500-Unit Pilsen Residential Project Called 'Gentrification On Steroids'

By Rachel Cromidas in News on May 18, 2015 8:45PM

Plans for a 500-unit residential apartment complex have caught the ire of some community groups that fear the project will bring "gentrification on steroids" to the near Southwest Side neighborhood.

Members of the Pilsen Alliance held a protest and news conference outside the headquarters of Midwest Jesuits Friday (the religious organization owns the 7.85 acres parcel of land that would hold the new rental buildings). The apartments, being planned by New York-based Property Markets Group, would sit between 18th Street and 16th Street and between Newberry Avenue and Peoria Street and would be called PMG Windy City.

The developer has drawn up plans for the project but has not yet cleared the typical hurdles for getting a new residential development approved, which includes holding a series of public meetings and gaining the support of the alderman.

A statement provided by the office of Ald. Danny Solis (25th) said the alderman would "seek the input of the community," before deciding whether to support the project, and, "he is looking forward to upcoming meetings between the developers and community organizations."

Opposition to the project, spearheaded by the Pilsen Alliance, said the luxury apartment deal will be a good financial move for the Jesuits and developers, but bad for longtime residents who are already being squeezed by climbing rents and the predominantly-Latino neighborhood's growing popularity. While some view the slow but steady gentrification of Pilsen as inevitable, the neighborhood is also home to committed groups of activists and artists who say they do not want to see the community go the way of Wicker Park or Logan Square.

The PMG development will likely bring increased foot traffic, residential population and jobs to Pilsen, but it could also be the first wave of a coming real estate boom.

The apartments "are gentrification on steroids,” Jose Guerra, a Pilsen resident, said in a statement to reporters. “Do they know that Jesus kicked the moneymakers out of the temple?”

The Jesuits purchased the land for$6.5 million in 2009, and according to Jeremy Langford, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic order, the land has been under contract to PMG for the past two years.

"PMG is the appropriate entity to address details regarding any proposed plans for the property," he said in a statement, and "PMG is committed to a process that includes engaging with the Pilsen community over proposed plans."

The public meetings are not yet scheduled, according to a representative of Solis.