Black restaurants to be displaced by redevelopment project

The upcoming redevelopment of a South Side retail corridor will displace several small businesses, which include two popular Black restaurants, and community residents are not happy about it. “I like the current makeup of stores at Harper Court,&rdq

“The University of Chicago didn’t need this space because they already own a shopping center at 55th Street and Lake Park. It’s probably because of their ownership of that strip mall that the Co-Op left. The university is nothing but a bully and should stick to educating students and providing quality health care.”

Shoppers said the prices at many of the stores are reasonable. “I shop here all the time because of the low prices. I do not believe in spending my money outside my community,” said Gregory Dawson, 37, who live at 54th Street and Harper. “I wish the movie theatre were still here. That’s about the only thing I go outside my neighborhood for and that’s every blue moon.”

Dixie Kitchen and Bait Shop and Calypso Cafe, both owned by Innovations Management, is among 17 retail tenants facing displacement by year-end, said Robert Rosenberg, associate vice president of communications for the University of Chicago. The university purchased the shopping center from the Harper Court Arts Council this month for $6.5 million. Carolyn Andresen, owner of Dixie and Calypso, did not return calls by presstime.

Two other restaurants at Harper Court, the Checkboard Lounge and Park 52, will not be displaced in part because they have long-term leases, Rosenberg said. But other tenants such as the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, US Computech and state Sen. Kwame Raoul, whose district office is in Harper Court, must now search for new office space. “The older buildings that were constructed in the 1970s are the ones that will be demolished and redeveloped, not the entire courtway,” Rosenberg added.

That means Dr. Wax, a Blackowned record store, will not be displaced because it sits on the north side of the court way along side the vacant Hyde Park movie theatre. Businesses facing displacement and wanting to stay in the neighborhood met with officials from the U of C May 27 to discuss among other things alternative locations within Hyde Park. Still, some community residents who have frequently visited Dixie Kitchen and Calypso restaurants over the past 10 years insist race is why this is happening.

“They [U of C] can say what they want. I know this decision to demolish the shopping center and raise rents was to force Black businesses out,” said Katrina Everett, 40, who graduated from nearby Kenwood Academy High School. “I have lived here for 32 years and I have seen a lot of change during this time, some good but a lot bad and this is one of those bad times.”

High-end retail stores will probably replace those stores that choose not to return to Harper Court after the redevelopment is complete, Rosenberg said. “And that’s what they wanted all along,” said Chester Blair, 48. “I know how the university thinks because I worked there for 10 years [as an engineer] and I know they want an environment of stores and restaurants its [rich] students are use to going to.”

Rosenberg added that what the university wants is to revitalize Harper Court and not chase away long time businesses regardless of color. “I can understand some people’s frustration over the lack of retail opportunities for small and Black businesses but this is not about race,” he said. “I also know some people do not like change especially if they are use to things remaining the same, which sounds like the case here.”

Construction is expected to begin by 2010 and completion by 2013.

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