City pushes to address issue of vacant lots; some activists call for more affordable housing

CHICAGO (CBS) — City Hall says a new push is under way to address the issue of vacant lots – including a survey asking people what they’d like to see replace them.

The answers could shape how the city sells the lots they own, and to whom they sell them. It’s an issue that CBS 2’s Tim McNicholas has been reporting on for years.

There is a vacant city-owned lot with trash scattered around at 63rd Street and Blackstone Avenue in Woodlawn. But Savannah Brown sees more than just the vacant lot when she looks at the land.

Brown envisions an answer to the rapidly rising housing costs near the Obama Presidential Center site.

“We demand affordable housing here,” she said.

Brown is an activist with Southside Together Organizing for Power – a grassroots group focused on affordable housing in Woodlawn.

“A lot this big can accommodate so many residents that are currently struggling to stay in their homes,” Brown said.

And Brown is far from the only one interested in the city’s plan for the vacant lots it owns.

More than 1,800 people responded to a recent survey shared online by the Mayor’s office, asking taxpayers what they’d like to see replace vacant lots in their neighborhood.

The city Department of Planning and Development says the survey is part of a renewed push to find new use and new owners for lots across the city. They plan to use the responses to help launch an improved land sale program this fall. 

“I’m hopeful, but I want to see what they want to do,” said Jennifer Edwards.

Edwards is an activist with a group called Communities Organized to Win, and a South Sider who would say good riddance to the vacant lots in her own neighborhood and beyond.

She’d also welcome affordable housing – but she’s wary of developers.

“Is it going to be affordable for people that are living in the communities?” Edwards said. “If the private people are involved, I don’t know. Things are, rents and whatever are going up now out here.”

Back in Woodlawn, the city has committed to building affordable housing on 52 lots in the area, but they haven’t specified which 52 lots. Brown says 63rd and Blackstone is a great option, and she’s calling on the city to speed up the process.

“Recently they announced they plan to set aside 13, but we need more – which is a step, but it’s, we need a lot more and we need it ASAP,” Brown said.

But for now, Brown can only imagine what might be built here.

City employees also attended a conference last month specifically focused on vacant properties and best practices. a spokesperson said they are now working with other Illinois cities and a nonprofit to address vacant property issues more effectively.