By Mary Corrado
Associate EditorOn July 16 over 650 community members gathered at Queen of Angels Guild Hall, 4416 N. Western Ave., to hear developers present plans for the construction of low-income senior housing buildings on a portion of the old Martha Washington Hospital site at Irving Park Rd. and Western Ave.—plans which require a zoning change to move forward. Currently the site is zoned for health care uses only. After two hours of detailed presentations and a 30 minute question/answer period, the participants voted overwhelmingly to approve the project.
The plan calls for three buildings, each with its own developer, to be constructed on a five acre parcel of land donated for this purpose by Advocate Healthcare. The zoning change would not include the two buildings which will remain on the southwest part of the land: Advocate's Urgent Care Center and Advocate's office building, which will continue to operate as they are.
Ald. Gene Schulter (47th), who had mailed an invitation to attend the meeting to every registered voter in the 47th Ward, shared the background of the plan. "Over five years ago we began the process to establish the Western Ave. TIF (Tax Increment Financing District) to fund senior housing in the 47th Ward. About three years ago we did establish the TIF, and at the same time started the Senior Housing Task Force." This task force includes such groups as Addison St. Community Church, Jane Addams Resource Center, Jane Addams Senior Caucus, the Levy Regional Senior Center, Ravenswood Community Council, St. Matthias Church, Queen of Angels Church, St. Benedict's Church, UPRAVE, Lincoln Square/North Center Association, and more.
Land for low-income senior housing must be donated, explained the alderman, or else the project would be far too expensive to operate. The Martha Washington Hospital, which dates to roughly the Civil War, operated for many years at the seven-acre site at Irving Park Rd. and Western Ave., and then went bankrupt. It was purchased by Ravenswood Hospital, 4550 N. Winchester Ave., which was then purchased by Advocate. Two years later, Advocate closed and sold Ravenswood Hospital and decided to donate five acres of the Irving and Western property.
"There are more than 27,000 seniors in the 47th Ward, " Schulter said. "The seniors helped build our community. We owe it to them [to move forward with this project]."
Speaking next at the meeting was Bishop Edwin Conway, who helped to found the Catholic Charities Housing Development Association, which has built over 1,000 apartments for seniors on a limited income. Visit those apartments and see "the joys of clean, decent, supportive housing...in association with many neighbors," he said in affirmation of the proposal. "The great variety of people in Chicago is a plus, and keeping seniors adds to the diversity."
Early in the planning stages, Ald. Schulter had directed that the proposal meet certain objectives. It was to be affordable and attractive; be active and intergenerational (with enough size and open space for grandchildren to visit); have open space; and cap the height of buildings at four stories. Also, it was to have access only via Irving Park Rd. or Western Ave.; have minimal traffic impacts; provide adequate parking; fit within the neighborhood context; and provide some common space for non-resident local seniors to gather, although not a full-scale senior center. In addition, the Old Main building was to remain if possible.
Of these directives, the proposal meets all but two. The Old Main building was determined to be too unwieldy to renovate for senior housing, and it is to be torn down along with the Department of Children and Family Services building and the Mental Health building. Also, the height of the buildings will need to be five stories in order to house numerous seniors without a large "footprint" on the land, which would cover up the desirable open space.
John Laughton, a city planner, said the zoning change must be expedited in order to have two of the three buildings ready for occupancy by 2004. He indicated that the proposal, which features three buildings in close proximity around green space, provides a better orientation and massing than the current structures do. The buildings are set back from the street so they seem less massive.
Mature trees will be preserved, and open space will be maximized in the central courtyard area as well as an additional green area to the side. The landscaped area will be accessible to the greater community, but not open 24 hours.
Since parking decks are prohibitively expensive, standard parking lots will be used. Parking will be placed on the perimeter of the project, with .5 to .8 parking spots per residential unit. For the convenience of the residents, each building will have its parking close-in. Also, seniors will be able to easily walk from building to building—to the ground level coffee shop, barber, beauty shop, gift shop, cafeteria, and so on— without needing to cross any parking lots.
Ralph Brown, president of Technical Assistance Corporation for Housing (TACH), nonprofit housing consultants and developers since 1970, described the building his company envisions. All rents mentioned include utilities. Designed for independent living for the well elderly, the five-story elevator building would hold 104 apartments: four studios for $495; 87 one-bedroom units renting for $550-$610 a month; and 13 two-bedroom units for $795. The square footage would be 500 s. f. for studios, about 600 s. f. for one-bedrooms, and 900 s. f. for two-bedrooms. Some have balconies.
Brown said he would ask for federal assistance for 20 percent of these units, which would bring them down to $200 to $350 a month. To qualify for assistance, annual income limits would be, for one person, $31,000; for two people, $36,000.
"Our goal for this building is more than bricks and sticks, it's a place of vitality and activity," he said. "There will be a social services coordinator to help with problems and to plan. There will be a community room, meeting room with warming kitchen, exercise room, game room, lounge, library, computer room, and wellness room.
"There will be amenities specific to senior citizens. Doors swing out of the bathroom. There are rails in the bathroom, leather doorknobs [which are easy to grip] throughout, high outlets which are easy to plug cords into, low switches which are easier to flip, and a convenient height for cabinets. There is an emergency call system in each unit.
"The building will be provided with sprinklers and fireproofing above what is required. There will be security at the ground level, and video transmitters so residents can see who's at the entrance. All doors lock. Also, there will be comfortable baseboard hot water heat and air conditioning in units and public spaces. An emergency generator will provide backup for lights, elevator, cooling, and security 24/7."
There will be four employees for the TACH building: a live-in maintenance person, a full-time manager, a part-time manager, and a part-time social worker.
Catholic Charities Housing Development Corporation, which has built 25 projects in its 17 years of existence, is slated to construct and manage the second building on the site. It has applied for $7.5 million in federal aid to build it. According to architect Kathryn Grand, the building will provide independent living for seniors 62 and older, with 86 one-bedroom units and one two-bedroom unit for a live-in manager. Common spaces will include a lobby, lounge, craft room, den/kitchen, laundry, offices and a patio.
Annual incomes currently at one person, $26,400, and two persons, $30,150, would qualify. (These numbers will be adjusted upwards as the purchasing power of higher incomes goes down.) No more than two people can live in a one-bedroom unit. All rents in this building will be affordable—that is, 30 percent of the resident's income will be collected for rent and utilities. A resident whose monthly income, from Social Security and maybe a pension, is $1,000, would therefore pay $300 a month for rent and utilities together.
This building, nearest to Belle Plaine and Oakley avenues, will feature traditional, compatible architecture and a roof deck garden. Vertical bays and horizontal banding will make it seem less massive.
A developer for the third building has not yet been decided. It will provide 80 to 100 units and rise four or five stories.
During the question/answer and comment period, Fr. Bob Heidenreich of St. Benedict's Parish endorsed the plan. "A month doesn't go by that one or two of our parishioners comes to me crying because they can't live here anymore," he said. Others in favor spoke of seniors who must choose between paying rent or buying food. A representative of Common Pantry described "a sharp and dramatic increase in the number of seniors" needing help from the free food center as he affirmed the plan.
Questioned about whether the area can handle the traffic for such an endeavor, the panel responded that it can—but could not handle office or retail at that spot. The panel also clarified the situation of a senior who has a house but little income. If the senior sells the house and puts the money in the bank, only the annual interest is added to his or her income; the sum in the bank would not disqualify the applicant.
A member of Jane Addams Senior Caucus presented Ald. Schulter with 2,500 signatures in favor of the plan. Deanna Boyd of Lakeview Action Coalition was applauded when she took a turn at the microphone: "Seniors built this neighborhood! They vote, they care, they fulfill civic duties and are not apathetic. They really support local shops and restaurants...These folks deserve an affordable place to live."
Those at the meeting who showed identification as residents of the 47th Ward were given ballots; 382 voted in favor of the senior housing plan and 82 voted against it.
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