A piece from WBEZ Chicago on why the cityās rents are more unaffordable than ever.
Three main causes (stop me if youāve heard this one before)
Construction of new apartments is way down compared to pre-2008
Older 3- and 4-flats are being deconverted into single-family homes in gentrifying neighborhoods
Or theyāre demolished or abandoned, particularly on the South and West sides
Also: Chicago currently has a ban on rent control, but there are moves to un-ban it!
Living in the confluence of Andersonville, Uptown and Edgewater, Iāve seen a NIMBYist movement here that protests any new dense housing; theyād rather have empty lots than a modest apartment block OF THE SAME KIND THAT MOST OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS MADE OF.
When you look at major arterials like Broadway, so much of it has dumb suburban-style zoning so there are low-rise mini-malls and chain groceries with mandatory surface parking lots. They built a whole new one recently, anchored by a Burlington Coat Factory but the rest is unrented and empty!
Itās what makes large stretches of Broadway blank, windswept and unappealing to walk on, particularly with higher-speed car traffic.
This kind of property will never be worth more than it is right now, and itās an unproductive use of valuable urban land, generating less tax revenue per acre than older neighborhoods, while still requiring the same city service outlay.
The city acquired nearby land as a staging area for the Red-Purple Modernization project and this is a brilliant opportunity to do transit-centric mixed-use rental housing as that wraps up.
