Now that rising cleanup costs have forced the city to rethink its plans for the proposed $1.1 billion Olympic Village, Bronzeville residents are pushing to relocate the project outside the community altogether.
Now that rising cleanup costs have forced the city to rethink its plans for the proposed $1.1 billion Olympic Village, Bronzeville residents are pushing to relocate the project outside the community altogether.
Over the summer, the city reached an $85 million purchasing agreement with St. Louis-based Medline Industries to acquire the 37-acre Michael Reese Hospital & Medical Center campus, 2929 S. Ellis Ave., after the hospital closes later this year.
It is the proposed site for the Olympic Village.
The agreement also called for Medline to make a $20 million charitable contribution to the Olympic Village project–to cover demolition and environmental cleanup costs–and make five years of interest payments on the $85 million loan at a rate of 5 percent.
The city expected site cleanup costs to run about $20 million. However, that estimate has ballooned to $32 million, leaving the city on the hook for the difference.
Alderman Toni Preckwinkle, whose 4th Ward includes Bronzeville, supports the Olympic Village project and said the city should use eminent domain, instead, to acquire the property.
However, the city is not poised to pursue eminent domain at this time, said Pete Scales, director of communications for the city’s Planning & Development Department.
“There’s a lot that goes on with eminent domain, and I am not so sure it is worth going through to acquire the Michael Reese site, especially if it can be worked out through re-negotiations,” Scales said. “I do know the city plans to renegotiate with the property owner for the site and is looking at all options, should re-negotiations fail. But I do not believe eminent domain is one of them.”
Sean Breen, 56, lives at 37th Street and King Drive, which is near the proposed Olympic Village site. He said he wants nothing more but to see it moved to another community.
“There are other needy communities like Englewood and North Lawndale that need more housing and economic development than Bronzeville. I don’t think the city or alderman really knows what our community is all about,” Breen said.
“After all the talk about displacement and the cocky, aggressive approach the city took to acquire the property, I just want the whole thing to go away,” said Cathy Weatherspoon, 88, who lives in the Lawless Gardens apartment complex at 3550 S. Rhodes. “My building is three blocks from the Olympic Village site, and I can’t see the city spending all that money to build the darn thing knowing that welfare folks live a few blocks away.”
Mayor Richard M. Daley said he is hopeful the city can renegotiate the cleanup costs with Medline but did not rule out moving the project to another location.
“In negotiations, you have to play hardball. You cannot be weak in regards to any negotiations,” he said. “You can’t give up on it. If that doesn’t (work), you look at other sites as well.”
Developers are speculating the city will revert back to its original plan to build the Olympic Village near the McCormick Place or south of 31st Street on land owned by Draper & Kramer Inc.
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