Chicago Lawn ‘Rebuilds the Team’ in Support of Cannery Development
Proposed 1½ million-square-foot General Growth retail center needs TIF designation
It would be the largest retail development on the mid-Southwest Side – dwarfing most
anything between Roosevelt Road and 95th Street, and between Cicero Avenue and the
Dan Ryan Expressway.
The Greater Southwest Development Corporation has partnered with mall giant General
Growth Properties to draw up a proposed 1½ million-square-foot retail mega-center in
the vicinity of 62rd Street and Western Avenue. Slated for the longtime site of American
Can Company, the development would be called The Cannery.
In business since 1901, AmCan prospered during the mid-20th Century, especially during
the 1960s, when the plant at 62nd and Western produced the first pop-top or ring-tab cans.
But the company’s fortunes reversed during the 1970s, and the Chicago Lawn plant was
among 105 the company shuttered.
By the 1990s, Greater Southwest and its partners had worked to not only save an existing
Sears store but also attract Jewel-Osco, Aldi’s, Pep Boy’s Auto Parts, and an Inner City
Entertainment (ICE) movie theater. But a planned redevelopment anchored by a large
Kmart store ran aground when the discount chain filed for bankruptcy.
The City of Chicago approved a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District for that aborted
redevelopment 13 years ago, in recognition of the still-tenuous success of the existing
retail district and the costs of building on the former AmCan site. TIF districts are
designed to bring about community revitalization by reinvesting tax dollars in
surrounding neighborhood infrastructure.
Although the existing Greater Lawn TIF District still has $2.8 million in Neighborhood
Improvement Program (NIP) funds – and millions more are likely to come during the
remaining 10 years – Greater Southwest and its partners would like to establish a second,
adjacent district.
This will both support the ambitious nature of The Cannery – which will extend along the
west side of Western Avenue from 59th to 62nd streets -- and extend the time frame long
enough to ensure its eventual success.
Community leaders, many of whom took part in the quality-of-life task force led by
Greater Southwest as part of LISC/Chicago’s New Communities Program from 2003-05,
reassembled on Sept. 26 at the Churchview Senior Complex on 63rd Street to learn about
the project and to begin organizing in support of the TIF. A larger community meeting
will be held in November to further rally and deepen support.
“A Powerful Room”
About 50 residents, business owners, educators, clergy, police, and nonprofit social
services providers and community developers packed the room on Sept. 26 (see list of
names at the end of this document). They began with a round of introductions. “We can
see it’s a powerful room,” said Jeff Bartow, director of the Southwest Organizing Project
(SWOP), a key partner in the NCP task force process.
Bartow held up the Chicago Lawn quality-of-life plan, titled “Making Connections.” He
reminded those assembled that the plan – which called for building a “town center” at
60th Street and Western Avenue -- had been ratified in 2004 by 1,000 people representing
about 70 organizations throughout the community.
“This was what we set out to do. Since then, we’ve moved forward,” Bartow said. “Our
plan, called ‘Making Connections,’ describes the necessary, ongoing relational work
needed to shape our futures, rather than having our futures shaped for us.”
Among the projects he cited that have moved forward in the past three years:
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The Iman Health Center, made possible “through give-and-take” as well as
$800,000 from Greater Southwest;
New murals and other art projects “that have engaged young people”;
Parent mentoring programs in four schools, with more to come;
Organizing to advocate stronger anti-predatory-lending laws;
The Center for Working Families, which provides job training and placement, tax
preparation assistance, public benefits assistance, and financial counseling;
The Integrated Services in Extended-Day Schools (ISES) project, which could
bring $1 million per year for four years to Marquette School; and,
Five job fairs that have resulted in positions for 374 people with companies like
Nabisco and International Paper that can pay between $10 and $20 per hour.
“This is all the outcome of something that’s underway,” Bartow said. The quality-of-life
plan “will work if we view it as a living document.”
Cleaning Up the Garbage
Jim Capraro, executive director of Greater Southwest, then turned the group’s attention to
another document: the proposal for and information about The Cannery. The cover of the
book shows a black-and-white photo of AmCan during its successful times.
“This is history,” he said. But when Greater Southwest and its partners first surveyed the
land which contained that history, Capraro recalled, they found an abandoned building
that kept catching fire, laced with hazardous substances like asbestos and creosote. “It
was trouble. It was blighting everything around it. It was dangerous,” he said.
When Mayor Richard M. Daley asked Greater Southwest what they wanted to do about
it, “We said, ‘We need to get AmCan to tear down their building.’ ” So the city
successfully filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and received an order
against AmCan. “If you’re going to leave the neighborhood, you can’t just leave your
garbage behind,” Capraro said.
After a $3.8 million teardown of the building, Greater Southwest and its partners went to
work, developing the retail currently in existence to complement the existing Sears and
Jewel-Osco – which, in turn, had helped to save the Sears in the mid-1980s. That’s
because the intersection “became a destination” once Jewel-Osco came, Capraro said.
“They were making money.”
But the retail sector still does not enough concentration or diversity of store types to keep
people shopping in the neighborhood, and far too many Chicago Lawn residents drive out
to Cicero Avenue in Bedford Park – supporting that small suburb’s police, fire, schools
and other government services rather than keeping tax dollars in their community.
In fact, the quarter-million households in Chicago Lawn and surrounding communities,
with a combined income of more than $1.2 billion, spend 44 percent of their retail dollars
outside the community, according to RW Ventures Research. “That’s what underserved
means,” Capraro said.
The Cannery development would serve not only Chicago Lawn but several other midSouthwest Side neighborhoods, he said. “It would restore our neighborhood to the retail
prominence it once held.”
After the Kmart bankruptcy, Greater Southwest went back to the drawing board and
“found a new partner that’s not about to go bankrupt and has expertise in developing
shopping centers,” Capraro said. In fact, General Growth is one of the world’s two
biggest mall developers, he said.
And to jump-start The Cannery, General Growth plans to purchase the now-dark movie
theater, the Jewel store and surrounding property – where it would build a new Jewel
about double the size of the current, aging outlet – and the former Kmart parcel, now
owned by Sears. Pep Boys, Aldi’s and Sears will remain where they are.
Another 150,000 square feet of space will include new large anchor tenants, smaller
“box” retailers, community and specialty retailers, restaurants, and a community center.
In all, the site will encompass 27 acres, 17 of which are now vacant. The Cannery will
have excellent visibility and frontage, the partners note, with traffic counts surpassing
100,000 vehicles per day.
“Impactful and Enduring”
Lyneir Richardson, vice president at General Growth, who runs the company’s Chicagobased urban retail group, reflected on Greater Southwest’s history of continuously
building upon previous successes.
“Jim Capraro – and his organization – is a what-else type of guy,” Richardson said. “This
is an opportunity to create something large, and impactful, and enduring. We have a
committed project team in place, to bring this project to fruition.” He added that General
Growth hopes to break ground by mid-2008 and open in 2009.
Toby Davis, who handles leasing for General Growth’s urban retail group, said retailers
understand the potential of projects like The Cannery more clearly than even a few years
ago. Concepts they couldn’t sell at the International Convention of Shopping Centers in
Las Vegas, “two years later, we had six calls two months before the convention,” she
said. “The phone is ringing off the hook. They really want to be part of it.”
They also know that Chicago Lawn and its surrounding communities are “way underserved,” Davis said. She’s been talking to retailers like Old Navy, A.J. Wright and Toys
R Us as well as restaurants like Panda Express. General Growth has been keeping the
moderate- to middle-income nature of the area in mind, she said.
“We need to provide what the community can afford,” Davis said. “We have only so
much square footage.” She added: “We want this to be an area where you would not just
shop but meet friends for dinner.” The community center could offer a gathering place
for events like concerts, or storytelling for children, she said.
“These guys are serious,” Capraro said. “They’re about to spend several million dollars to
move these properties. We’re really lucky to have them want to work with us.”
The project is expected to bring more than 100 construction jobs and more than 400 jobs
on site, along with new opportunities at local vendors and suppliers, many of which
hopefully will go to community residents. In addition, home values are projected to rise
by a collective $30 million dollars during the first two years of this project, the partners
believe.
“Not a Slam Dunk”
But in spite of their potential, urban shopping centers present challenges even to large
corporations like General Growth, Capraro said. In addition to the costs of tearing down
buildings and remediating soil, they must be fit into existing infrastructure such as roads
and sewer systems; for example, traffic signals along Western will need to be
reevaluated.
“This [proposal] is not a slam-dunk,” he said. “This is not going to happen if there’s not a
new Tax Increment Financing District. TIFs exist because it’s otherwise too expensive to
redevelop. When it’s done correctly, the city pledges future tax money … to removing
the problem that’s causing [the site area] not to develop.” Then, after a period of usually
23 years, the higher tax revenues generated by a project go into the city’s general coffers.
Greater Southwest and its partners succeeded in getting approval for a TIF in 1996, and
“because Kmart went bankrupt … we’re back at it,” Capraro said. “The strongest
statement would be the community coming together. This is a leadership meeting. You’re
all leaders. We’re asking for your commitment to bring people out here.”
The November meeting will serve to educate people in the community and begin to
organize them to advocate for the TIF. The city seems initially favorable to granting one,
Capraro said, but there are no guarantees.
Jeanne Lindwall, consultant with Camiros, Ltd., clarified that the existing TIF includes
the theater building and the failed Kmart property but not the Jewel (see map), and it’s
going to expire in 10 years. The new TIF, which will sit within the 15th and 16th wards,
will wrap around it, picking up the industrial area between Western Avenue and the
nearby railroad tracks, excluding as much residential land as geographically possible.
“There is no plan to displace anybody,” Lindwall said.
The next step is for the city to authorize a feasibility and housing impact study, and then
there will be a public hearing in early 2008 before the city council votes on its adoption.
Questions and Answers
During a question-and-answer period with the audience, Richardson clarified that he
expects construction of the complex to take about 18 months, which means it should open
in late 2009. “Those of you who are doing Christmas shopping in Oakbrook, think about
how you could be doing it on Western Avenue,” Capraro said.
Davis said the General Growth hopes to keep the building that houses the existing Jewel
and re-use it for another purpose, such as a bank branch. “That’s part of being
environmentally conscious,” she said. The developer plans to have a majority of the
space occupied by national retailers but intends to house local ones, as well, she added.
One audience member, Clara Curt, asked whether Greater Southwest and General
Growth had incorporated the neighborhood just east of Western Avenue into their plans.
“Why not include West Englewood?” she said. “What about my children? How would
they be included?”
“That brings us back to, ‘Making Connections,’ ” Bartow responded. “This impacts east
of Western, as well. That community needs to be a part of this. We need to listen to our
neighbors there.”
“We want to reach out to people,” Capraro added. “We have to be intentional about
creating relationships. To benefit both sides of the tracks, we need to have conversations
with a lot of people. We don’t want to just advertise what we’re doing.”
“This process hasn’t worked without a buy-in,” Bartow said. The partners hope to
broaden that buy-in at the community meeting in November, which the leaders assembled
will hear about as details fall into place, he said. Bartow asked those willing to take part
to stand, and everyone in the room did so. “I feel like we’re rebuilding the team,” he said.
Rabbi Capere Funnye, there to bless the food for the luncheon after the meeting, said: “It
does my heart good to see all of us standing in support of this community.”
Attendees at the Sept. 26 meeting included:
Clara Kirk
Donna Pugh
Jeff Bartow
Sister M. Immacula
Wayne Lerner
Leo Schmitz
Lyneir Richardson
Micheal Reardon
Olga Linares
Laurie Sedio
Jeanne Lindwall
Karen Simmons
Foley & Lardner
Southwest Organizing Project
Holy Cross Hospital
General Growth Properties
Neighborhood Housing Services
Citibank
Metropolitan Family Services
Camiros, Ltd.
Artison Health Care
Cullen Foulks Jr
Bernard Muhammad
Lena Marie Parma
David McDowell
Rev. John Dearhammer
Sister Margaret Petcovage
Keri Blackwell
Irma Ramos
Kathleen Van Tiem
Livia Villarreal
John Dehelean
Harry Meyer
Jeri Shinners
Yolanda Castillo
Reggie Smith
Francine Hurt
Rogelio Lopez
Laura Allen
Dennis Ryan
William Jackson
David Tunipseed
Sister Regina Dubickas
Jerry Estevez
Tracy Woulm
State Farm
Shoe Shine Kastle
Curves
Southwest Organizing Project
St. Gall Church
Sister's of St. Casimir
LISC
GSDC REACH Center
Neighborhood Housing Services
GSDC REACH Center
Kelly Smith
Shabbir Karimi
Aimee Navarro
Lenora Dailey
Lawndale CDC
Greater Southwest
Southwest Organizing Project
Garifuna Flava Restaurant
Holy Cross Hospital
W.W. Jackson Funeral Home
God Haven Word of Faith Church
Sister's of St. Casimir
Wamu
Lawndale CDC
Greater Southwest
Toby Davis
Richard Townsell
Lourdes Cortes
Ilana Bodini
Maura Kelly
Dianne Richardson
Jennifer Dowling
Piotr Korzynski
Claude P. Murrell
Rabbi Capere Funnye
Elizabeth Martinez
Camille Ohed
General Growth Properties
Healthy Chicago Lawn
Maria HS/Beth
Greater Southwest
SWYC