After a year and a half of community debate and numerous revisions, redevelopment plans for the Lincoln Park Hospital got the final go-ahead from City Council last week. But that victory may be short-lived, as the ward’s incoming alderman has promised to fight the plan in its current state.

The Webster Square project, led by Sandz Development, envisions residential units, office space and a 20,000-square-foot Fresh Market grocery store to be developed at the 3-acre hospital property at 550 W. Webster Ave.

On May 4, the city’s aldermen unanimously voted through a zoning amendment that effectively freed the 3-acre property from its sole use as a medical campus.

“We are pleased and gratified to have this endorsement from the City Council,” said Richard Zisook, a co-owner of the site, in a statement after the meeting.

The hearing was the final gathering for a number of outgoing council members, including Ald. Vi Daley (43rd), who gave her support for the project after spending almost two years working with Sandz and Lincoln Park residents to find a middle ground on appropriate uses for the site.

That dialogue resulted in a number of concessions from the developers regarding building height and loading procedures for trucks coming in and out of the grocery store.

In the past few months, Daley, who has served in the ward since 1999, has said that she hoped to see the project through council before she steps down.

But despite these revised terms, some neighbors remained in opposition to the plan.

Among other details of the redevelopment, residents and stakeholders in the area have gone back and forth on whether a grocer will be a good fit for the neighborhood.

That discussion was at the fore of the recent campaign of Ald.-elect Michele Smith, who pledged to constituents that she would work to keep the plan in limbo until a consensus among neighbors had been reached.

Smith cinched a 250-vote advantage over candidate Tim Egan in 43rd Ward run-off ballot in April.

In the ward’s 31st Precinct, which encompasses the area around the hospital site, Smith took in 64 percent of the vote. A referendum ballot in February showed that 56 percent of the voting residents in that precinct opposed the retail piece of the Webster Square plan.

Smith has also repeatedly said that the Lincoln Park Hospital project should be planned in conjunction with the redevelopment of Children’s Memorial Hospital, a six-acre campus one block from the Sandz site that will be vacant in 2012.

In the wake of the election, the council deferred a decision on the zoning amendment so that Smith could meet with the developers to discuss the plan.

After last week’s council vote, Smith said she would fight to repeal the decision, stating that an agreement was far from reached.

“Unfortunately, the developer refused any attempt to negotiate,” she said. “I am afraid this is clearly an example of a proposal slipping by in a lame-duck session.”

Smith said that a suitable use for the site is “one that will not harm the quality of life and property values of the neighborhood.”

“My door remains open to further discussions with the developer,” she said.

David Goldman, a vice president for Sandz, said that the “long and occasionally challenging” process that the firm experienced under Daley’s watch was necessary to bring the property back on the tax rolls.

“Ultimately, it resulted in a far better proposal,” he said in a statement. “The input we received from community members, including their concerns about potential traffic impediments, was invaluable in pushing us to make important changes to the development.”

Smith will take office in the 43rd Ward on May 16.

Anchored at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Larrabee Street, the Lincoln Park Hospital site has been vacant since 2008. Owners Zisook and Michael Supera picked up the property for $31 million in a foreclosure suit in 2009.

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By Vince from old town
Posted: 05/06/2011 9:27 AM

I checked the 2007 Aldermanic results for the area around LPH...went for VI. You got what you paid for (or voted for)...you got Vi. Now you got what you paid for Michele Smith... I mean Michele Oberman...ugh ! Tim Egan...where are you when we need you?

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By Boyee from Mid-North in Lincoln Park
Posted: 05/05/2011 9:54 PM

The original plan for senior housing in the Geneva Terrace building was a much better idea. The only good part of the plan is the Grant Place building. Also, the developers say they are trying to fix a blight but have said they are waiting till the economy turn around to do all but the Fresh Market building.

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By Boyee from Mid-North in Lincoln Park
Posted: 05/05/2011 9:48 PM

Three are issues that remain with the current plan since it is surrounded by a historic district of 2-4 story buildings. 1. Adding 2 stories to a high rise that doesn't belong in a neighborhood of 2-4 story homes. 2. Putting retail on Webster Avenue with a loading dock. 3. Having a destination supermarket and 100,000 sq. ft. of medical professional offices will clog the small sides streets of Geneva Terrace and Cleveland Avenue with traffic from outside the neighborhood

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By Boyee from Mid-North in Lincoln Park
Posted: 05/05/2011 9:41 PM

Passing City Council does not mean that this issue is over as the majority of the neighborhood the hospital is in is against this plan mainly due to the fact that it will impede traffic on a street that is only 38 feet wide (Webster Ave.). Putting a supermarket that is 20,000 square feet plus a loading dock (which can only fit 2 trucks) will lead to semi's blocking Webster Ave. when additional trucks park on street in an area where many homes have no garages or alleys, taking their parking spots

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By R. Kirkwood from old town
Posted: 05/05/2011 2:37 PM

The delay for 3 weeks was NOT for Smith to discuss with the developers. Smith was foolish enough to think the sitting aldermen heard her rasp and delayed the vote. "Defer and publish" which the council did to delay the vote to yesterday,can only be done once. By "defer and publish" by Burke and Mell...they prevented Smith "defer and publish" yesterday and therefore pushing forward to when she is sitting in 43rd. Dumb Dumb was stupid enough to believe someone was listening...they trumped ya :)