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City of Chicago121 N. LaSalle AvenueChicago, IL 60602
City of ChicagoSouth Cicero Corridor StudyDecember 2004 (Updated June 2005)
URS CorporationGoodman Williams GroupGonzalez Hasbrouck ArchitectsCapraro Consulting
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________ Page i June 2005
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................1
Background to the Plan.....................................................................................................................1Plan Objectives ...................................................................................................................................1The South Cicero Corridor Study Area..........................................................................................2The South Cicero Corridor Planning Process ...............................................................................4Organization of the Plan Report .....................................................................................................4
SECTION 1: EXISTING CONDITIONS ...................................................................................6
Community Setting ............................................................................................................................6Existing Land-Use and Physical Conditions...................................................................................6Public Land Ownership.....................................................................................................................6Traffic, Parking, and Public Transportation ................................................................................ 13
SECTION 2: MARKET OVERVIEW ........................................................................................21
Demographics.................................................................................................................................. 21Existing Issues and Characteristics ............................................................................................... 22New Development Issues and Potentials .................................................................................. 23
SECTION 3: FRAMEWORK PLAN .........................................................................................27
Corridor Appearance and Character .......................................................................................... 27Commercial, Retail and Office Development........................................................................... 27Housing and Residential Areas..................................................................................................... 28Midway Airport and Related Businesses .................................................................................... 28Transportation .................................................................................................................................. 29
SECTION 4: OPPORTUNITY SITES.......................................................................................30
Approach to Improvement and Redevelopment: .................................................................... 30Properties Susceptible to Change................................................................................................ 30Opportunity Sites ............................................................................................................................ 32
SECTION 5: ILLUSTRATIVE PLANS.......................................................................................42
Opportunity Site 8........................................................................................................................... 42Opportunity Site 4........................................................................................................................... 42Note on Graphic Presentation ..................................................................................................... 43
SECTION 6: DESIGN GUIDELINES ......................................................................................49
Purpose of the Design Guidelines ............................................................................................... 49Implementation of the Design Guidelines ................................................................................. 49Commercial, Office and Mixed-Use Development ................................................................. 50Private Landscaping and Site Improvements............................................................................. 55Parking Lots....................................................................................................................................... 56Parking Structures............................................................................................................................ 57Residential Areas ............................................................................................................................. 57Industrial Uses .................................................................................................................................. 59
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page ii June 2005
Auto-Oriented Uses ........................................................................................................................ 59Public Rights-of-Way ....................................................................................................................... 60
SECTION 7: IMPLEMENTATION ..........................................................................................64
Zoning Recommendations............................................................................................................ 64Tax Increment Financing Districts................................................................................................ 66Special Services Areas (SSA) ......................................................................................................... 69Marketing Strategies ....................................................................................................................... 69Property Assembly and Acquisition............................................................................................. 70Transportation and Infrastructure Funding Sources................................................................. 70City of Chicago Department of Aviation/Midway Airport ..................................................... 70
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Study Area Boundary and Location Map..........................................................................3Figure 2: Selected Uses within and Adjacent to the Study Area...................................................7Figure 3: Existing Conditions, Cicero Avenue - North of 51st Street ...........................................8Figure 4: Existing Conditions, 47th Street ..........................................................................................9Figure 5: Existing Conditions, Archer Avenue................................................................................ 10Figure 6: Existing Conditions, Cicero Avenue - South of 54th Street........................................ 11Figure 7: Existing Conditions, 63rd Street ....................................................................................... 12Figure 8: Properties under Public Ownership................................................................................ 14Figure 9: Existing and Planned Transportation System................................................................. 19Figure 10: Properties Susceptible to Change................................................................................. 31Figure 11: Sub-area Plan and Key Opportunity Sites ................................................................... 33Figure 12: Opportunity Sites, Cicero Avenue - North of 51st Street ........................................ 34Figure 13: Opportunity Sites, 47th Street ....................................................................................... 35Figure 14: Opportunity Sites, Archer Avenue................................................................................ 36Figure 15: Opportunity Sites: Cicero Avenue - South of 54th Street........................................ 37Figure 16: Opportunity Sites, 63rd Street ....................................................................................... 38Figure 17: Concept Site Plan, Opportunity Site # 8 - Scenario A .............................................. 44Figure 18: Perspective View, Opportunity Site #8 - Scenario A ................................................ 45Figure 19: Concept Site Plan, Opportunity Site #8 - Scenario B................................................ 46Figure 20: Perspective View, Opportunity Site #8 - Scenario B................................................. 47Figure 21: Illustrative Examples of Potential Residential Development - 47th Street ............ 48Figure 22: Existing Zoning and Recommendations ...................................................................... 65Figure 23: TIF Districts & Industrial Corridor Boundaries ............................................................ 68
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Assessment of Opportunity Sites ...................................................................................... 39Table 2: Summary of Incremental Property Tax Revenue........................................................... 67
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page iii June 2005
APPENDICES
Appendix A: South Cicero Corridor Market Study, August 2004 (Up-dated November 22, 2004 and June 2005)
Appendix B: Community Area Map
Appendix C: Aldermanic Ward Boundary Map
Appendix D: Detailed Incremental Property Tax Revenue Estimates by Opportunity Site and TIF District
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page iv June 2005
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
City of Chicago Richard M. Daley, Mayor
Department of Planning & Development Denise M. Casalino, Commissioner Mary Bonome, Deputy Commissioner Juanita Charlton, Former Assistant Commissioner Jim Horan, Assistant Commissioner Albert Acevedo, Project Manager Jody Guidi, Project Manager
Department of Aviation Erin O'Donnell, Deputy Commissioner Adam Rod, Projects Administrator Bill Brogan, Noise Mitigation
Ex Officio Alderman Zalewski, 23rd Ward Alderman Olivo, 13th Ward Office of Congressman Lipinski, Illinois 3rd Congressional District
Chicago Housing Authority Terry Peterson, CEO Carl Byrd, Director Thomas Worthy, Development Manager
Principal Consultant URS Corporation Jon DeVries, Principal Karen Gross, Project Manager Jennifer McNeil, Senior Planner Kevin Polk, Senior Planner
Additional Consultants Goodman Williams Group Gonzalez Hasbrouck Architects Jim Capraro
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 1 June 2005
INTRODUCTION
The South Cicero Corridor Study Area (the “Study Area”) is the gateway into the City of Chicago for visitors arriving at Midway Airport, which anchors the south end of the Study Area. Once a sleepy and struggling airport in the 1960’s and 1970’s, Midway has now be-come one of the fastest growing airports in the nation, currently serving over 18 million an-nual passengers. Building on Midway’s success, the City recognizes the Study Area’s critical regional role and sees the opportunity to undertake new economic development initiatives.
Political, business, and community leaders have been frustrated that adjacent suburban communities have benefited from Midway Airport activity and the spending power of City of Chicago residents as new spin-off commercial, retail, and hotel development has located in those communities and not in the City of Chicago. The South Cicero Corridor Redevel-opment Plan (the “Plan”) examines demand and supply characteristics of these markets and sets forth recommendations on how future development can be captured within the Study Area and lead to new economic vitality in this key Chicago corridor.
Background to the Plan
There are significant opportunities for reuse and redevelopment in the Study Area. Oppor-tunities for reuse and redevelopment include vacant buildings, vacant storefronts, vacant land parcels, marginal and deteriorated structures, and small, underutilized structures. These properties may be suitable for new commercial and residential development in the future.
Despite the importance of the Study Area as a major gateway into the City of Chicago, sur-rounded by a stable and growing residential community rich in history and culture, there has never been a comprehensive community plan for the improvement and development of the area. In 2000, the City of Chicago established several Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts in the area to enable financing of coordinated development. This Plan will provide an implementation strategy for specific development opportunities that can utilize the TIF toward the revitalization of this corridor as detailed later in this report.
In conjunction with the City retaining the URS•TPAP Consultant Team to create this corri-dor plan, the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) retained the same URS•TPAP Consultant Team to create a “Plan for Transformation” at the LeClaire Courts/Extension public housing development, located adjacent to the north end of the Study Area. The intention of this collaboration is that both projects benefit from an inclusive and comprehensive analysis of development opportunities that will benefit the Study Area and improve integration of the LeClaire Courts community with the South Cicero Corridor.
Plan Objectives
The Plan provides a guide for physical improvement and development within the Study Area over the next 10-to 15-year period. The Plan establishes the framework for private de-velopment projects, as well as a basis for public improvement within the Study Area.
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 2 June 2005
A consulting team comprised of URS•TPAP, Goodman Williams Group, Capraro Consult-ing, and Gonzalez Hasbrouck Architects was engaged by the City of Chicago’s Depart-ment of Planning and Development to assess market and physical site conditions to de-velop both a vision and strategy that is grounded in economic realities to strengthen and guide future development in the area.
The primary objectives of the Plan are to:
1. Identify development opportunities that will capitalize from close proximity to Midway Airport – the economic engine anchoring the south end of the Study Area.
2. Integrate development opportunities with a “Plan for Transformation” for the Le-Claire Courts public housing development located at the north end of the Study Area.
3. Improve the ability of the Study Area to meet the day-to-day needs of residents, employees and businesses.
4. Promote “higher and better” commercial uses along Cicero and Archer Avenues.
5. Establish site-specific opportunities for new economic development within the Study Area.
6. Upgrade the image and appearance of the Study Area, including the public rights-of-way and existing buildings.
7. Establish design guidelines to promote high-quality and compatible improvements and new developments within the Study Area.
8. Establish an implementation strategy to facilitate Study Area revitalization.
The South Cicero Corridor Study Area
The Study Area is located on the southwest side of Chicago, approximately 10 miles from downtown and is anchored on the south end by Midway Airport. The Study Area bounda-ries include four distinct corridors as described below, which are illustrated in Figure 1 on the following page.
• Cicero Avenue between the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) on the north and 67th
Street on the south.
• Archer Avenue between Central Avenue on the west and the Kenton Line railroad tracks on the east (east of Knox Ave).
• 47th Street between Laramie on the west and the Kenton Line railroad tracks on the east (east of Knox Ave).
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South Cicero Corridor Study � City of Chicago � June 2005 � Prepared by:
Figure 1:Location Map
Cicero/Archer Study Area
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 4 June 2005
• 63rd Street between Central Avenue and the Kenton Line railroad tracks on the east.
The South Cicero Corridor Planning Process
The planning process for this Study entailed a three-phase planning process, as outlined below.
Phase 1: Existing Conditions and Market Analysis entailed a) working with City staff to dis-cuss the planning process and review ideas and perceptions of the Study Area and adjoin-ing neighborhoods; and b) collection and analysis of a range of information about existing conditions and future potentials within the Study Area, including land-use, zoning, the physical condition of sites and buildings, transportation, parking, overall image and appear-ance, and market conditions.
Phase 2: Concept Alternatives and Design Guidelines entailed a) the preparation of de-velopment concept plans for select key opportunity sites to illustrate alternative ap-proaches to conservation and redevelopment of the Study Area; b) development of design guidelines for the Study Area; and c) estimating the tax revenue potential of the forecasted development opportunities within the Study Area based on market findings.
Phase 3: Preferred Development Program and Prioritization entailed preparation of the draft and final versions of the South Cicero Corridor Redevelopment Plan document. The report includes long- and short-range recommendations related to land-use, zoning, devel-opment and redevelopment, traffic, urban design, and implementation.
Organization of the Plan Report
The South Cicero Corridor Redevelopment Plan is presented in seven sections, encompass-ing all the phases of the planning process as described below:
Section 1: Existing Conditions presents an overview of existing conditions and potentials within the Study Area, including land use, physical conditions, plans and projects, and transportation and parking.
Section 2: Market Overview summarizes the South Cicero Corridor Market Study com-pleted for this planning assignment, which is included as an appendix item to this report.
Section 3: Revitalization Concept presents: a) a long-range “vision” of the Study Area as it should be 10 to 15 years in the future; and b) a list of principles and objectives that should be used by the City to guide decisions regarding improvements and new developments along the four distinct corridors within the Study Area.
Section 4: Opportunity Sites highlights: a) specific properties that may have potential for improvement and/or redevelopment in the future; and b) preliminary recommendations for the improvement of each site.
Section 5: Illustrative Plans presents a series of concept plans that suggest the type, scale, and intensity of new development to be promoted on select key opportunity sites.
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 5 June 2005
Section 6: Design Guidelines presents design guidelines that should be used by the City to promote high-quality and compatible improvements and new developments within the Study Area.
Section 7: Implementation outlines the actions and next steps to be undertaken in order to implement the Plan.
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 6 June 2005
SECTION 1: EXISTING CONDITIONS
The section highlights existing conditions within the Study Area, including: a) community setting; b) existing land-use and physical conditions; c) public ownership; and d) traffic, parking, and public transportation.
Community Setting
The South Cicero Avenue corridor has significant continuity within the Chicago metropoli-tan area. It provides connections to Downtown Chicago, which is located approximately 10 miles northeast of the Study Area. It also provides connections to a number of other major activity centers within Chicago and nearby suburbs.
Cicero Avenue provides access to I-55 (Stevenson Expressway) on the north end of the Study Area and access to several other major arterial streets throughout the corridor. These arterial streets include: 47th Street, Archer Avenue, 55th Street, 63rd Street, and 67th Street.
The Study Area spans or borders several Chicago Community Areas, including Garfield Ridge (#56) and Clearing (#64) on the west side of the corridor; and Archer Heights (#57), West Elsdon (#62), and West Lawn (#65) on the east side of the corridor. A map of these community areas boundaries is located in the appendix of this report.
The Study Area contains sections of two Aldermanic wards. The majority of the Study Area is currently located within the 23rd Ward. Property east of Cicero Avenue and south of 59th
Street is located within the 13th Ward. A map of these ward boundaries is located in the appendix of this report.
Existing Land-Use and Physical Conditions
This section describes existing land-uses and physical conditions in each of the four corri-dors within the Study Area. Within the Study Area, there is a diverse mix of land-uses, in-cluding retail, service uses, offices, auto-oriented commercial uses, industrial facilities, eat-ing and drinking establishments, public and semi-public uses, residential properties, and aviation services associated with Midway Airport.
Figure 2 highlights selected uses within and adjacent to the Study Area. Figures 3 – 7 illus-trate and describe existing land uses and physical conditions of each corridor: Cicero Ave-nue, Archer Avenue, 47th Street, and 63rd Street. The pattern of existing land-uses along the corridor will influence the type and extent of new development and redevelopment within the Study Area.
Public Land Ownership
The City of Chicago and its sister agencies control 77 parcels in the Study Area, totaling approximately 825 acres, of which Midway Airport comprises 766 acres. Please refer to
Residential
Retail
Commercial Service
Public/Open Space
Industrial
Midway Airport OperationsFigure 2: Selected Uses Within and Adjacent to Study Area
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South Cicero Corridor Study ● Prepared for the City of Chicago ● by ● June 2005
Selected Uses Within and Adjacentto the Study Area:1 - LeClaire Court Public Housing
2 - Renaissance @ Midway Skilled Nursing Center
3 - Phoebe Hurst Elementary School
4 - Sportmans Hotel
5 - UHaul
6 - Los Amantes Restaurant & Starbucks
7 - Car Rental Over Flow
8 - Illinois Department of Employment Security
9 - Dolphin Cartage
10 - Bobak Sausage Company & Restaurant
11 - Skylark Motel
12 - Midway Business Park
13 - Aldi's
14 - Dominick's
15 - Walgreens
16 - State Farm Insurance
17 - Brandy's Restaurant
18 - Public Parking
19 - Midway Terminal/Parking Garage
20 - Southwest Airlines
21 - Signature Fixed Base Operators
22 - Signature Fixed Base Operators
23 - Signature Fixed Base Operators
24 - Army National Guard
25 - Million Air
26 - Atlantic Aviation
27 - Airport Maintenance Center
28 - Air Traffic Controller
29 - Sear's Hanger
30- Signature Fixed Base Operators
31- Dollar/Alamo Car Rental
32 - Ray Buick Dealership
33- Midway Employee Parking
34 - Giordano's Pizzeria
35 - Anthony's Restaurant
36 - Continental Sales
37 - Alamo Rental
38 - CTA Orange Line Terminal
39- Baseball Fields
40- Firestation
41- Autumn Green at Midway Village
42- Public Parking Garage
43- Midway Hotel Center
44- 5/3rd Bank
45- Salvation Army
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ng C
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nits
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ldin
g an
d Ph
ysic
al C
ondi
tions
Alth
ough
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ot c
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by s
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e de
terio
ratio
n, a
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f low
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and
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ns c
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ned
with
a
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ifica
nt n
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r of v
acan
t par
cels
and
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ld-
ings
giv
e th
e co
rrid
or a
n ov
eral
l app
eara
nce
of d
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e an
d ne
glec
t. Po
tent
ial n
ew re
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evel
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ent i
s ch
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nged
by th
e ex
istin
g lim
ited
lot d
epth
s of
aro
und
100
feet
alo
ng C
icer
o A
venu
e. If
not
cor
rect
-ed
, the
se c
ondi
tions
cou
ld in
hibi
t opp
ortu
ni-
ties
for n
ew in
vest
men
t and
rede
velo
pmen
t in
the
futu
re.
Stre
et E
nvir
onm
ent a
nd A
ppea
ranc
eA
esth
etic
ally
and
phy
sica
lly, C
icer
o A
venu
e
nort
h of
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way
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ort l
acks
the
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rmity
of s
uch
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ents
as
qual
ity b
uild
ing
mat
eria
ls,
attr
activ
e si
gnag
e, c
olor
s, b
uilt
form
and
arc
hi-
tect
ural
sty
le th
at o
ther
com
mer
cial
cor
ridor
sha
ve s
ucce
ssfu
lly e
mpl
oyed
. Cic
ero
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nue
is
a he
avily
traf
ficke
d ar
teria
l with
ave
rage
dai
lytr
affic
of o
ver 6
5,00
0 ve
hicl
es w
ith n
omin
al p
e-de
stria
n ac
tivity
. The
sid
ewal
ks a
long
Cic
ero
Ave
nue
are
gene
rally
in g
ood
cond
ition
. H
ow-
ever
, sig
ns o
f det
erio
ratio
n ar
e pr
esen
t on
the
side
wal
ks n
orth
of 4
7th
Stre
et. W
ayfin
ding
sig
-na
ge re
late
d to
the
airp
ort,
park
ing
and
tran
sit
acc
ess
is n
ew a
nd c
urre
nt.
Reta
ilSe
rvic
eO
ffic
eA
uto-
Ori
ente
d Se
rvic
esG
as S
tati
onPa
rkin
gVa
cant
Bui
ldin
gs a
nd S
tore
fron
tsVa
cant
Lan
d
Sout
h Ci
cero
Cor
rido
r Stu
dyCit
y of C
hicag
oJun
e200
5
Figu
re 3
:Ex
istin
g Co
nditi
ons,
Cice
ro A
venu
e-N
orth
of 5
1st S
tree
t
Prepa
red by
:
KNOX
KEATING
CICERO
LARAMIE
47TH
46TH
48TH
KILPATRICK
LECLAIRE
LEAMINGTON
LA CROSSE
LAWLER
LAPORTE
LAVERGNE
LAMON
The
47th
Stre
etC
orrid
orbe
twee
nLa
ram
iean
dth
eKe
nton
Line
railr
oad
trac
ksea
sto
fK
nox
Ave
nue
issu
rro
und
edo
nth
eno
rth
and
sout
hby
solid
resi
den
tial
neig
hbor
hood
s.H
owev
er,4
7th
Stre
etis
prim
arily
char
acte
rized
asan
unde
rutil
ized
com
mer
cial
cor
ridor
that
con
tain
s a
sign
ifica
nt n
umbe
r of v
acan
t lot
s an
d bu
ildin
gs.
Land
Use
sCommercial.T
he m
ajor
ity o
f 47t
h St
reet
is
char
acte
rized
by
vaca
nt la
nd a
nd b
uild
ings
, cr
eatin
g m
inim
al c
ontin
uity
and
iden
tity
for
the
corr
idor
. Th
e m
ain
anch
ors
alon
g 47
thSt
reet
incl
ude
the
Phoe
be H
ears
t Ele
men
tary
Scho
ol a
nd th
e Sa
lvat
ion
Arm
y fa
cilit
y on
the
wes
tern
end
of 4
7th
Stre
et.
Reta
il/co
mm
er-
cial
use
s al
ong
47th
Str
eet a
re v
ery
limite
dan
d m
ostly
con
cent
rate
d at
the
inte
rsec
tion
of C
icer
o A
venu
e. T
he m
ost p
rom
inen
t com
-m
erci
al u
ses
incl
ude
auto
ser
vice
rela
ted
busi
-ne
sses
, a U
-Hau
l ren
tal f
acili
ty, t
he L
os
Am
ante
s Re
stau
rant
, and
the
Tres
Rey
nas
Dan
ce H
all.
The
larg
e nu
mbe
r of v
acan
t site
sis
evi
denc
e of
the
curr
ent l
ack
of d
eman
d fo
rad
ditio
nal r
etai
l/co
mm
erci
al b
usin
esse
s al
ong
this
less
traf
ficke
d co
rrid
or, a
s co
mpa
red
tone
arby
Cic
ero
Ave
nue.
Industrial.T
here
are
a c
oupl
e of
ligh
t ind
us-
tria
l use
s lo
cate
d on
the
east
ern
end
of 4
7th
Stre
et b
etw
een
Kno
x A
venu
e an
d th
e ra
ilroa
d,w
hich
incl
ude
Con
tinen
tal W
indo
ws
and
To-
ny's
Truc
k Re
pair.
Residential. I
n ad
ditio
n to
thes
e us
es, t
here
are
a lim
ited
num
ber o
f sin
gle
and
mul
ti-fa
mi-
ly u
nits
on
47th
Str
eet w
est o
f Cic
ero
Ave
nue.
Bui
ldin
g an
d Ph
ysic
al C
ondi
tions
The
47th
Str
eet C
orrid
or is
gen
eral
ly c
hara
cter
-iz
ed b
y un
deru
tiliz
atio
n, s
igni
fican
t vac
ancy
and
defe
rred
mai
nten
ance
, mar
gina
l use
s,
and
func
tiona
l obs
oles
cenc
e. O
ver e
ight
ac
res
of fr
onta
ge p
rope
rty
on 4
7th
Stre
et a
recu
rren
tly v
acan
t and
hol
d th
e po
tent
ial t
otr
ansf
orm
47t
h St
reet
, if r
edev
elop
ed.
Stre
et E
nvir
onm
ent a
nd A
ppea
ranc
e47
th S
tree
t is
not a
s hi
ghly
traf
ficke
d as
Cic
ero
Ave
nue,
with
ave
rage
dai
ly tr
affic
of o
nly
arou
nd 2
0,00
0 ve
hicl
es, a
leve
l whi
ch is
mor
eco
mpa
tible
and
invi
ting
to p
edes
tria
n ac
tivity
.H
owev
er, s
igni
fican
t ped
estr
ian
activ
ity is
not
curr
ently
pre
sent
in th
e ar
ea. T
his
can
be a
ttrib
-ut
ed to
the
sign
ifica
nt n
umbe
r of v
acan
t are
asal
ong
47th
Str
eet,
crea
ting
an e
nviro
nmen
tw
ith n
o cl
ear d
estin
atio
n po
ints
and
atm
os-
pher
e of
lim
ited
safe
ty.
Sing
le-f
amily
resi
dent
ial
Mul
ti-f
amily
resi
dent
ial
Reta
ilSe
rvic
eO
ffic
eLi
ght I
ndus
tria
l
Aut
o-or
ient
ed s
ervi
ces
Publ
ic/S
emi-P
ublic
Ope
n Sp
ace
Park
ing
Vaca
nt b
uild
ings
and
sto
refr
onts
Vaca
nt la
nd
Figur
e 4:
Exist
ing
Cond
ition
s,47
th St
reet
Prepar
ed by:
Sout
h Ci
cero
Corr
idor
Stud
yCit
y of C
hicago
Jun
e 200
5
51ST
CICERO
KEATING
KILPATRICK
KNOX
ARC
HER
52N
D
LONG
LUNA
CENTRAL
53RD
LOREL
LOTUS
LINDER
LOCKWOOD
LATROBE
LARAMIE
LEAMINGTON
LECLAIRE
LAWLER
53RD
LAVERGNE
LAPORTE
LAMON
LA CROSSE
The
Arc
her
Ave
nue
Cor
ridor
betw
een
Cen
tral
Ave
nue
and
the
Kent
onLi
nera
ilroa
dtr
acks
just
east
ofKn
oxA
venu
eis
ade
nse
mix
ed-u
seco
mm
erci
alco
rrid
orse
rvin
glo
cal a
nd re
gion
al tr
affic
, car
ryin
g on
ave
rage
ove
r 29,
000
vehi
cles
a d
ay.
Land
Use
sCommercial.M
ixed
-use
com
mer
cial
com
-pr
ise
the
vast
maj
ority
of t
he A
rche
r Ave
nue
Cor
ridor
and
incl
ude
loca
l ret
ail s
ervi
ce a
nd
offic
e us
es. E
xam
ples
of s
ome
of th
e m
ore
prom
inen
t nei
ghbo
rhoo
d co
mm
erci
al/r
etai
lus
es in
clud
e: D
omin
ick'
s, A
ldi's
, Wal
gree
n's,
Bra
ndy'
s Re
stau
rant
, Bob
ak S
ausa
ge &
Res
tau-
rant
, and
loca
l ins
uran
ce, a
ttor
ney,
real
est
ate
and
acco
untin
g of
fices
. Arc
her A
venu
e is
als
o ch
arac
teriz
ed b
y a
num
ber o
f mul
ti-fa
mily
resi
-de
ntia
l bui
ldin
gs a
nd m
ixed
-use
bui
ldin
gs w
ithre
side
ntia
l uni
ts o
n th
e up
per f
loor
s.
Industrial.A
sig
nific
ant p
ortio
n of
the
sout
hsi
de o
f Arc
her A
venu
e en
com
pass
es th
e M
id-
way
Bus
ines
s C
ente
r, lo
cate
d be
twee
n C
icer
oA
venu
e an
d La
ram
ie S
tree
t. Th
is 5
1-ac
re d
evel
-op
men
t con
tain
s ov
er o
ne m
illio
n sq
uare
feet
of in
dust
rial s
pace
, whi
ch is
app
roxi
mat
ely
60
perc
ent v
acan
t and
incl
udes
war
ehou
sing
, of-
fice,
and
pos
t off
ice
oper
atio
ns. T
he h
igh
va-
cant
rate
is la
rgel
y at
trib
uted
to th
e de
part
ure
of A
rchi
bald
Can
dy (F
anni
e M
ay C
andi
es),
Dis
coun
t Car
d an
d th
e O
lym
pic
Oil
Gro
upw
ithin
the
last
yea
r. T
wo
addi
tiona
l ind
ustr
ial
uses
are
loca
ted
on th
e ea
st e
nd o
f Arc
her
Ave
nue,
whi
ch in
clud
e D
olph
in C
arta
ge a
nd
Bob
ak S
ausa
ge C
ompa
ny.
Residential.W
hile
trad
ition
al s
ingl
e fa
mily
resi
dent
ial d
oes
not e
xist
alo
ng th
e A
rche
rA
venu
e fr
onta
ge, l
ow d
ensi
ty tw
o- a
nd th
ree-
flat b
uild
ings
are
vis
ible
alo
ng th
e co
rrid
or.
Mos
t of t
hese
bui
ldin
gs a
re fu
lly o
ccup
ied
and
in g
ood
cond
ition
. Man
y of
the
mix
ed-
use
com
mer
cial
bui
ldin
gs a
lso
have
upp
er
stor
y re
side
ntia
l uni
ts. A
lso
alon
g C
icer
o A
ve-
nue,
just
nor
th o
f Arc
her A
venu
e ar
e m
ulti-
fam
ily re
side
ntia
l uni
ts.
Bui
ldin
g an
d Ph
ysic
al C
ondi
tions
Arc
her A
venu
e is
a h
ealth
y m
ixed
-use
com
mer
-ci
al c
orrid
or w
ith re
lativ
ely
little
to n
o va
can-
cies
. Whi
le th
ere
are
only
a fe
w s
ever
ely
dete
r-io
rate
d bu
ildin
gs a
long
Arc
her A
venu
e, s
ever
alco
mm
erci
al, i
ndus
tria
l, an
d re
side
ntia
l pro
per-
ties
are
char
acte
rized
by
defe
rred
mai
nte-
nanc
e an
d m
inor
con
ditio
n pr
oble
ms.
Whi
le
thes
e co
nditi
ons
may
not
be
sign
ifica
nt a
t the
pres
ent t
ime,
they
do
detr
act f
rom
the
over
all
imag
e an
d pe
rcep
tion
of th
e ar
ea.
Stre
et E
nvir
onm
ent a
nd A
ppea
ranc
eM
ost m
ixed
-use
, ret
ail,
serv
ice
and
offic
eus
es a
re lo
cate
d at
the
side
wal
k lin
e, w
ith n
o se
tbac
k. H
owev
er, t
here
is li
ttle
des
ign
coor
di-
natio
n be
twee
n ad
jace
nt c
omm
erci
al p
rope
r-tie
s in
term
s of
faça
de tr
eatm
ent,
colo
rs, a
nd
sign
age.
A n
umbe
r of e
xist
ing
com
mer
cial
build
ings
hav
e a
tired
and
dat
ed a
ppea
ranc
e.
Ther
e is
no
cons
iste
nt s
tree
tsca
pe tr
eatm
ent
alon
g A
rche
r Ave
nue,
ver
y lit
tle la
ndsc
apin
g w
ithin
the
publ
ic ri
ghts
-of-w
ay, a
nd o
lder
st
reet
ligh
ting.
The
sid
ewal
ks a
re in
fairl
ygo
od c
ondi
tion
but c
ould
be
furt
her i
m-
prov
ed in
sel
ect a
reas
whe
re th
ere
is s
igni
fi-ca
nt d
eter
iora
tion.
Mul
ti-F
amily
Res
iden
tial
Mix
ed-U
se A
part
men
ts o
n U
pper
Flo
ors
Reta
ilSe
rvic
eO
ffic
e
Aut
o-O
rien
ted
Serv
ices
Ligh
t Ind
ustr
ial
Publ
ic/S
emi-P
ublic
Park
ing
Vaca
nt B
uild
ings
and
Sto
refr
onts
Vaca
nt L
and
Figur
e 5:
Exist
ing
Cond
ition
s, A
rche
r Ave
nue
Prepar
ed by:
Sout
h Ci
cero
Corr
idor
Stud
yCit
y of C
hicago
Jun
e 200
5
55TH
CIC
ERO
CIC
ERO
KIL
PATR
ICK
59TH
66TH
65TH
61ST
60TH
62NDLA
MO
N
KEN
TON
KN
OX
KEA
TIN
G
LAPO
RTE
LAW
LER
Mid
way
Ho
tel C
ente
r
LAV
ERG
NE
LA C
ROSS
E
MARQUETTE
56TH
58TH
57TH 57TH
64TH
KEA
TIN
G
KIL
PATR
ICK
LAR
AM
IE
55TH
63RD
The
Cic
ero
Ave
nue
Cor
ridor
betw
een
55th
Stre
et(M
idw
ayA
irpor
t)an
d67
thSt
reet
isa
maj
orar
teria
lst
reet
and
prim
arily
char
acte
rized
byai
rpor
tst
ruct
ures
,pa
rkin
gan
dai
rpor
tre
late
dbu
sine
sses
,as
wel
las
mix
ofus
esso
uth
of63
rdSt
reet
,inc
ludi
ngre
tail,
com
mer
cial
, sen
ior h
ousi
ng, a
nd v
acan
t lan
d an
d bu
ildin
gs.
Land
Use
sCommercial.T
he m
ajor
ity o
f thi
s se
gmen
t of
Cic
ero
Ave
nue
is c
ompr
ised
of a
irpor
tst
ruct
ures
and
rela
ted
busi
ness
es, s
uch
as c
ar
rent
al a
genc
ies
and
park
ing
oper
atio
ns. T
here
are
som
e re
tail/
com
mer
cial
bus
ines
ses
sout
hof
63r
d St
reet
, whi
ch p
rimar
ily in
clud
e au
to-
orie
nted
com
mer
cial
use
s, in
clud
ing
a co
uple
of
use
d ca
r dea
lers
hips
. The
mai
n re
tail
an-
chor
s fo
r thi
s co
rrid
or s
egm
ent i
nclu
de C
onti-
nent
al S
ales
(dis
coun
t fur
nitu
re) a
nd G
iord
a-no
's Pi
zza.
The
maj
ority
of t
he p
rimar
y re
tail
node
s in
the
area
are
loca
ted
dire
ctly
sou
th o
f th
e Pr
ojec
t Are
a an
d of
fer p
ower
sho
ppin
g (W
alM
art,
Targ
et a
nd C
ostc
o), c
omm
unity
-ori-
ente
d sh
oppi
ng (C
ub F
oods
, Bes
t Buy
and
Cir-
cuit
City
) and
regi
onal
reta
il (F
ord
City
Sho
p-pi
ng M
all).
Residential.A
new
inde
pend
ent l
ivin
g se
-ni
or h
ousi
ng d
evel
opm
ent i
s cu
rren
tly u
nder
co
nstr
uctio
n at
67t
h St
reet
and
Cic
ero
Ave
-nu
e, w
hich
will
hel
p an
chor
this
seg
men
t of
Cic
ero
Ave
nue.
Thi
s ne
w re
side
ntia
l dev
elop
-m
ent i
s co
mpr
ised
of a
ppro
xim
atel
y 20
0 un
its
of re
ntal
and
for s
ale
hous
ing
with
land
ava
ila-
ble
for f
utur
e ph
ases
.
Industrial.T
here
is o
ne s
igni
fican
t ind
ustr
ial
site
loca
ted
with
in th
is s
ubar
ea.
O&
K o
f A
mer
ica,
whi
ch p
rodu
ces
stee
l coi
ls, i
s lo
cat-
ed e
ast o
f Cic
ero
Ave
nue
at 5
5th
Stre
et a
nd
Kilp
atric
k.
Bui
ldin
g an
d Ph
ysic
al C
ondi
tions
A
lthou
gh C
icer
o A
venu
e is
not
cha
ract
eriz
edby
sev
ere
dete
riora
tion,
a n
umbe
r of l
ow-
grad
e fe
atur
es a
nd c
ondi
tions
com
bine
d w
itha
sign
ifica
nt n
umbe
r of v
acan
t par
cels
and
build
ings
giv
e th
e co
rrid
or a
n ov
eral
l app
ear-
ance
of d
eclin
e an
d ne
glec
t. A
lso,
pot
entia
lne
w re
tail/
com
mer
cial
dev
elop
men
t is
chal
-le
nged
by
the
exis
ting
limite
d lo
t dep
ths
of
arou
nd 1
00 fe
et a
long
Cic
ero
Ave
nue.
If n
otco
rrec
ted,
thes
e co
nditi
ons
coul
d in
hibi
t op-
port
uniti
es fo
r new
inve
stm
ent a
nd re
deve
lop-
men
t in
the
futu
re.
Stre
et E
nvir
onm
ent a
nd A
ppea
ranc
eTh
e po
rtio
n of
Cic
ero
Ave
nue
bord
erin
g M
id-
way
Airp
ort b
etw
een
54th
Str
eet a
nd 6
3rd
Stre
et is
ver
y w
ell m
aint
aine
d an
d fe
atur
es a
t-tr
activ
e st
reet
scap
ing
and
land
scap
ing.
The
reis
min
imal
str
eets
cape
sou
th o
f 63r
d St
reet
.
Mul
ti-f
amily
resi
dent
ial
Reta
ilSe
rvic
eM
idw
ay A
irpo
rtLi
ght I
ndus
tria
lA
uto-
orie
nted
ser
vice
s
Publ
ic/S
emi-P
ublic
Ope
n Sp
ace
Park
ing
Vaca
nt b
uild
ings
and
sto
refr
onts
Vaca
nt la
nd
Figur
e 6:
Exist
ing
Cond
ition
s, Ci
cero
Ave
nue-
Sout
h of
54t
h St
reet
Sout
h Ci
cero
Corr
idor
Stud
yCit
y of C
hicago
Jun
e 200
5
Prepar
ed by:
KILPATRICK
Knox
CICERO
TRIPP
63RD
LOREL
62N
D
LAMON
LAPORTE
LAWLER
LAVERGNE
LACROSSE
LARAMIE
LEAMINGTON
LINDER
CENTRAL
LECLAIRE
LOCKWOOD
LONG
62N
D
63RD
LATROBE
63RD
63RD
The
63rd
Stre
etC
orrid
orbe
twee
nC
entr
alA
venu
ean
dth
eKe
nton
Line
railr
oad
trac
ksju
stea
stof
Knox
Ave
nue
ispr
imar
ilya
com
mer
cial
corr
idor
serv
ing
Mid
way
Airp
ort w
hich
is lo
cate
d di
rect
ly n
orth
and
car
ries
clos
e to
19,
000
vehi
cles
a d
ay.
Land
Use
sCommercial.T
he e
ntire
nor
th fr
onta
ge o
f 63
rd S
tree
t wes
t of C
icer
o A
venu
e is
occ
u-pi
ed b
y M
idw
ay A
irpor
t. P
rimar
y us
es a
long
th
e so
uth
fron
tage
incl
ude
auto
-orie
nted
com
-m
erci
al s
ervi
ces,
airp
ort-r
elat
ed b
usin
esse
s an
d as
soci
ated
par
king
, suc
h as
: Dol
lar/
Ala
-m
o C
ar R
enta
l, Fi
fth
Third
Ban
k, R
ay B
uick
Dea
lers
hip,
Sta
te F
arm
Flig
ht In
sura
nce,
and
au
to re
pair
faci
litie
s. A
num
ber o
f clu
ster
edpa
rcel
s ar
e ow
ned
by th
e C
ity o
f Chi
cago
and
ar
e be
ing
held
for f
utur
e ai
rpor
t dev
elop
men
tan
d pr
otec
tion
need
s.
63rd
Str
eet e
ast o
f Cic
ero
Ave
nue
has
a m
ore
dive
rse
mix
of u
ses,
incl
udin
g a
few
rest
aura
ntan
d dr
inki
ng e
stab
lishm
ents
, loc
al o
ffic
e de
vel-
opm
ent,
mul
ti-fa
mily
resi
dent
ial d
evel
opm
ent,
auto
-orie
nted
com
mer
cial
ser
vice
s, a
nd a
few
vaca
nt p
arce
ls.
Residential.T
here
are
a v
arie
ty o
f mul
ti-fa
mi-
ly re
side
ntia
l pro
pert
ies
alon
g th
e 63
rd S
tree
tco
rrid
or. T
hese
pro
pert
ies
are
prim
arily
low
dens
ity, m
ulti-
fam
ily s
uch
as tw
o-an
d th
ree-
flats
and
are
loca
ted
betw
een
Lore
l Ave
nue
and
Latr
obe
Ave
nue.
The
re a
re tw
o la
rger
apar
tmen
t bui
ldin
gs lo
cate
d at
the
inte
rsec
-tio
n of
Kilp
atric
k A
venu
e an
d 63
rd S
tree
t, as
w
ell a
s a
few
upp
er s
tory
uni
ts s
catt
ered
thro
ugho
ut th
e co
rrid
or in
mix
ed-u
se b
uild
-in
gs. T
hese
uni
ts a
re lo
cate
d ea
st o
f Cic
ero
Ave
nue.
Industrial.N
o in
dust
rial u
ses
are
loca
ted
alon
g th
e 63
rd s
tree
t cor
ridor
.
Bui
ldin
g an
d Ph
ysic
al C
ondi
tions
Mos
t com
mer
cial
and
bus
ines
s us
es a
re lo
cat-
ed in
sm
all,
nond
escr
ipt,
one-
stor
y fr
eest
and-
ing
build
ings
. The
re is
litt
le c
oord
inat
ion
be-
twee
n ad
jace
nt c
omm
erci
al p
rope
rtie
s in
te
rms
of b
uild
ing
plac
emen
t and
orie
ntat
ion,
setb
acks
, acc
ess
driv
es, s
igna
ge, a
nd s
ite la
nd-
scap
ing.
A n
umbe
r of e
xist
ing
com
mer
cial
bui
ldin
gs a
l-so
hav
e a
date
d ap
pear
ance
with
sig
ns o
f de-
ferr
ed m
aint
enan
ce.
Stre
et E
nvir
onm
ent a
nd A
ppea
ranc
eG
iven
the
low
-den
sity
cha
ract
er o
f 63r
d St
reet
with
the
num
erou
s pa
rkin
g lo
ts, v
acan
t site
s,an
d op
en s
pace
are
as, t
he 6
3rd
Stre
et c
orrid
orla
cks
a se
nse
of id
entit
y an
d ch
arac
ter.
Mul
ti-f
amily
resi
dent
ial
Mix
ed-U
se a
part
men
ts o
n up
per f
loor
sRe
tail
Serv
ice
Off
ice
Mid
way
Air
port
Aut
o-or
ient
ed s
ervi
ces
Gas
sta
tion
Publ
ic/S
emi-P
ublic
Ope
n Sp
ace
Park
ing
Vaca
nt b
uild
ings
and
sto
refr
onts
Vaca
nt la
nd
Figur
e 7:
Exist
ing
Cond
ition
s, 6
3rd
Stre
et
Prepar
ed by:
Sout
h Ci
cero
Corr
idor
Stud
yCit
y of C
hicago
Jun
e 200
5
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 13 June 2005
Figure 8 on the next page for an illustration and detailed description of properties under public ownership in the Study Area.
Traffic, Parking, and Public Transportation
This section describes traffic circulation, parking and public transportation within the Study Area. Cicero Avenue (IL Route 50) is a major arterial street with significant continuity through the City of Chicago and adjoining suburbs. It is classified as a Strategic Regional Arterial (SRA). Major roadway improvements and re-construction along Cicero Avenue near Midway Airport have been completed over the past eight years as part of Midway’s $1billion redevelopment initiative. These roadway improvements significantly improved access and traffic circulation throughout and around the airport campus.
Traffic Access and Circulation
Cicero Avenue within the Study Area has two moving lanes in each direction, plus left-turn lanes near intersections and at key activity areas. Parking is not allowed at any time on Cicero Avenue.
Curb cuts are modest along the frontage of Cicero Avenue and Archer Avenue but are very frequent on 47th and 63rd Streets.
Traffic along Cicero Avenue is very heavy, with average daily traffic of 65,700 vehicles per day, based on 2003 Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) data. The major east-west streets that intersect with Cicero also carry significant traffic volumes, as highlighted below:
55th Street 33,100 ADT
Archer Avenue 29,200 ADT
47th Street 20,200 ADT
63rd Street 18,700 ADT
Cicero Avenue serves as the main access to Midway Airport. It connects several south Cook County communities such as Bedford Park, Burbank, Hometown, Oak Lawn, and Alsip with I-55 (Stevenson Expressway). North of the Study Area, Cicero Avenue pro-vides connections to the Town of Cicero, I-290 (Eisenhower Expressway), I-90 (Kennedy Expressway), and I-94 (Edens Expressway). South of the Study Area, Cicero Avenue pro-vides connections to I-294 (Tri-State Tollway).
Except for the major streets, most east-west local streets are one-way. These are shown in Figure 9.
Parking
There is no on-street parking along either the east or west sides of Cicero Avenue in the Study Area. On the east-west side streets, on-street parking is permitted on most blocks. On the collector streets, parking restrictions control some on-street parking. Parking in most blocks is not permitted from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM or from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. There are several off-street parking lots serving Midway Airport. Several lots serve airport
Cit
y of
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cago
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ase
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ero
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od
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ross
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ross
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tral
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Ther
e ar
e fiv
e m
ajor
taxi
ng b
odie
s w
ith p
ublic
land
ow
ners
hip
with
in th
eSt
udy
Are
a.
Th
e C
ity o
f Chi
cago
is th
e la
rges
t pub
lic la
ndow
ner,
with
77
parc
els
tota
ling
766
Acr
es.
Mid
way
Airp
ort a
nd th
e su
rrou
ndin
g op
erat
ions
faci
litie
s su
ch a
s pa
rkin
gco
mpr
ise
the
maj
ority
of t
hese
par
cels
. 8
of th
e 77
tota
l par
cels
are
cur
rent
lyle
ased
by
the
City
of C
hica
go to
bus
ines
s in
the
area
.
Th
e C
hica
go B
oard
of E
duca
tion
cont
rols
2 p
arce
ls to
talin
g ap
prox
imat
ely
8 ac
res.
Phoe
be H
ears
t Ele
men
tary
Sch
ool r
epre
sent
s th
e pr
inci
pal p
rope
rty
and
cove
rs25
% o
f the
tota
l site
.
Th
e C
hica
go T
rans
it A
utho
rity
(CTA
) con
trol
s 3
parc
els
tota
ling
appr
oxim
atel
y 5
acre
s. T
he C
TA s
ites
are
scat
tere
d th
roug
hout
the
corr
idor
; how
ever
, its
prin
cipa
lho
ldin
g is
the
Ora
nge
Line
term
inal
and
par
king
loca
ted
on 5
9th
Stre
et, e
ast o
f the
Mid
way
Airp
ort P
arki
ng G
arag
e.
Sout
h Ci
cero
Corr
idor
Stud
yCit
y of C
hicago
Jun
e 200
5
Figur
e 8:
Prop
ertie
s Und
er P
ublic
Ow
ners
hip
Prepar
ed by:
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 15 June 2005
employees and rental car establishments. The major off-street parking lots are highlighted in Figures 3-7.
A 7-level 6,300 car public parking garage is currently under construction on the north side of 55th Street between Laramie and Cicero Avenues to serve Midway Airport. Phase II is planned to begin construction in 2006 and will include a 5-level consolidated rental car garage facility. This facility will consolidate the eight rental car companies currently located at the existing space-constrained terminal garage on the east side of Cicero Avenue.
Both garages will be served by a dedicated busway system for airport travelers.
Railroad
The Belt Railway of Chicago (BRC) network criss-crosses the Study Area with multiple lines. The Belt Railway is currently owned by six major Class I railroads: Burlington North-ern Santa Fe Corporation; Canadian National; Canadian Pacific Railway; CSX Transporta-tion; Norfolk Southern Corporation; and Union Pacific Railroad. BRC is the largest inter-mediate switching terminal railroad in the United States, employing approximately 520 people. BRC has 28 miles of mainline route with more than 300 miles of switching tracks, allowing it to interchange with every railroad serving the Chicago rail hub. The Belt's Clear-ing Yards in Bedford Park are 5.5 miles wide, cover 786 acres, and support more than 250 miles of track. It contains one of the few remaining “hump” sorting and switching facilities in North America. Major BRC branch lines in the Study Area include:
Kenton Line of the BRC (Kenton Line) Right-of-way is between Knox Avenue and Kolmar Avenue four blocks east of Cicero Avenue .
Runs from Montrose Avenue (4400 N) to the Bedford Park Yard (6700 S).
Union Pacific owns the tracks approximately north of Roosevelt Road (1200 S).
Traffic volumes through the Study Area are approximately 50 - 70 freight trains per day.
59th Street Branch Runs west from the 47th Street rail yards west of the I-94 along 50th Street; jogs south-west at Kimball to Kenton and continues west along 54th Street; at Central Avenue, turns south until 59th Street; ends at the Indiana Harbor Belt (IHB) Argo Yard in Summit.
Canadian National owns the tracks between the 47th Street Yard and Kimball; BRC owns the tracks west of Kenton in the City of Chicago.
Traffic volumes through the Study Area are approximately 40 freight trains per day.
The Illinois Central Railway is now part of Canadian National Railway. The Joliet District subdivision runs from Chicago (Bridgeport) to Pequot, Illinois. In the vicinity of the Study Area, the tracks run along I-55 on the south side of the expressway. There is a rail bridge across Cicero Avenue.
Public Transportation
The Study Area is well served by public transportation, including CTA Orange Line rail ser-vice and numerous bus routes along Cicero Avenue and major intersecting east-west
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 16 June 2005
streets as listed below and shown in Figure 4. Nearby CTA rail transit stations are located at Pulaski Road near Archer Avenue and at Midway Airport at 59th and Knox Avenue.
CTA Bus Routes
54B South Cicero Avenue 47 47th Street
47N 47th Street Owl Service 62 Archer Avenue
62H Archer/Harlem 62N Archer Avenue Night Owl Service
55A 55th Street/Austin 55N 55th Street/Naragansett
55X Garfield Express 63W West 63rd Street
63 63rd Street
Pace Buses The Study Area and suburbs to the southwest of the Study Area are also well-served by several Pace bus routes, which include:
379 West 79th Street 382 Central Clearing
383 South Cicero 384 Narragansett-Ridgeland
385 87th 111th 127th 386 South Harlem
390 Midway CTA –UPS 831 Joliet Midway
Metra Commuter Rail There are no Metra commuter rail stations within the Study Area. The closest stations are located at:
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Line
Cicero - 26th Street & Cicero Avenue, Village of Cicero
Heritage Corridor Line
Summit - Center Street & Hanover Avenue, Village of Summit (Amtrak service is also provided at this location)
Southwest Service
Wrightwood - 79th Street & Kedzie Avenue, City of Chicago
Ashburn - 83rd Street & Central Park, City of Chicago
Proposed Transportation Infrastructure Improvements
The Study Area contains a tremendous density of transportation and infrastructure rights-of-way, the intersection of which often results in traffic delays and reduced quality of transpor-tation service. Several major initiatives are intended to provide relief to traffic congestion and improve quality of movement and access, and are in various stages of planning. These include:
• Central Avenue Overpass Alternative
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 17 June 2005
• Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE)
• Extension of CTA Orange Line to Ford City Mall
• Midway Express
• Mid-City Transitway
Federal funding for these projects is dependent upon reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21), for which Congress has approved an extension through May 2005. Location of proposed projects are illustrated on Figure 9.
Central Avenue Overpass Alternative For automobile and truck traffic seeking to avoid congestion on Cicero Avenue and Harlem Avenue, I-55 has a Central Avenue entrance/exit. However, Central Avenue dead -ends into the Belt Railway Company of Chicago Rail Yard and the CSX Intermo-dal Rail Yard at 67th Street. Central Avenue resumes again on the south side of the rail yards at 72nd Street. No north-south roads between Cicero and Harlem currently pro-vide access over the rail yards. Consequently, north and southbound automobile and truck traffic that needs to access the areas north and south of the rail yards must detour around the rail yards via side streets to Cicero, Harlem, or Central Avenues.
The Central Avenue Overpass Alternative project addresses the detour and conse-quent traffic congestion and back-ups caused by the lack of through routes. Thus far, IDOT has conducted public input processes, and analyzed design alternatives. The Central Avenue Overpass is the preferred concept in terms of design, location, and construction costs, where it would create an overpass over the rail yards that will con-nect the two legs of Central Avenue. This design would create a four-lane road with median from 63rd Street in Chicago to 79th Street in Burbank. The overpass would cross over the Belt Railway and CSX railroad tracks, and will pass under the Belt Rail-way’s hump sorting structure. Construction costs are estimated at $220 million, which would be funded by Federal transportation grants. Cook County maintains jurisdiction of Central Avenue from I-55 to 47th Street and Central Avenue south of 63rd Street; the IDOT has jurisdiction of the arterial between 47th and 63rd Streets.
Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) The CREATE program recognizes the significance of Chicago’s role in the North Ameri-can railroad network. Increasing passenger and freight rail volumes on fixed infrastruc-ture are in danger of causing bottlenecks with national economic impacts. Goals of the plan include increased safety, fewer motorist delays, more efficient commuter rail ser-vice, and increased freight rail capacity. These goals would be accomplished by a plan of improved signalization, new road/rail grade separations, rail-to-rail flyovers, and redi-rection of traffic along certain corridors. Specific projects in or near the Study Area in-clude:
At-grade signalization improvements along the Kenton Line 1. 55th Street & Kenton
2. 63rd Street & Kenton
3. 67th Street (Marquette Rd) & Kenton
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 18 June 2005
Grade separations1. Archer Avenue & Kenton Line
The project would require lowering Archer Avenue to create an underpass under Kenton Line. The grade separation will require construction of a 650-foot retaining wall along Archer at each corner of the intersection. These retaining walls will permanently close Archer intersections with Knox and Kolmar Avenues on either side of the Kenton Line1.
Vehicular access to commercial businesses on Archer that previously used Archer, Kolmar or Knox will be limited to 51st, 52nd or the alleys. No alternatives or busi-ness relocations were discussed in the 2001 Dietz study1. Vehicular access to three impacted residences would be off the alley adjacent to and south of these homes. No alternatives or residential relocations were discussed in that report1.
2. Archer Avenue & Central Avenue
This grade separation would need to be planned in conjunction with the Central-Narragansett Corridor project discussed above and would require the lowering and reconstruction of the entire intersection under the 59th Street Rail Branch.1
Placement of six retainer walls would require closing the intersections at Central Avenue and 53rd Street and at Central Avenue and 54th Street. Several businesses and residences around the Central / Archer intersection would lose access, and would need to be relocated. Others could have access via alleys or via new ease-ments1.
3. 63rd & Harlem Avenue
The 63rd & Harlem Avenue intersection was rebuilt in 1996-1997. This grade im-provement would require the lowering of the entire intersection under the 59th
Street Rail Branch. The placement of retainer walls along 63rd Street and along Har-lem Avenue would require closing the intersection of Nottingham Avenue and 63rd
Street. Several businesses and residences along the north side of 63rd around this intersection would lose vehicular access; no alternatives were discussed in the Dietz report1.
Funding for the CREATE projects will come from a public/private partnership among IDOT, the Chicago Department of Transportation, IHB, BRC, Amtrak, Metra, and the six Class I major freight railroads that operate in the area: Burling-ton Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), CSX, Canadian National (CN), Canadian Pacific (CP), Norfolk Southern (NS), and Union Pacific (UP). The overall program is esti-mated at $1.5 billion, of which $212 million will come from the railroads.
1 Source: Clark Dietz, Inc. “Belt Railway of Chicago Grade Separation Feasibility Study.” August 2001. For the Illinois Department of Transportation, City of Chicago, and The Belt Railway Company of Chicago.
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d C
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tral
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over
pass
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urbs
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tral
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e B
elt R
ailw
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ard
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rmod
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at n
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reas
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se e
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m A
venu
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end
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tral
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betw
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63rd
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t an
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illio
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gnal
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ove-
men
ts (
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gram
).
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ly p
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the
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-fie
ld R
idge
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mun
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djac
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o th
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idw
ay A
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s ac
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ser
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uch
as th
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h D
istr
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hica
go P
o-lic
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l as
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cent
fire
sta
-
tions
and
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mer
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s co
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tion
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t sub
urba
n co
mm
uniti
es s
uch
as B
ed-
ford
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k, B
urba
nk, a
nd B
ridge
view
.
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ned
Railr
oad
Cro
ssin
g G
rade
Sepa
ratio
ns (
CR
EATE
Pro
gram
).
Arc
her
Ave
nue/
Ken
ton
Line
- Im
prov
escr
osst
own
truc
k ac
cess
and
traf
fic to
the
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way
ser
vice
are
a.
Arc
her
Ave
nue/
Cen
tral
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nue-
Impr
oves
nort
h/so
uth
acce
ss fo
r tru
ck tr
affic
acc
ess-
ing
the
Bed
ford
Par
k in
dust
rial p
ark.
63rd
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Har
lem
Ave
nue-
Thou
gh n
ot in
th
e St
udy
Are
a, th
is i
mpr
ovem
ent w
ill re
-lie
ve C
icer
o A
venu
e of
a lo
t of M
idw
ay tr
af-
fic g
ener
ated
from
wes
tern
com
mun
ities
.
Pub
lic P
arki
ng G
arag
e (6
,300
sp
aces
) U
nder
Con
stru
ctio
n.
A 7
-leve
l 6,3
00 c
ar p
ublic
par
king
gar
age
is c
urre
ntly
und
er c
onst
ruct
ion
on th
eno
rth
side
of 5
5th
Stre
et b
etw
een
Lara
-m
ie a
nd C
icer
o A
venu
e to
ser
ve M
idw
ayA
irpor
t. Ph
ase
II is
pla
nned
to b
egin
con
-st
ruct
ion
in 2
006
and
will
incl
ude
a 5-
lev-
el c
onso
lidat
ed re
ntal
car
gar
age
faci
lity.
This
faci
lity
will
con
solid
ate
the
eigh
t ren
t-al
car
com
pani
es c
urre
ntly
loca
ted
at th
eex
istin
g sp
ace-
cons
trai
ned
term
inal
ga-
rage
on
the
east
sid
e of
Cic
ero
Ave
nue.
Prop
osed
CTA
Ora
nge
Line
Ex-
tens
ion
The
CTA
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nge
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Cur
rent
ly ru
ns b
e-tw
een
dow
ntow
n C
hica
go a
nd M
idw
ayA
irpor
t, w
ith a
term
inal
sta
tion
at 5
9th
Stre
et. T
here
are
cur
rent
ly lo
ng-ra
nge
plan
s m
ovin
g fo
rwar
d to
ext
end
the
Or-
ange
line
to th
e Fo
rd C
ity S
hopp
ing
Cen
-te
r.
Prop
osed
Mid
-City
Tra
nsitw
ay
In 2
003,
CD
OT
eval
uate
d bo
th ri
ght-o
f-way
feas
i-bi
lity
and
pote
ntia
l tra
vel d
eman
d fo
r the
MC
T,w
hich
wou
ld p
rovi
de c
ircum
fere
ntia
l tra
nsit
serv
-ic
e th
roug
hout
the
city
are
a. T
he M
CT
wou
ld fo
l-lo
w th
e ex
istin
g fr
eigh
t rai
l R.O
.W. o
f the
Uni
onPa
cific
Rai
lroad
and
the
Bel
t Rai
lway
of C
hica
go.
This
R.O
.W. p
aral
lels
Cic
ero
Ave
nue
from
Law
-re
nce
Ave
nue
on th
e no
rth
to 6
700
sout
h. T
he
prop
osed
full
build
-out
con
nect
s th
e B
lue
Line
-O
'Har
e B
ranc
h at
Jeffe
rson
Par
k w
ith th
e Re
dLi
ne-D
an R
yan
Bra
nch
at 8
7th
Stre
et.
Sout
h Ci
cero
Corr
idor
Stud
yCit
y of C
hicago
Jun
e 200
5
Figur
e 9:
Exist
ing
and
Plan
ned
Tran
spor
tatio
n Sy
stem
Prepar
ed by:
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 20 June 2005
CTA Orange Line Extension The CTA Orange Line currently runs between downtown Chicago and Midway Air-port, with a terminal station at 59th Street. Extending the Orange Line to the Ford City Shopping Mall would complete the original Orange Line plan to provide rapid transit access to Chicago’s far southwest side. This extension may include grade separations at 59th Street and Kenton and 63rd Street and Kenton. The primary benefit cited is the connection between downtown and the “strong employment corridor along South Cicero Avenue2.” CTA would seek funding in part from the Federal Transit Agency’s discretionary New Starts program, whose budget currently comes from TEA-21.
Midway Express Service The City and CTA are planning a new express train service from downtown Chicago to both O’Hare and Midway Airports. The service will be designed to appeal to airline passengers. Special cars, dedicated to the service, will include spacious seating, special acoustics, baggage racks, and video monitors with airline departure information.
The Midway Express will operate along the Orange Line tracks, but will include new tracks that bypass local trains, enabling a significant reduction in travel time. A new terminal is proposed at Midway Airport to be located immediately adjacent to the air-port concourse dedicated to the Express. A new Central Area terminal will be designed for baggage check-in and airline ticketing for those passengers boarding the Midway Express from downtown.
Mid-City Transitway Chicago’s transit system is composed of radial rail lines and a system of buses operat-ing primarily on arterial streets. With the 1993 opening of the CTA Orange Line, city-wide radial heavy rail coverage was complete with each rail corridor, and the neighborhoods it serves, linked to downtown Chicago by rail. These radial rapid transit lines are fed by CTA and Pace bus service along the street grid resulting in excellent transit travel times for workers to and from downtown. However, trips that require circumferential movement across the radials may require indirect routes such as pas-sage through downtown or lengthy travel on local cross-town bus routes to get to the destination. A high capacity circumferential transit service would address this existing gap in transit service.
During 2003, CDOT launched a study to evaluate both right-of-way feasibility and po-tential travel demand for the Mid-City Transitway (MCT). The MCT would follow the ex-isting freight rail right-of-way of the Union Pacific Railroad and the Belt Railway of Chi-cago. This right-of-way parallels Cicero Avenue from Lawrence Avenue on the north to 6700 South. At this location the right-of-way (Belt Railway of Chicago) curves east and parallels 75th Street for several miles before turning south and intersecting the Dan Ryan Expressway south of 87th Street. The proposed full build-out Transitway connects the Blue Line – O’Hare Branch at Jefferson Park with the Red Line – Dan Ryan Branch at 87th Street.
2 CTA Press Release, March 14, 2003.
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 21 June 2005
SECTION 2: MARKET OVERVIEW
The market and demographic conditions within the Study Area and surrounding areas will have a strong influence on development potentials within the Study Area. Presented below are the key conclusions and recommendations of the Market Study completed for this pro-ject, which evaluated the potential for future commercial, hotel/hospitality, residential, air-port related businesses, and industrial development within the Study Area. This analysis is critical to the planning process in that it tempers “blue-sky” creative visions with economic reality, and improves the chances of a plan’s actual implementation. The complete Market Report is included as an appendix item to this Plan.
Political, business, and community leaders have been frustrated that adjacent suburban communities have benefited from Midway Airport activity and the spending power of City of Chicago residents as new spin-off commercial, retail, and hotel development has located in those communities and not in the City of Chicago. This plan examines demand and sup-ply characteristics of these markets and sets forth recommendations on how future devel-opment can be captured within the Study Area and lead to new economic vitality in this key Chicago corridor.
Demographics
The demographic Study Area for the purposes of socio-economic analysis in this project has been defined as the five Chicago Community Areas of: Garfield Ridge (#56) and Clear-ing (#64) on the west side of the Cicero Avenue corridor; and Archer Heights (#57), West Elsdon (#62), and West Lawn (#65) on the east side of the corridor, as well as the five adja-cent communities of Bedford Park, Forest View, Stickney, Berwyn, and Cicero. Together these communities have a total population of approximately 263,000 persons.
The neighborhoods of the five community areas and five municipalities within the market area share a number of common characteristics.
• More than two thirds of the 85,249 households are family households, and most live in owner-occupied housing.
• Median household incomes fall in a fairly narrow range, from a low of $38,044 in Cicero to a high of $49,722 in Bedford Park.
• Almost all the residential neighborhoods in the market area have population densi-ties in excess of 7,500 persons per square mile, the typical threshold of an urban area.
Detailed tables and analysis of the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the Study Area are provided in Appendix A: Cicero Corridor Market Study, August 2004 (Up-dated November 2004 and June 2005).
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 22 June 2005
Existing Issues and Characteristics
• The high population density of over 7,500 persons per square mile for almost all the residential neighborhoods in the market area presents a very desirable market for new commercial and residential development. Typically, select national retailers have preferred locations with higher median household income levels as compared to the Study Area; however, many national retailers have recently begun to capital-ize on the significant purchasing power of dense urban populations similar to the Study Area with lower household incomes.
The Study Area’s 2003 median household income is $50,000, which is close to 14% more than the City of Chicago as a whole at $44,000. However, the 2003 Area Median Income (AMI) for a family of four defined by the Department of Hous-ing and Urban Development for the purpose of affordable housing analysis is $75,500. The average household size for the Study Area is 2.9 persons. Based on a per person analysis, the Study Area’s median household income is roughly $1,600 less than the AMI.
• Adjacent suburban communities have benefited from Midway Airport activity and the spending power of City of Chicago residents as the majority of new commer-cial, retail, and hotel development has located in these communities and not in the City of Chicago. These developments range from a multitude of big box retail (i.e. Walmart, Costco, Target, etc.) and the airport hotel cluster at Midway Hotel Center all located in Bedford Park.
• The Study Area has not been successful in capturing the commercial spin-off activ-ity occurring from the airport, largely in part to the lack of adequately configured and sized development sites.
• In terms of spin-off office development related to the Study Area’s proximity to Midway Airport, the market demand is low. As a point-to-point airport, there will never be as much demand for branch offices of regional or national businesses as found near O’Hare Airport.
• Parcels are generally small and lack the depth required to accommodate significant new commercial/retail development.
• The area faces strong competition in terms of new commercial/retail development from established shopping and hotel nodes in nearby communities of Bedford Park and Cicero.
• Current residential development projects in the area demonstrate the strong hous-ing demand for various product types, ranging from condominium/townhomes, single-family homes, rental apartments, and senior housing.
• The one large industrial parcel/development within the Study Area exhibits signs of market weakness. The Midway Business Center, located at the southwest corner of Cicero and Archer Avenues, is 51 acres in size and has 1.3 million square feet of building space. Of this total space, approximately 1 million square feet is industrial warehouse space, which has been 60% vacant this past year. Much of this vacancy
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 23 June 2005
can be attributed to the site’s location and heavy traffic conditions along Cicero Avenue, making it difficult for truck traffic to access the site.
New Development Issues and Potentials
• Hotel/Conference. As demonstrated by the success of nearby hotel developments, the Study Area has potential for new hotel development in the future. The South Cicero corridor can capture existing and future passenger growth from Midway Airport, as well as capture automobile travelers off of I-55.
Due to the nature of Midway Airport, which caters to the economy business and leisure traveler, limited service hotels with meeting space are forecasted to have a higher demand as compared to higher priced, full-service hotels. However, there is potential to develop a full-service hotel (250 – 300 rooms) near the airport, if it as-sociated with a larger conference facility development, approximately between 40,000 – 60,000 square feet in size. The Midway area could serve as an economi-cal and convenient location for businesses to hold regional business meetings, where conference/meeting attendees could fly directly into Midway Airport. Cur-rently, there are no facilities in the immediate area, which cater to these mid-size to large business/conference events.
The following hotel development program is recommended for the Study Area within the next 10 years:
3 - 7 Limited Service Hotels
120 - 150 rooms per hotel
$80 - $100 average room rates
1,500 - 4,000 square feet of meeting room and event space per hotel
1 Full-Service Hotel
250 – 300 rooms
$120 - $160 average room rates
Associated with larger conference facility, approximately 40,000 – 60,000 square feet in size
• Retail. Based on the socio-economics of the Study Area and current retail coverage in the area as presented in Appendix A: South Cicero Corridor Market Study Report,there is demand for various types of new retail development over the next ten years as detailed below.
In addition to retailers being attracted to the Study Area due to its densely popu-lated neighborhoods as discussed earlier, Cicero Avenue is also strategically lo-cated to attract retailers, with its regional access to I-55, and the heavy airport traf-fic along Cicero Avenue with over 65,000 average vehicles per day. The minimum threshold for daily traffic volumes that national retailers typically require is around 20,000 – 25,000 ADTs. Cicero Avenue well exceeds this threshold.
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 24 June 2005
Potential Retail Demand
1. Big Box Retail: 100,000 – 200,000 sf (e.g., Lowe’s, Best Buy, Petco)
2. Highway Commercial: 75,000 – 85,000 sf (e.g., casual-dining restaurants, such as Applebee’s, Chili’s, Outback Steakhouse; fast food establishments, conven-ience/auto related)
3. Neighborhood Retail: 50,000 – 60,000 sf (e.g., video/dvd, dry clean-ers/laundromat, and general merchandise store)
Section 4: Opportunity Sites of this report details key sites where retail develop-ment is recommended, helping to create a successful commercial corridor along Cicero Avenue.
Local retail brokers indicated that asking net lease rates for new retail construction in the market trade area range from $18 - $28 per square foot, depending on the size and location of the space. Current asking net rents of existing space within the maket trade area range between $10 - $20 per square foot. According to CB Rich-ard Ellis’ First Quarter 2005 Chicago Retail Market View Report, the City of Chi-cago’s South and North Submarkets are reporting average gross asking lease rates of $22.38 - $22.69 psf and $29.46 - $31.76 psf, respectively, which includes both old and new construction retail space.
Office. Office development for the small business market presents an opportunity to develop replacement space with modern design standards and amenities. Cur-rent establishments should be phased out of their existing older-quality space and into newer facilities, improving both corridor appearance and local office quality. Office development opportunities include:
Professional Services/Small Business Offices
Multi-tenant buildings, 50,000 - 100,000 square feet Gross rents $14 - $18 per square feet
Airport Support Businesses
50,000 – 100,000 square feet Gross rents $14 - $18 per square feet
Office/Flex Space
100,000 - 400,000 square feet Gross rents $8 - $12 per square feet
• Airport. Midway Airport has become one of the fastest growing airports in the na-tion, currently serving over 18 million annual passengers. However, presently it is close to capacity given its physical space constraints being land-locked on all sides. To help facilitate future airport growth, adjacent sites to the airport are recom-mended to be held for future airport-related operations.
• Residential. The primary focus of this study was on the commercial development potential within the Study Area. However, market research indicates that 47th Street
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 25 June 2005
and other select areas within the Study Area could support additional residential development of various product types and price points as indicated in the following table.
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SOUTH CICERO CORRIDOR
Demand Segment Product TypeApprox. Size of Potential Demand Potential Locations
Low to Moderate Income Renter HHs (Families)
Affordable rental (Rents < $1,000)
50 - 80 units 47th Street Infill
Higher Income Renter Households
Market rate rental (Rents > $1,000)
20 - 35 units + Midway demand
47th Street Infill
Higher Income Owner Households
Condos or Townhouses ($200,000 - $300,000)
70 - 135 units 47th, 63rd, and 65th Streets
Sources: Goodman Williams Group and URS Corporation
• Industrial. Given current market conditions and site and access characteristics of the Study Area, future industrial development is generally not recommended as the most strategic use for the Study Area.
The cargo business at Midway Airport is minor, compared to commercial and gen-eral aviation activities. Major cargo carriers and freight forward services such as FedEx, Airborne/DHL and UPS AirCargo operate out of O’Hare Airport. Given Midway’s current capacity constraints, cargo services at Midway Airport are not expected to grow in the future. Existing levels of cargo business currently at Mid-way may actually decrease in response to potential security changes by the Trans-portation Security Agency (TSA) which may require security screening of individual packages resulting in increased space needs for screening technology and staff.Such factors will likely minimize current and any new demand within the Study Area for warehouse/distribution space.
Currently, there is limited industrial development within the Study Area. The largest concentration of industrial space is located along Archer Avenue and 55th Street north of the airport (the Midway Business Center), which is currently underutilized.
The approximately one million square feet of industrial/warehouse space has been about 60% vacant this past year due to the departure of several key tenants. Little demand exists for this space due to increased congestion in the area and difficult truck access.
Development of new industrial facilities within the Study Area is not recommended as the most strategic use. Locating new establishments or relocating existing estab-lishments with expansion/relocation needs to nearby industrial corridors will likely
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 26 June 2005
provide the facilities, infrastructure and collaborative relationships they need to re-main competitive.
Section 4 of this Plan report incorporates these market findings and recommendations with the physical assessment of select opportunity redevelopment sites within the Study Area.
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 27 June 2005
SECTION 3: FRAMEWORK PLAN
While the basic land-use patterns of the Study Area are essentially established, the Frame-work Plan includes a range of goals and objectives which provide the basis for guiding fu-ture improvements and development projects within the Study Area.
These goals and objectives, listed below, are intended to assist the community in achieving commercial and residential revitalization and improve the overall appearance and function of these important corridors.
Corridor Appearance and Character
Goal: An attractive and distinctive image for each of the corridors responding to the differ-ent nature and use of the corridors.
Objectives:
1. Identify Cicero Avenue as a “gateway” corridor through the use of distinct pylons, street lighting, banners, landscaping, and other design features.
2. Upgrade the image and appearance of existing commercial areas, including buildings, parking lots, signage, and the public right-of-way.
3. Promote high standards of design and construction for all development within the Study Area.
4. Create a sense of place through the use of streetscaping techniques and design guide-lines.
Commercial, Retail and Office Development
Goal: New commercial, retail, and office development that provides local residents with employment opportunities and needed goods and services, increases the City’s sales and property taxes, and enhances the image and appearance of the Study Area.
Objectives:
1. Maintain, improve and expand the range of retail, commercial, and office establish-ments within the Study Area.
2. Improve access, parking, traffic circulation, signage, and other operational conditions within all existing commercial areas in the Study Area.
3. Improve and upgrade Cicero Avenue as a retail and business area serving the immedi-ate neighborhoods, Midway Airport, and the surrounding region.
4. Improve the Cicero Avenue/Archer Avenue intersection as a new commercial focal point, helping to create a sense of place and improved identity for the Study Area.
5. Maximize commercial potential along Cicero Avenue given the high traffic volumes, and proximity to I-55, Midway Airport, and surrounding dense urban population.
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 28 June 2005
6. Encourage the corrective maintenance and rehabilitation of older commercial proper-ties in poor condition.
7. Promote the redevelopment of marginal, obsolete, and vacant commercial properties.
8. Encourage compatible new office, retail, and commercial development in selected lo-cations.
9. Promote creative site and building design and development solutions that can offset the limited depth site sizes and other constraints present within the Study Area.
10. Encourage new office, retail, and commercial uses that will utilize the local labor force.
11. Encourage new office, retail, and commercial uses that will help strengthen and support Midway Airport.
12. Minimize and mitigate any negative impact of office, retail, and commercial activities on neighboring land-use areas.
13. Discourage additional “strip” commercial development within the Study Area.
14. Encourage the combination and consolidation of small commercial and vacant lots to enhance opportunities for coordinated improvements and new developments.
Housing and Residential Areas
Goal: A housing inventory and living environment that supports the local population, at-tracts new households, and enhances the overall quality and character of the Study Area.
Objectives:
1. Discourage residential development along the highly trafficked Cicero Avenue unless incorporated into a mixed-use development with residential on the upper floors.
2. Encourage the “de-commercialization” of 47th Street and promote residential develop-ment to fill the void left by commercial businesses that are no longer viable along 47th
Street. Recommended residential development along 47th include: attractive town-homes, 3 - 6 unit walk-ups, 3 – 5 story condominium and/or rental buildings, and mixed-use buildings at key intersections with neighborhood retail/services on the ground floor.
3. Protect and strengthen residential neighborhoods through utilization of the City’s Resi-dential Sound Insulation Program to provide noise mitigation to homes in the vicinity of Midway Airport.
Midway Airport and Related Businesses
Goal: A healthy, growing, and viable airport, which generates significant economic activity for the Study Area, the City, and the region..
South Cicero Corridor: Final Plan Report ____________________________________________________Page 29 June 2005
Objective:
1. Promote and protect the continued growth of the Midway Airport and supporting businesses.
2. Protect land immediately south of Midway Airport for future airport and related opera-tional needs.
3. Discourage encroachment of incompatible land uses near the airport.
Transportation
Goal: A balanced transportation system that provides for safe and efficient movement of vehicles, pedestrians, and trains, reinforces surrounding development patterns, and enhances regional transportation facilities.
Objectives:
1. Use traffic calming and other design techniques to minimize localized traffic conges-tion, address safety and operational problems, reduce neighborhood traffic speeds and encourage pedestrian activity within the Study Area.
2. Minimize non-local and commercial traffic within residential neighborhoods.
3. Improve the flow of rail traffic (CREATE Program) within the Study Area and reduce the traffic delays, noise impacts, and safety concerns.
4. Support proposed at-grade and grade-separated rail crossing improvements and Cen-tral Ave/Narragansett overpass to relieve traffic congestion within Study Area.
5. Maintain and improve the condition of street and sidewalk surfaces throughout the Study Area.
6. Encourage the provision of adequate parking for all activity areas.
7. Promote continued improvement and enhancement of the CTA rail and bus routes as an important community asset.