Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) said Friday that the University of Chicago has begun acquiring land just west of Washington Park - in an historic foray west of the Hyde Park neighborhood.
The university, which only in the last decade ventured south of Hyde Park into Woodlawn, has its eye on at least 15 privately owned parcels along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Garfield Boulevard (see map and list of addresses), according to Dowell.
The university wants the land "to satisfy their future development needs.
They believe that Garfield Boulevard is the gateway to the University of Chicago campus," she said.
Dowell said she's "disappointed" that the university has left the local community out of the loop about its plans, since the acquisitions could have a major impact on her ward.
The lots under negotiation fall in both the 3rd and the 20th wards. Dowell said she will reach out to other local aldermen as the university's acquisition plans move forward.
A university official confirmed that negotiations are underway but disputed Dowell's characterization of the university's dealings with her office.
"I can confirm that the university is in a variety of different stages in purchasing a modest amount of property in the Garfield Boulevard and King Drive intersection," said Sonya Malunda, assistant vice president and director of community affairs for the university. She declined to name the specific parcels, citing the ongoing negotiations.
"The university's planned acquisitions are just one piece of a larger puzzle," Malunda said. She did not give details about what that larger plan might comprise.
"The university would not initiate that conversation," she said, adding, "It is our hope that we can work with the city, the community and local alderman to craft a redevelopment vision."
Any comprehensive plan for the area would require the university to work closely with the city, which owns many vacant lots in the Washington Park neighborhood, she said.
According to Dowell, university officials told her in March that no negotiations to buy properties had begun, but when she met again with officials in June, negotiations had started for eight properties.
Dowell expressed anger that she and her community hadn't been included, accusing the university of "land banking" - holding property for development planned far down the line. That could prove detrimental to the 3rd Ward, long plagued with vacant and underused lots, she argued.
"Their eyes are bigger than their stomachs, Dowell said, of university officials. "They're being greedy."
And she said that if the university pays top dollar for the properties, it could have a destabilizing effect on land values in a neighborhood.
Malunda countered, "I can't see how the purchase of a handful of parcels will drive the market for Washington Park."
The broader goal of purchasing the land is to "help facilitate economic development west of the park, in partnership with others," she said. "We look forward to providing community benefits" as part of a redevelopment plan, she added.
Dowell said the university's dealings so far had left her unconvinced of its motives. "I will not use any of my power as an alderman to support the University of Chicago until they agree to work with my office and the community in a transparent and honest way," she said.
While aldermen can't stop private property from changing hands, they do have the power to approve or deny zoning changes that developers may need in order to proceed with a project.
Part of Dowell's anger appeared to stem from the university's track record of dealing with communities as it expands. In a June 26 letter to university president Robert Zimmer (see letter), she wrote, "Considering the history of the university's development initiatives, it is not difficult to understand why the African American community in Chicago's South Side would have a negative perception of them."
Malunda conceded that, "the university has had a mixed history with the community over five to six decades." But the tide has shifted, she argued.
"Over the last decade we've worked really hard to develop partnerships and programs that benefit the South Side," she said.



SUMMARY

The University of Chicago has its eye on the following properties, according to a "Land Acquisition Map" that university officials provided Dowell at a June meeting. Dowell said a few projects already had been purchased, and Cook County records show that transactions have been completed in recent weeks on three properties.

Likely already purchased:
356 E. Garfield Blvd.
344 E. Garfield Blvd.
301 E. 55th St.

Under negotiation:

226 E. 56th St.
323 E. 55th St.
325 E. 55th St.
331 E. 55th St.
371 E. 55th St. (western half of parcel)

Planned for future acquisition:
305 E. 55th St.
309 E. 55th St.
315 E. 55th St.
353 E. 55th St.
365 E. 55th St.
370 E. Garfield Blvd.
371 E. 55th St. (eastern half of parcel)