A 7-Eleven is scheduled to open sometime in September at the intersection of Clark and Division amid resident concerns that the 24-hour convenience store will contribute to loitering and crime.

A Dunkin’ Donuts located at the same 101 W. Division St. location moved down the street in August 2010 partly due to safety concerns. But these concerns may speak more to the unusual mix of businesses and foot traffic by the Clark/Division Red Line station than specific criminal behavior.

“It’s already active around here,” said Secil Askoy, a saleswoman at Clear Communications, which sits kitty corner to the new 7-Eleven. “It’s already a street that has a ton of people from the Rush Street crowd to people sleeping on the street.”

The Gold Coast Neighbors Association meanwhile, has thrown their support behind the project after considering the safety concerns.

“We’ve worked with the new owner to develop a security plan,” said Vern Broders, vice president of the Gold Coast Neighbors Association. “And we believe that a store with a security plan would be a safer situation than a vacant storefront.”

The storefront has sat empty since the Dunkin’ Donuts relocated to just north of the Clark and Division intersection. The city’s Department of Buildings issued a permit for new storefront owner Tom Morley in April and, according to 7-Eleven corporate headquarters in Dallas, the store will open sometime in September. The exact opening date depends on a certificate of occupancy from the city.

Morley, whose listed address is the same as a 7-Eleven corporate office in Lombard, could not be reach for comment.

In the second week of August, a 7-Eleven sign was placed atop the storefront, which prompted the displeasure of some Gold Coast residents. A few, like Tina R. — a self-described 10 year Gold Coast neighbor, took their complaints to the local news aggregator EveryBlock.

“There are known mob gatherings in that area as well as panhandling, loitering,” Tina R. wrote in an Aug. 13 comment addressed to Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd). “Why did you not think it important to notify the community and get some feedback before you signed off on this?”

Reilly could not be reached for this story.

“I’m not opposed to something going there,” elaborated Tina R. in a phone interview (She declined to give her last name). “I’m opposed to a 24-hour 7-Eleven going there.”

These concerns are not just idle talk, because a Dunkin’ Donuts did relocate to 1201 N. Clark St. because of safety issues, according to store manager Chetan Bhagat.

“That location was not good for business, because it was not safe and secure,” Bhagat said. “There were some loitering and drug dealing.”

“Many people blocked the stored with drug dealing and illegal activity,” Bhagat said, adding that such activity decreased with the location just a few stores south.

But one resident of the intersection, who declined to be named, said that while there was crime at the Dunkin’ Donuts, what distinguished the fast food chain was that it “let people gather and stay there, but at 7-Eleven they won’t do that.”

Also, other nearby businesses doubted that a new 7-Eleven would contribute to crime.

“Really, I don’t see many criminal problems,” said Luigi DeMatteo, a manager at the Jewel-Osco at 1215 N. Clark St. “It is a very diverse community and we also have a lot of tourists and a lot of walking customers.”

Indeed, the intersection lies just west of the Rush Street area of high-end bars and clubs and just east of the shuttered Cabrini Green housing projects.

A block north of the 7-Eleven is a BMW dealership. Two doors west on Division is a Currency Exchange, loan store, and the Mark Twain single-room occupancy hotel.

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By jg from Old Town
Posted: 09/02/2011 2:18 PM

For me, the root cause is that darn convenient Red Line entrance and exit. Like a gopher in a grassy knoll: pop up to the near north side and pop right down if trouble arises.

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By BF from Gold Coast
Posted: 09/02/2011 10:57 AM

This story has its directions all mixed up. The BMW dealership is south, the new Dunkin is north. The obvious source of the crime at this intersection are the buildings along Division between LaSalle and Clark. It's funny how in the city people will avoid one specific section of the sidewalk--anyone with any sense avoids the south Division sidewalk between Clark and LaSalle.

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By TD from Gold Coast
Posted: 09/01/2011 9:26 AM

and the Mark Twain single-room occupancy hotel. Do you not see what lives in that hotel? LOOK AT THE CRIME BLOG IN 60610. You'll see all the crime in that area. Maybe police should be out there all the time. There is A LOT of criminal activity in that area. My guess is the the manager of Jewel doens't live inthe are. So he does not see everything!