Last week I led a tour of the site of the $800-or-so-million boondoggle Mayor Emanuel’s earmarked for the South Loop. You probably know it as the DePaul basketball arena project, the popular shorthand.
The mayor says it will cost at least $55 million to buy land for this project and the money will come from the tax increment financing program, intended to eradicate blight in poor neighborhoods.
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In its promotional material for the project, the city depicts this area as a slum. What the city doesn’t show you is that just down the street to the east and south are dozens of high-rises and townhouses that have been built over the last ten or so years—without any TIF handouts.
Dave and I walked into Windy City Furniture, at 2221 S. Michigan, a large used-furniture show house.
But on July 24, the City Council voted to give the mayor eminent domain authority to take McHugh’s land. Once he gets approval from a judge, the mayor can seize the property and start building his hotel, while still haggling with McHugh over a sales price.
Just east of the bank is a parking garage owned by CenterPoint Properties. Metropolitan Pier has also sued to take that property. CenterPoint had been considering other development deals for their land, but the efforts of Metropolitan Pier put an end to them.
Metropolitan Pier claims the big hotel alone will create “500 permanent full-time jobs.”
