Students and the South Loop

09/09/2009 10:00 PM

Editorial

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The Loop and South Loop as a mecca for university students is something of an old story at this point. Some 65,000 students now live and study downtown, according to the Chicago Loop Alliance.

But the brewing spat between Alderman Fioretti and two developers claiming they want to build housing for those students in the South Loop points to a bigger neighborhood matter, an issue that hasn’t been comprehensively addressed. And that’s how to integrate students into the neighborhood and encourage respectful behavior.

One could say that the northern part of the South Loop has developed its own “town-and-gown” situation, with year-round residents pitted against transitory students. Perhaps we should start calling residents of Urbana-Champaign for counsel.

Most students living in the South Loop are doing fine. Even the complaints — of “loitering” (or was that using public space?), graffiti, noise and the like — are small beer. They’re easy tradeoffs for the economic jolt that students give the neighborhood and the spectrum of retailers who have opened to serve them.

Our view, however, is that South Loop community members, representatives from the schools, the City of Chicago, Ald. Fioretti and the students who have returned to their urban campuses and living quarters could use a sitdown — perhaps a panel discussion or open forum. What are the concerns from residents? What do the students think of the neighborhood, its strengths and weaknesses? How are the institutions providing oversight? Perhaps a neighborhood organization could convene such a session.

In the meantime, Fioretti’s stall of the two developers, who want to build student housing but have no universities committed, is the right move. If the schools won’t jump into a project, why should anyone believe developers’ dorm plans?

The only question we have of the alderman about this action is how it squares with his sense of “aldermanic prerogative.” Recall that this city council tradition was at the center of the trial stemming from the Congress Hotel’s lawsuit against Fioretti over sidewalk café permits.

Fioretti, at the time, treaded carefully around the tradition. He testified at the time that he had no idea why the hotel’s sidewalk café permit wasn’t passed out of the council transportation committee. Now we’ll see if the zoning committee will override Fioretti on the student dorm proposals. Our guess: They won’t. Why? Because of aldermanic prerogative.


2 Comments - Add Your Comment



By The Dude Abides from South Loop
Posted: 11/06/2009 12:23 PM

Excellent coverage. I think the students add a lot to the neighborhood. The problem is the potential to overbuild student housing because of the difficulty funding other types of housing. I agree with Alderman Fioretti in that developers must have signed commitments from a university before construction can begin. 51-67 E. Van Buren St. 1,249 beds 407 S. Dearborn St. ? beds 417 S. Dearborn St. 80 beds 421-425 S. Wabash Ave. (Roosevelt University) 640 beds 1136-40 S. Wabash Ave. 860 beds


By Sueanne from Near West Side
Posted: 09/10/2009 8:12 AM

I think the builders should threaten to run a candidate against him in the next election like Elzie Higginbottom did if he didn't approve the plan for Jackson West End/Rockwell Gardens. They would probably get their permit then.