Property Markets Group Buys Pilsen Site That Alderman Won't Rezone
Property Markets Group closed on a deal with the Midwest Jesuits for an eight-acre site in Pilsen the firm has long wanted to develop, despite strong opposition from the community and a promise from the local alderman that he will not support a zoning change on the site.
Property Markets Group originally wanted to build 500 apartments on the tract bounded by 16th and 18th streets, and Peoria Street and Newberry Avenue. That plan was dead on arrival after PMG couldn't reach an agreement on affordable housing set-asides with the Pilsen Land Use Committee. That group and Ald. Danny Solis (25th) reached an agreement in 2005 to set aside 21% of new housing units in Pilsen for affordable housing, well above the city's 10% minimum under the affordable requirements ordinance.
Property Markets Group's Noah Gottlieb went back to the drawing board and said he plans to build a "vibrant, mixed-use residential and commercial district" on the site, according to DNAInfo. But Solis is sticking to his guns. He had the site rezoned for industrial use last year and said any plan from Gottlieb for the site that includes a residential component will not move forward unless Gottlieb is willing to make some concessions. [DNA]
