Fasttrack schedule 4 for sale1/24/2024 “It’s redlining, block busting, the financial crisis, a history of discrimination. “We’re dealing with decades of systemic divestment,” Dickhut said. The accumulation of lots - and the uphill climb for redevelopment - is due to “a legacy of bad practices,” Dickhut said. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago A vacant lot sits overgrown along Calumet Avenue in Bronzeville May 12, 2022.ĭickhut said the city now owns about half to one-third of all vacant land in Chicago. Since launching in 2019, the initiative has had encouraging proposals in divested neighborhoods, but construction has been slow, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. The ChiBlockBuilder universal application is part of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Invest South/West initiative, which has generated $2.2 billion in public-private investment to spur development in 10 commercial areas on the South and West sides, Strazzabosco said. A city program to sell lots for $1 was last offered in 2018, Dickhut said. The city has long tried to find good buyers for its vast network of lots, which have piled up over decades, primarily due to emergency demolitions, said planning department spokesperson Peter Strazzabosco. “The goal is to help build the community.” We’re not just offloading land: we’re developing it,” Dickhut said. This is not a program for people who buy lots and do nothing with them. “And we hope this creates a little competition for ideas for the lots. Sales for lots were halted this summer while the city planned the central website, which “makes it a much simpler and clearer process now, so we’re no longer dealing with inquiries in a one-off way,” Dickhut said. The city owns more than 10,000 vacant lots and hopes to eventually roll out sales on the website for all of them as they clear approval hurdles, Dickhut said. Residents who prove they live next to a vacant lot can apply to buy it at 10 percent of its market value, Dickhut said. 3, and the first round of 2,000 lots can be used for a number of purposes: side-yards, affordable or market-rate housing, commercial buildings or community spaces such as urban gardens, Dickhut said. Listed lots have been pre-appraised with environmental clearances for development.Īpplications are due Feb. The program promises to shave six to eight months off all transactions, Dickhut said. CHICAGO - The city is streamlining its process to sell vacant lots in its latest bid to redevelop blighted areas on the South and West sides.Ī new website, ChiBlockBuilder, is a one-stop shop for people looking to browse 2,000 vacant lots listed by the city, said Kathleen Dickhut, a deputy commissioner with the Department of Planning & Development.
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