by Ed Lowe and Ronald RoenigkThe Commission on Chicago Landmarks held its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, May 2, and discussed two designations which affect Lincoln Park residents. The first, which was passed with little controversy, concerns the landmark designation of the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool at the north end of the Lincoln Park Zoo.
But the second item, landmark designation for the proposed Armitage-Halsted District, has many in the Lincoln Park community upset over the lack of proper notification, the predicted loss of property value and the loss of control over these commercial properties by their current owners.
NEIGHBORS FROSTED
“I own five buildings in the proposed district and the first I heard about the plan was in February,” said Daniel O’Donnell, owner of Armitage Ace Hardware, 925 W. Armitage Ave. “They were up and down this block but never once stopped in to talk to me about any of this.” Many of the property owners in the designated area have recently had their properties re-assessed using Landmark Designation standards, which shows that they stand to lose 20 to 25 percent of their assessed value under the new designation. “And it’s also going to raise my insurance costs 50%,” said O’Donnell.
The Landmark Commission voted to accept the recommendations of the City’s Department of Planning and Development relative to the Landmark designation of the Armitage-Halsted District. This area is considered by the Department as being “one of the finest 19th-century commercial districts in Chicago.” As one of Chicago’s “first generation neighborhoods,” the area met the marketing and shopping needs of a population in the city that was unable to get to the downtown area. As horse-drawn streetcars were unreliable at the time, people shopped closer to home.
But a movement is now underway in Lincoln Park to create a new Armitage-Halsted Historic Community Organization (AHHCO) which is intended to keep the city’s bureaucrats at bay and allow property owners some say in the fate of their facades.
With O’Donnell and approximately 85 other property owners signed on already, AHHCO members have talked with Ald. Vi Daley (43rd), the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce, Armitage Ave. Merchants Association and two adjacent community associations to propose an alternative plan.
“Everyone thinks I’m crazy,” said O’Donnell, “they feel the city will never give up control. But if we put together a group that has some teeth and includes the property owners, alderman, and our community organizations, and if nobody can change a facade without our approval, then we can accomplish the same goals without giving up our rights and property values.”
O’Donnell has already enlisted property owners of 15 buildings who have pledged to undertake historic Victorian-style rehabs to their properties prior to any landmark designation taking place, thereby avoiding the approval process that the new designation would require. “There are two properties here which have caused all the problems and brought down the wrath of the community - the Benetton Store at Armitage Ave. and Dayton St. and the Sussex & Reilly-built mixed-use property at 936 W. Armitage which do not fit with the look of the street,” said O’Donnell. “We’d like to see that this doesn’t happen again and we can under this new organization.”
The area of the Armitage-Halsted District consists of 145 buildings roughly along Armitage Ave. running westerly from Halsted St. to Racine Ave., with additional buildings running north from Armitage to Webster avenues along Halsted St. According to Landmark Commission reports, a recognition of the historical importance and value of the district will prevent the character of the area from being redefined by developers.
Since October there has been a moratorium on any building permits in this area, but O’Donnell plans to meet next week with the alderman in hopes of moving ahead on the proposed 15 projects. “The city doesn’t want any more conservation or overlay districts, and we all want future rehabs to blend into the historic look of our area,” said O’Donnell.
HELL FREEZING OVER
The Commission will now ask property owners to accept or comment on the proposed designation, which would preclude any changes in the facades of the buildings in question. But, after notification, there is little that owners can do to prevent this designation which, after a period of comment from the owners, will be presented to the City Council for approval. Even if every property owner and neighbor opposed this plan the Commission can still force it on the community if seven of the nine commissioner vote in favor of it.
According to Seymour H. Persky, a member of the Commission, there are only two ways that the owners can resist the designation. One “is to seek a continuance and argue against the designation” before the Commission. The other is to take political action with members of the City Council to oppose the proposed ordinance.
In a report signed by Alicia Mazur Berg, Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development, Berg stated the city’s position when she said, “The proposed designation supports the city’s efforts to encourage private investment in the district by making additional preservation incentives available, such as the newly-expanded Cook County Class L property tax incentive and building permit fee waivers. These incentives, in addition to the investment tax credits and facade easement donations, would be available to contributing buildings in the district.”
Berg went on to say that the “designation of the Armitage-Halsted District as a Chicago Landmark District is consistent with the City’s overall plans and policies for Lincoln Park.”
POND FROZEN
The Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool was built with Works Project Administration (WPA) dollars during the depression between 1936 and 1938 to provide a “hidden garden” for the city’s residents.
Last week, just as Landmark Designation was being placed on the site, news broke that Dan Hynes, comptroller of the state of Illinois, froze a $50,000 grant intended to compensate the Friends of Lincoln Park for the recently completed rehab of the lily pool. The grant was sponsored by State Sen. John Cullerton and was part of nearly $100 million in spending freezes that Hynes initiated to help stem the state budget gap of $1.3 billion.
Caldwell, the designer of the 1.5 acre garden, was the premier landscape architect of the Prairie School. (Some have claimed that Caldwell was to landscaping what Frank Lloyd Wright was to Prairie School architecture.)
Wright and Caldwell worked together on the design of the park along with Jens Jensen, another powerful architect of the time. The design was intended to reproduce a small segment of the Chicago area’s original prairie, with walkways, a pond, native grasses and lilies floating on the pond. Caldwell, who died in 1998 at age 95, designed the retreat and is being honored by having the landmark dedicated to his name.
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