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City Farm Would Be Razed For New Apartments On Division Street

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Aug 4, 2015 5:09PM

2015_City-Farm_1.jpg
via Brinshore Development

City Farm, the lush, urban farm on Division Street, is making way for a new mixed-use apartment building.

A plot of land at the intersection of Division Street and Clybourn Avenue, currently the site of an expansive urban farm that grows food for local charities, is slated for redevelopment over the next two years by two Illinois-based developers, DNAinfo reports.

The mixed-use development would include 84 new residential units, a daycare center, a restaurant and some retail space. The development is waiting on word from the City Council to move forward, but it is already on its way to receiving about $8.1 million in Tax Increment Financing dollars from the city, according to officials. The development will also feature a diamond-shaped public plaza designed by Site Design Ltd.

City Farm would move half a block west of its current site to accommodate the new development, according to director Ken Dunn. But City Farm is likely to play a role in the new development even after its move, according to DNAinfo, because the building is slated to have a second-floor community garden and a place for bees on the seventh floor.

2015_city-farm-2.jpg
via Brinshore Development

The neighborhood, sometimes referred to as River West or Old Town, is on the cusp of a boom, many realtors believe. The neighboring plots of land left behind by Cabrini-Green, a set of expansive and infamous public housing projects, are up for bidding this year from developers, and the nearby Goose Island is also experiencing a development surge.