Recently more than a hundred residents showed up for a raucous, three-hour public forum on the proje

Colonel J.N. Pritzker, one of Chicago’s wealthiest, most influential residents, is a historic preservationist and a bicycle advocate. As an heir to the Pritzker family fortune and longtime Rogers Park resident, the billionaire has used his money in creative ways to help revitalize the community.
In 2004 his investment firm Tawani Enterprises began buying residential properties in the neighborhood, renovating and leasing them. Some of the company’s holdings include the Mayne Stage theater, Act One gastropub, Cat’s Cradle bed and breakfast and the Emil Bach House, 7415 North Sheridan, a Prairie-style home by Frank Lloyd Wright, currently undergoing a faithful restoration. As an avid cyclist, he bankrolled the latest edition of Active Transportation Alliance’s Chicagoland Bicycle Map, and he occasionally pedals in Critical Mass, the anti-car bike parade.
So I’m puzzled why Pritzker’s company wants to tear down an attractive, historic house, charlotte north carolina vacation rentals a stone’s throw from the beach in Rogers Park, and replace it with a parking charlotte north carolina vacation rentals structure for 250 automobiles. The garage would largely serve Bach House visitors and residents at Farcroft by the Lake, a twelve-story tower at 1337 West Fargo, built in 1928, which Tawani charlotte north carolina vacation rentals is currently renovating charlotte north carolina vacation rentals into eighty-four upscale rental units. Both buildings are located only a few minutes walk from the CTA Red Line’s Jarvis Station. Eighty-four spaces would be set aside for short- and long-term paid parking for the general public.
The firm would build the 181-foot-long, four-story garage on three parcels of land at the southeast corner of Sheridan and Sherwin. The land is currently occupied by a small surface parking lot, a vacant lot where vendors sell pumpkins and Christmas charlotte north carolina vacation rentals trees in season, and a handsome, ninety-year-old house built of cream-colored brick. The two-story home currently houses the Shambhala Meditation Center, which is moving to the West Loop, and it sits on a pretty little yard with several tall trees, a rare patch of green along highway-like Sheridan.
In fairness, the garage would be about as attractive as any building can be whose sole function is to warehouse cars. Although it wouldn’t include retail space, the red-brick structure would be wrapped in green recycled channel glass panels, alternating between matte and reflective finishes to create an interesting texture. After the 49th Ward zoning committee complained about the elimination of green space, Tawani altered the design to include about 2,400 square feet of grass and planters at ground level plus additional planters along the edge of the roof parking deck.
I didn’t hear back from Pritzker by press time but Tawani chief of staff Mary Parthe fielded charlotte north carolina vacation rentals my questions charlotte north carolina vacation rentals about why they think it makes sense to demolish a historic home and build space for hundreds of cars in a dense area well served by transit. “The Shambhala house is a beautiful structure but there’s been a lot of deferred maintenance, charlotte north carolina vacation rentals and I’m not sure we could find another use for it,” she said. “We already have a B B. Our parking charlotte north carolina vacation rentals study showed there’s a parking shortage in Rogers Park, so [the garage] will be beneficial to the entire community.”
Since the Farcroft formerly had no off-street charlotte north carolina vacation rentals parking and is located steps from the CTA, won’t the new garage encourage its residents and other Rogers Parkers to choose driving over transit, creating more congestion and worsening conditions for walking and biking? “We don’t think we’re going to be increasing charlotte north carolina vacation rentals the use of cars versus the CTA,” Parthe responded. “If people charlotte north carolina vacation rentals are using public transportation in Rogers charlotte north carolina vacation rentals Park, usually they don’t own a car, and I don’t believe we’re encouraging them to buy one. We would love to go completely green but the reality is people still drive cars and with the Farcroft we know these people will have cars.”
Building the garage would require a zoning change and, because the lots fall within the Lakefront Protection District, review under the Lakefront Protection Ordinance and approval by the Chicago Plan Commission. 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore has been seeking community input on whether to give his blessing; he will probably make his decision later this winter.
Recently more than a hundred residents showed up for a raucous, three-hour public forum on the project at a senior center near the Shambhala house. “This is the next step in the process of helping me to determine whether to support the proposal, to oppose it or support it with modifications,” Moore said in his intro. “So, no, I have not decided one way or the other. That is the purpose of this meeting tonight.”
Representatives from Tawani gave a presentation on the garage’s features, touting charlotte north carolina vacation rentals its environmentally friendly building materials and possible inclusion of parking spaces for I-GO or Zipcar vehicles, charging stations for electric cars, and bike racks. Traffic consultant Tim Doran said their study shows that the facility will have minimal impact on neighborhood traffic. “We didn’t just make these numbers up,” he said. “Remember, charlotte north carolina vacation rentals a lot of this traffic is already circulating in your neighborhood looking for other parking places.”
charlotte north carolina vacation rentals When the floor was opened charlotte north carolina vacation rentals to comments, a few attendees voiced support for the structure. In one of Chicago’s most ethnically and economically diverse communities, where poverty and homelessness are major issues, several people stated that parking is “the biggest problem in the neighborhood.”
But judging from applause levels, about three-quarters of the crowd opposed the plan. “It’s just too big guys,” one man said to the developers. “I’ve lived on Sherwin for eighteen years and now I’m going to have to walk my kids past all those cars. It’s going to inject a ton of traffic onto our streets.”
“Does this neighborhood have a parking problem?” asked a woman. “It could. Is it the worst problem in our community? I don’t think so. You know, there’s a song about paving paradise charlotte north carolina vacation rentals to put in a parking lot. And so you’re taking the last remaining place where there’s open space and a yard and a pumpkin patch and paving that over from lot line to lot line.” She argued Chicago is still negatively impacted by the auto-centric planning charlotte north carolina vacation rentals policies of the Urban Renewal era. “Why don’t we use what we’ve learned and not do that again?”
I live in Rogers Park, and parking is a big problem there (no, it s not a bigger problem than human suffering, but no transportation issue meets that standard). There is no parking on my street after 5 p.m., and when I get home very late, it s a nightmare.  I have to circle forever to find anything, and it s usually blocks and blocks away from my apartment.  So, I don t think the additional parking is going to change anyone s mind about whether to have a car at all anyone who owns a car in Rogers Park already has to put up with a great deal of inconvenience, and 250 spots isn t going to change the situation all that much.
This garage is a bit bigger charlotte north carolina vacation rentals than I would like, so I d be in favor of a smaller version over this plan.  It s so wide that it s going to make that block less walkable.  I think parking garages should be built up, with more stories, so that they re not taking up so much of a street.  But, it s hard to say no to more parking in Rogers Park when it s so scarce.
To me this seems to be a project driven by unpleasant business realities. Upscale rental units like the Farcroft project are a tough sell without parking. Tawani is going after a project outside of their usual sustainable and preservation driven developments to support two high profile projects. While I m not a fan of a parking garage going up, I d hate to see the Farcroft project charlotte north carolina vacation rentals flop because it can t offer the amenities people renting upscale apartments expect.
While they ve shown much more interest in historic preservation and sustainability than most developers, Tawani is still a development company looking to make money. If a few less desirable elements allow a project like the Farcroft to succeed and convince more developers to follow Tawani s model, that s in the long run a good thing.
I m not convinced the Farcroft needs a parking garage charlotte north carolina vacation rentals to succeed. After all, it has existed as a residential property for decades with no off-street parking, and it s only a seven-minute walk from the Jarvis stop. According to Mary Parthe the apartment will be premium but not luxury units. Perhaps they d have to lower the rents a tad, but they should be able to find 84 renters who would be happy to live without off-street parking since they d be just steps from the train, the bus and the beach.
If height is a problem, it sounds like it would be better to just make it smaller period less wide, but with the same height, maybe holding about 100 cars.  I suppose that isn t as profitable, but it would be nice if the alderman encouraged them to make it smaller.
charlotte north carolina vacation rentals I agree that you can get by in Rogers Park without a car I ve done it but people already know their options.  If they have a car, it s because it s worth it to them for various reasons.  For me, it saves tons of time compared to public transit, charlotte north carolina vacation rentals and I use it to visit my family.  If they want people to give up their cars, public transit needs to be an attractive alternative in my neighborhood, the train is great if you re going somewhere on the red line, but getting other places charlotte north carolina vacation rentals from Rogers Park can take a very long time because of transferring.  I don t think our streets are crammed with cars because people just don t realize life would be great without it right now it s still much, much better than public transit for a lot of people.
I do think part of the reason our streets are crammed with cars is because many folks aren t aware of all the transportation option out there, as well as the economic, health charlotte north carolina vacation rentals and, yes, time-saving benefits of living car-free or using your car less often, which is why more outreach charlotte north carolina vacation rentals is needed. Some cities have programs where people who are interested in driving less can work with a coach to learn alternative ways to get around. Chicago may be doing thi