Developer hopes to refresh and revitalize commercial corridor in Chicago's West Pullman community
CHICAGO (CBS) - CBS News Chicago reported Tuesday night on an Aldi that abruptly closed in the West Pullman neighborhood this past weekend—leaving residents with one less option for their shopping.
But new investment is coming to the community—$200 million, to be exact.
For years, businesses big and small have come and gone in the West Pullman neighborhood. But the nonprofit Far South Community Development Corporation is working to create everlasting change—and has a vision specifically for the commercial corridor at 115th and Halsted streets.
"There's someone planning for something greater," said Abraham Lacy, president of the Far South Community Development Corporation.
That plan is something greater than the Morgan Park Commons, where a Jewel-Osco store once stood.
"The full project is a 12-acre, 258-unit mixed-use development project," Lacy said. "It has 16,000 square feet of new retail. It has a two-and-a-half-acre park, and a 13,000-square-foot performing arts and culinary arts center that's going to be at this development."
The plan is to create a new wave in West Pullman—making it more walkable, providing more resources, and expanding housing options.
"We haven't really invested a lot in affordable housing, and that's what's going to keep people here," Lacy said. "Imagine being able to walk down the street, and being able to enjoy a two-and-a-half-acre park. Imagine living in this facility and being able to walk downstairs, and you have restaurants and retail at the bottom of your facility."
The idea has been six years in the making—and is right on time with the recent closure of the Aldi now leaving residents with fewer options for groceries.
"We're disappointed that it happened so fast," Lacy said.
But what Lacy hopes happens fast is the green light to move the project forward, so West Pullman does not continue to experience closure after closure.
"And we hope to start phase one by next year. We're working with the city and working with the alderman to try to make this happen," Lacy said. "But this has been a long time in trying to get this project off the ground."
The Far South Community Development Corporation is also in the planning stages for redevelopment plans for the Maple Park Marketplace—the shopping plaza where the Aldi was located—and the adjacent Walgreens at 115th and Halsted streets.
Right now, the Far South Community Development Corporation is still going through processes like trying to get approval and financing from the city before any groundwork can begin.
