South Side Rezoning Proposal Sparks Backlash

As two megadevelopments inch forward on the South Side, a more obscure zoning proposal a few blocks away is raising eyebrows — and alarms.

Alderman Michelle Harris has moved to rezone several parcels near 79th Street and South Jeffery Boulevard from commercial and mixed-use to single-family residential, Block Club reported. That includes a shuttered Walgreens, vacant parcels and a building at 1728 East 79th Street that local developer Yorli Huff says she’s under contract to buy.

The zoning changes, which passed City Council’s zoning committee without discussion and could face a full vote as soon as this week, have sparked pushback from neighbors and small business advocates. At least 100 people have signed a petition against the shift, arguing that it would stifle urgently needed commercial development in a long-blighted corridor.

Huff, CEO of DPY Management, says the change would derail her $1.8 million plan to revamp the building into a mixed-use community hub with office space, retail, a kitchen and a creative center.

“As a small developer, this [rezoning push] disenfranchises my efforts to bring economic development and jobs to the community,” Huff said.

Harris’ office insists the changes are temporary, meant to give residents more control over future sales of vacant land. But the politician has declined interviews, and some locals say her office has long signaled it has its own plans for the area — without explaining what they are.

What’s clear is that the parcels lie within a two-mile radius of not one but two long-awaited megaprojects: Regal Mile Studios, a $100 million media campus that broke ground in 2023 but has made little progress since, and Related Midwest’s redevelopment of the former U.S. Steel South Works site, which includes plans for a quantum computing facility, a new Advocate Health hospital and new housing.

Harris has not publicly linked her rezoning efforts to the projects, but proximity has fueled speculation about future land plays. The Department of Planning and Development told the outlet it’s not aware of any specific city-backed proposals for the rezoned sites.

With South Shore sitting at the nexus of major public-private investment, zoning tweaks could carry outsized weight, especially if bigger plans are brewing behind closed doors.

— Judah Duke