CTA officials say the agency is so broke they’ll have to cut service, raise fares, and fire employees unless the state bails it out. If that’s true, say Uptown residents who’ve been poring over the financial details of the Wilson Yard development, why is the CTA selling the north-side lot the development will sit on for so little?
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From the outset nearby residents have been furious that Shiller wants to cram more low-income housing into Uptown, which already has the highest concentration of subsidized housing on the north side. They aren’t happy about the financing either. The city estimates the project will cost $113 million, $26.5 million of which will come from out of the local Tax Increment Financing District fund. (TIFs freeze the amount of property taxes the city gets from each district–money that pays for schools, parks, and other public services–and reserve revenue from subsequent tax hikes to pay for neighborhood development.) The rest of the Wilson Yard project will be funded by various federal and state programs–and the CTA, which will subsidize the deal by selling the lot for less than it’s worth.
CTA officials insist that they’re getting a good deal. At a community meeting in February, CTA president Frank Kruesi said the agency was selling the land at “market rates.” And in a recent press release he said the agency “has worked tirelessly to control costs and find additional avenues for generating revenue. The sale of this surplus property is an example of the CTA’s successful efforts to increase operating revenue.”
Real estate experts say it isn’t always fair to compare property prices within the same neighborhood, because each piece has its own peculiarities. “The Wilson Yard doesn’t have a lot of frontage, so that works against it–and it’s right against the el tracks, so that has some limitations,” says one Uptown real estate salesman who wanted to keep his name out of this fight. “But on the positive side, it’s got great location. It’s next to the el stop, which makes it very convenient for a shopping mall or residents. If the CTA had put it out for competitive bids, they’d have gotten a lot more. . . . Put it this way–I wish I could have had it for that.”
Shiller says there was no quid pro quo on the Wilson Yard deal. “It’s obviously easier for me to communicate with the administration today than ten years ago,” she says. But “I don’t play games, I don’t like being cute. The issue has always been much more broad: what’s best for the ward.” Daley, she says, supports the plan on its merits, not because she endorsed him. “Whenever the mayor sees me he raises Wilson Yard–‘how’s the block going?’”
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Lloyd DeGrane.
