Sterling Bay is pursuing a fast-track for a massive Lincoln Park housing project’s approval in a move that could upend the previously sacrosanct tradition of aldermanic privilege over development in Chicago.
The Chicago-based development firm is attempting to secure City Council’s sign-off for a proposed two-tower apartments plan that failed to pass the city’s zoning committee, despite aligning with local affordable housing goals, Crain’s reported.
The project, located at 1840 North Marcey Street, proposes 615 residential units, with a quarter of them designated as affordable housing for households making certain fractions of the area median income. Backed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, the development also meets city criteria for transit-oriented housing and affordability in high-cost neighborhoods.
However, it has faced resistance from Ald. Scott Waguespack of the 32nd Ward, who argues the plan demands excessive property tax reductions without sufficiently benefiting the neighborhood.
Sterling Bay’s move raises broader questions about whether developments advancing citywide affordable housing priorities should bypass local opposition. In Chicago, like other cities, city officials usually defer to the development preferences of the alderman representing the ward targeted by each specific proposal, a practice that has drawn scrutiny from the federal department of Housing and Urban Development in recent years.
The developer is invoking a provision under Chicago’s 2022 zoning reforms that allows projects meeting affordability and transit-access benchmarks to bypass committee processes if no City Council vote occurs within 300 days of proposal submission.
The alternate path created by the zoning changes is among a slew of tools that developers across the nation are experimenting with to sidestep local governments opposed to certain housing developments. In California, for instance, developers are getting around “no” votes at the municipal level by citing a provision that’s colloquially known as “builder’s remedy,” which usurps zoning authority from city officials in locales deemed to be out of compliance with state affordable housing standards. Illinois has a version of the same law that remains mostly untested.
Fred Krol, a managing director at Sterling Bay, emphasized the project’s alignment with citywide goals. “Affordable housing is a critical need in Chicago and nationwide,” Krol told the outlet, criticizing the local opposition as contradictory to the city’s stated priorities.
The city’s Department of Planning and Development endorsed the project in June, citing its potential to provide much-needed affordable housing in one of Chicago’s most expensive neighborhoods. Former Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara, now with the Chicago Community Trust, underscored the importance of prioritizing citywide affordability goals over hyper-local resistance.
Waguespack, while expressing general support for increased density, criticized Sterling Bay’s proposal for failing to compromise, stating its request for a tax break is too much for the amount of affordable housing being provided.
The project’s initial rejection by the zoning committee in December was further complicated when 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett, the committee chair, did not forward the vote to the City Council, a move Waguespack called “contrary to Council rules.”
Sterling Bay has now triggered the express lane provision and will hold a public meeting Wednesday evening at the project site to discuss the proposal. If successful, this unprecedented maneuver could pave a new path for advancing future housing development in Chicago.
— Sam Lounsberry
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