Hospital pitch splits Lincoln Park

Ald. Daley says no zoning change without a consensus

01/13/2010 10:00 PM

By IAN FULLERTON
Contributing Reporter

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Lincoln Parkers line up to testify for and against a redevelopment plan for Lincoln Park Hospital. Former Ald. Marty Oberman, on the right, was one of many who rejected the pitch from developers Richard Zisook and Michael Supera.
Photos by MICAH MAIDENBERG/Staff



Above, Ald. Vi Daley opens the meeting about redevelopment of Lincoln Park Hospital. Allan Mellis, below, had a front-row seat for the discussion, which took place at Lincoln Park High School.

Residents and community leaders laid down their cards over the proposed Lincoln Park Hospital redevelopment plan at a public meeting on Tuesday night.

At the meeting, which drew around hundreds of residents, representatives for the joint venture led by Richard Zisook and Michael Supera gave a presentation on the current plans to rehab the shuttered five-building property, followed by a line of nearly 30 citizens who gave their take on the proposal.

Zisook and Supera won the deed to the three-acre site, located at 550 W. Webster, after settling a $31 million foreclosure suit against the previous owner last spring.

The developers intend to reuse three of the hospital buildings. In the 12-story hospital tower, Zisook and Supera have pitched 120 market-rate condo units. A senior housing facility with 170 units is slated for the main building along Webster and more than 30,000 square feet of retail would go into the hospital’s parking garage — to be occupied possibly by a Walgreens and a gourmet market — with at least 230 parking spots retained. The two remaining buildings would be demolished and replaced with 40 residential units and two single-family residences.

The plan also envisions 40,000 square feet of office space throughout the development.

The developers are seeking to re-zone the site as a planned development to allow for the residential and retail uses.

Ald. Vi Daley (43rd) said she would not support any zoning change unless it gained the consensus of the neighborhood and the neighbors most affected by the project.

In his presentation, development team member Larry Okrent said the proposal was concurrent with the neighborhood’s land use pattern, and in some cases, an improvement.

He stated that green space on the property would increase 530 percent under the plan. The neighborhood would also see a 33 percent reduction in traffic, he said, because of the retirement home.

“In the spectrum of land uses, senior residences are about as benign as it ever gets,” said Okrent.

Project architect Ray Hartshorne said that the buildings were suitable for adaptive reuse.

“I would describe them as very good on the inside, not so good on the outside,” he said. “We can correct that.”

Hartshorne said the façade replacements imagined in the proposal would take cues from the classical revivalist and Romanesque architecture found in Lincoln Park’s Mid-North Historic District.

In the weeks leading up to the public meeting, the question of whether the hospital redevelopment would fly has polarized residents in the neighborhood. For some, the forum was a first chance to hear from the other side.

Leaders of some neighborhood community organizations offered different takes on the project.

After months of reviewing the proposal and meeting with the developers, Mid-North Association planning chair David Chernoff said he would recommend that his group oppose the redevelopment plan.

Chernoff said that issues regarding the retail portion, coupled with what he saw as overwhelming public opposition of the plan, led to the decision.

“There’s no legal entitlement for a zoning change just because somebody buys a piece of property,” he said.

But Barry NewDelman, a Mid-North director, disagreed with Chernoff’s recommendation, testifying in support of the project. He noted that the added retail piece would increase tax revenue in the neighborhood.

Citing the developers’ vision for reuse, Lincoln Central Association representative Richard Rausch said his group would support the proposal.

“Our neighborhood is a walking neighborhood, and having some additional retail is a very positive thing,” he said.

Rausch added that the group liked the designs for increased green space within the property.

Former 43rd Ward Alderman Marty Oberman came out in opposition of the proposal, both on his own behalf and as an attorney for residents Fred and Bonnie Shapiro.

Oberman, who ran the ward from 1975 to 1987, said the developers’ claim that the proposal is consistent with the character of the neighborhood “is complete nonsense.”

“This developer has no legal or equitable right to retain the size of that structure,” he said, referring to the hospital tower. “Unless they want to continue it under the existing planned development, which allows for a medical use.”

Buzz Ruttenberg warned that shooting down the proposal could freeze the property as a medical use. Leaving the property without a plan would have a deleterious impact on Lincoln Park, Ruttenberg told the crowd.

“You’ve got to think about the consequences of saying ‘no,’” he said.

But Lincoln Park resident Josh Glazier said that he and fellow neighbors had recently collected over 450 signatures from residents who specifically opposed the retail portion of the project.

“We don’t need a 20,000 square foot grocer in our neighborhood,” he said, adding that he did liked the senior housing and residential elements of the plan.

Barbara Burns said that the traffic issues related to congestion and child safety needed serious consideration in the proposal.

Resident Dan Goldman said he was “one of those rare independents” who came to the meeting with an open mind. But after hearing the presentation, he said that some aspects of the proposal sounded unrealistic.

“I really wish that the developer had blown me away,” he said. “I was hoping to be excited.”

The forum was held at Lincoln Park High School and hosted by Ald. Daley, the Mid-North Association and the Lincoln Central Association.


5 Comments - Add Your Comment



By Timothy from Mid-North (Lincoln Park)
Posted: 01/20/2010 10:47 AM

The Hospital is in the Mid-North neighborhood of Lincoln Park and 8 of the 10 people who supported the current proposal were not from the vicinity of the hospital, yet the vast majority of those who live in the area including me (less than 2 blocks away) are opposed to any high rise or retail in this historic residential low-rise non-retail or commericial area.


By Timothy from Mid-North (Lincoln Park)
Posted: 01/20/2010 10:44 AM

This proposal does not fit the character of the neighborhood which is 5 stories or less and non retail/commercial. If they removed the retail and commercial and lowered the height to 5 stories or less (preferable) and made the architecture fit into the neighborhood they might have a decent chance at passing this. They should model their proposal after what they did with Augustana Hospital.


By Cheryl from Lincoln Park
Posted: 01/19/2010 4:26 PM

As a resident of this area for 3+ decades, I'm opposed to the project proposed by Zisook, et al. Zoning concessions were made to a hospital serving the community, not to developers serving over-greedy profits. By all means, make this site all "green" low-rise residences that would be an exemplar to the country or create low-rise senior housing financially accessible to those most in need or sell individual lots & you'd still come out ahead! Make a profit but not at the community's expense.


By Ernie from Lincoln Park
Posted: 01/19/2010 11:43 AM

Those people whose lives will be affected by congestion, pollution, safety, parking etc are very strongly against. Those whose lives are affected by profit are for a large , dense development. The above project is to be placed on an area in the historic district where only 42 city lots would be. The alternative of low rise residential would still make the developers a profit (though not as much as their proposed mini-village), and keep in conformity with the area. And it would be "greener".


By Mark A. Fredrickson from Lakeview
Posted: 01/14/2010 6:47 PM

Let\'s consolidate Lincol Park Hospital (ne Grant Hospital) with that of Children\\\'s Memorial Hospital. Development & use of the Lincoln Avenue corridor from Webster to Fullerton may invite more ambitious proposals--mindful of community sentiment. Community residents may have grown accustomed to a quiet neighbor, but current zoneing allows for a high volume of pedestrian & vehicular traffic.