Fioretti vows to stall dormitory

Alderman says developers need binding commitment from a school

09/09/2009 10:00 PM

By MICAH MAIDENBERG
Editor

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A rendering of the proposed student dorm for 1136-40 S. Wabash was shown at Tuesday's Community Development Commission meeting.

Kargil Development, known for its residential buildings throughout the South Loop, received the go-ahead Tuesday to purchase 1136-40 S. Wabash from the city of Chicago for $8 million.

The developers envision a 287-foot dormitory tower for the land, providing 420 two-bedroom suites and 20 resident assistant rooms for a total occupancy of 860 university students.

But Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd), whose ward includes the parcel for sale, is promising to stall the project when it comes before the city council’s Committee on Zoning.

Fioretti said he will not sign off on the deal because Kargil, operating as South Loop Student Housing LLC for the project, has yet to secure a binding commitment from any one of the Loop-based universities or colleges to house students in the building.

“They need to have a signed tenant and they’re going to be put under strong guidelines they have to adhere to,” Fioretti said.

Homeowners who have invested hundreds of thousands or even millions into their residences “need protection too,” he went on to say. Students have caused friction in the neighborhood by loitering, writing graffiti and otherwise acting in a rowdy manner, he said.

Giles told members of the Community Development Commission that designating his firm as the site’s buyer means talks with area universities will intensify.

“We’ve had ongoing discussions with local universities, and those are going well,” he said.

Fioretti’s promise to try and stall the development in the zoning committee marks the second time in recent months the alderman has halted a plan to build student housing in the South Loop because no school had bit on sending its students there.

Buckingham Wabash LLC’s plans for a 37-story, 1,249-bed dorm at the southeast corner of Wabash and Van Buren remains stuck on the deferred agenda of the zoning committee.

Fioretti and the development team have been at loggerheads before. In 2007, shortly after he was sworn in as alderman, Fioretti tried to “downzone” the parcel underlying the X/O condominium project, slated for Prairie just north of 18th Street, capping the proposed X/O towers at 225 feet.

That led Giles’ team to file suit against the alderman in the latter half of 2007. The legal action ended last year, with the zoning for X/O in tact.

The city acquired the property at 1136-40 S. Wabash in the 1990s, and used it as a parking lot for the old police headquarters, according to the Department of Community Development.

When the new main police station was completed in 2002 at 35th and Michigan, the city no longer needed the parcel. Four years later, a broker was hired to market the property to developers.

Initially, a condo developer was chosen to buy the site, but economic troubles forced one partner out of the partnership.

The project was then re-bid, and South Loop Student Housing LLC was chosen, as it offered the higher purchase price for the land over one other bidder.

Contact: mmaidenberg@chicagojournal.com


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By Sueanne from near west side
Posted: 09/10/2009 7:57 AM

Gee---He won\'t let a high rise build in the south loop without commitments from schools for residendents. Yet, he allowed East Lake continue building Rockwell Gardens/Jackson West End without commitments from buyers. How does that work? Sounds like neighborhood discrimination. What is good for one part of the ward isn\'t good for the other. Maybe if the builder would build in mixed-income housing he would allow them to build.