Our Campaign at 18th and Peoria

Development without Displacement

Introduction:

Over the past two years, we have engaged our community, local elected and city officials to ensure the best possible outcome for the affordable housing development at 18th and Peoria and to guarantee to our neighbors a process that is both community-driven and democratic.  Since then, we have gathered community input, feedback from Pilsen residents, affordable housing advocates and the general public and we hosted informative webinars and an interactive pop-up event designed to allow our community to help create a vision that encompasses our need for affordable, accessible housing at 18th and Peoria.  It is our hope that our grassroots organizing can help shape the future of the site and beyond to stem the tide against gentrification and displacement in Pilsen.

Read our public statement on 18th and Peoria here

Legacy of Community Struggle:

For almost 40 years, the six acres lot from 16th street to 18th street, Sangamon to Newberry has remained vacant and served a flash point of controversy due to gentrification in Pilsen. Over the course of the decades, there have been several attempts to develop luxury housing at 18th and Peoria. But with community-led resistance and organizations like the Pilsen Alliance and other housing justice groups, the site has remained free from the “Trojan Horse” gentrification of Pilsen.  From direct actions, marches, referendums and community organizing campaigns, we were able to stop the development of luxury housing at 18th and Peoria.  After a lawsuit settlement with the previous developer PMG (Property Markets Group), the city purchased the lot with the intention of developing at least 280 units of affordable housing.

In June 2022, we hosted our first community event at Dvorak Park designed to review the history of the struggle at 18th and Peoria and what is at stake for the community. View our June 2nd, 2022 Community Meeting Powerpoint Presentation!

Check out our mini-documentary on 18th and Peoria

Over the course of 2022, we participated in the 25th ward stakeholders working group on 18th and Peoria with long-time residents, including representatives from non-profit organizations such as the Resurrection Project, Pilsen Neighbors Community Council, DePaul University and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

AECOM and Urban Works

We did have questions about consultants hired by the city during the process, such as AECOM notable for their consulting work for Rikers Island Prison in New York, and the more recent and highly controversial Chicago Police Academy building in the west side. We did an informative public webinar on AECOM, citing their history, and the individuals who lead this corporation. Check out our Who is AECOM webinar here.

Social Housing

During the fall and winter months of 2022, we organized several community events to introduce residents to the concept of social housing and inform people of the facts and clarify its misconceptions. We also put together a community pop-up where the culmination of our work showed to demonstrate the need for community driven process, 100% affordability and alternatives to the traditional market rate housing.

Check out our social housing panel video and media from our community pop up at 18th Street Casa de Cultura!


Our Victories So Far…

  1. We pressured the City to increase density from 280 units to 432 units. This will help increase the supply of affordable housing.

  1. The City of Chicago’s Department of Housing 2023 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) plan included a 100% affordability preference for new developments in “opportunity areas” like Pilsen. This was done in concert with community pressure directed on the Department of Housing and the Mayor of Chicago via our online petition.

  1. The City has recommended designation of the 18th and Peoria to a Community Land Trust, including a set aside for Co-Op homeownership. This will help preserve and maintain permanent affordability of the site for years to come.

Vision:

Our vision is to see all 432 units as 100% affordable housing developed at 18th and Peoria, with absolutely no luxury housing.  We demand that 60%* of rental units at 18th and Peoria be used for family sized units of 2 bedrooms or more. We also support set aside for co-operative housing** that provides an alternative to traditional market based homeownership.

Affordability: 

We demand housing that is affordable for working class Pilsen area residents. We support utilizing the lowest Area Median Income (AMI )possible, even though we believe a more equitable definition of affordability is needed in the city of Chicago as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).


Accessibility:

We support the development of fully accessible housing in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act that honors the needs of our residents with disabilities.  This includes full access to amenities such as open green space, transportation and residing in environmentally safe living conditions.


Social Housing:

We support a pilot program for a social housing model that does not rely on market based economic models, and prioritizes housing to those who need it most.  This includes houseless folks, seniors, undocumented immigrants, veterans, young people, artists and working class people of all backgrounds.  We believe that housing is a human right, and for too long we have seen our most vulnerable residents get turned away by the market driven system that profits from housing and development. We drafted a set of housing justice principles that would align with our vision for social housing at 18th and Peoria. Check out our narrative vision here.


Tenants Rights:

We believe in the right of all tenants to organize for housing justice and live with dignity and respect.  We support the creation of a tenants organization or association at 18th and Peoria to ensure that tenants are treated fairly, the rent maintains permanent affordability and that no evictions, reprisals or any acts of retaliation are committed against tenants at 18th and Peoria for exercising their rights.  We will work directly with tenants to help formulate a tenants bill of rights.


Property Management:

We demand competent, professional management of buildings and properties developed at 18th and Peoria.  We will require property managers to undertake tenant rights and ethics training, as well as cultural competency training to ensure that management respects our community and no abuses of power against our residents will be tolerated.


Local Hiring and Contracting:

We encourage the hiring and contracting of local workers from the Pilsen community and that contracts are awarded to companies that employ people of color at all levels including executive leadership.  We demand priority hiring for our residents qualified for the work needed to help build and maintain 18th and Peoria.


Accountability and Community Benefits Agreement:

We will demand full accountability from all our local elected and city officials including our Mayor and our Alderman, as well as local leaders to ensure that they will be held accountable by the community during pre and post construction .  Furthermore, we will demand a formal Community Benefits Agreement between the City of Chicago, the developer(s), property management and the community at-large to guarantee the mentioned requirements for the development of housing at 18th and Peoria.

Take Action

  • We need tenants, residents and the community to continue putting pressure on the city of chicago and potential local  developers who will be seeking to develop housing at 18th and Peoria!

  • Join our next 18th and Peoria meeting where we will hear from those mostly affected by the rising rents, evictions and potential new residents interested in living at 18th and Peoria!

Support our demands!
1. We want 100% affordable housing. Absolutely NO market-rate housing should be included in the plan.

2. We say NO to townhomes, as they take away from more potential density.

3. We want a guaranteed set aside for Cooperative Housing to preserve affordability and homeownership.

4. We want a guaranteed set aside for a Social Housing Pilot. The program must be a demonstration pilot program. The City should seek HUD funding for this.

5. We want the development at 18th and Peoria to be in a land trust in perpetuity to keep it off the private market.

6.  We want consistent opportunities for public participation until the development breaks ground.


Citations and References

* Development for All Ordinance: https://www.chicagohousinginitiative.org/development-for-all

* Pilsen Housing Cooperative Organization: https://www.pilsenhousingcoop.org/