial uses:

• affordable grocery
• green grocery
• dry cleaning
• drug store
• restaurants
• health club/pool
• movie theater
• bookstore
• bakery

Residential:

• rental units
• owner occupied units
• senior housing
• nursing/retirement home
• workforce housing (affordable housing)
• community shelter