- Al Podgorski/Sun-Times
- As he faces a runoff election, 46th Ward alderman James Cappleman has been mum about a proposed TIF-funded development near the Uptown lakefront.
Last year around this time, a group of Uptown activists were busy protesting 46th Ward alderman James Cappleman’s support for a pair of high-rise residential towers along the lakefront—a project that would use $14 million in tax increment financing (TIF) dollars, though only 10 percent of the units will be set aside as “affordable.”
That’s the context for the stalled proposal for new residential towers.
JDL also proposed an underground parking garage located on land owned by the Park District, hence, under the agreement worked out with the city, some TIF dollars would have gone towards renovating the Clarendon Park field house. But the garage was ultimately scrapped, meaning there’s no longer a guarantee the field house will be fixed.
Crawford, a 38-year-old corporate lawyer, said the ward already has enough affordable housing options. Like Cappleman, she supports the residential towers at the former Maryville site and, as alderman, would keep the Montrose/Clarendon TIF district alive and well.
