Housing Issue Pitches (time-sensitive!)
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Sarah Fineman
Mar 2, 2020, 1:50:33 PM3/2/20
to southsi...@googlegroups.com
Hi Weekly,
Happy
March! To celebrate the start of a new and (fingers-crossed) sunny month, have
we got something for you...a special housing issue pitch doc! It's full of stories we'd love for you to cover, about the future of historic churches, strange Lego-like buildings, new legislative moves to address affordable housing and eviction, recent books that delve into public housing and gentrification, and more.
The housing issue comes out 4/1 and we'd like first drafts in by
March 23. To claim a
pitch, email Adam (ahpr...@gmail.com) or me (sarah....@southsideweekly.com). Feel free to reach out with questions, or to pitch us with any other housing-related idea of your own.
The full pitch doc can be found here, we've pasted the main pitches below. Take a look!
thanks,
Sarah
Funky New Buildings
Trianon Lofts in Woodlawn and Kleo Art Residences in Washington Park are two recently-finished Lego-looking new developments that I’m curious about. Both were developed or worked on by groups dedicated to affordable housing (POAH for Trianon Lofts and Imagine Group for Kleo) -- but marketing a new building as a “loft” or “art residence” screams gentrification to me. Also, the main developer for Kleo Art Residences is Northbrook-based Brinshore Development. Brinshore was sued last year for discriminatory renting practices and has another huge South Side development in the works,“4400 Grove” in Bronzeville. Look into these buildings: who’s moving in, what tenant population do/did the developers imagine, how do the neighbors feel?
Love and Hate for Airbnb
Back in November, Marty Quinn of the 13th Ward and Pat Daley Thompson of the 11th brought forward ordinances to ban Airbnb and other short-term vacation rentals, citing neighbor complaints about rowdy guests and critiquing loose enforcement of the Shared Housing Ordinance. Why are these aldermen in particular complaining? (Quinn makes sense as his ward is close to Midway, but Thompson?) Who’s pro-Airbnb and who’s anti-? The website AirDNA.co collects data on Airbnb, VRBO, etc listings and is journalist-friendly -- the writer who picks up this story would ideally examine AirDNA data to isolate particular pockets of Airbnb activity on the South Side and delve into reasons for and opinions of the prevalence of vacation rental in those areas.
Tangentially, that same Shared Housing Ordinance, passed back in 2016, includes a 4% tax on vacation rentals that’s supposed to contribute to homelessness services. Rahm’s administration told the Tribune in 2018 that $5.7 million of that revenue had already been specifically earmarked towards such support. What’s happened to this tax in the last few years? How/is the revenue being distributed among groups serving homeless populations around the city? What’s the spatial distribution of financial support from the tax in comparison to particularly Airbnb-heavy neighborhoods and neighborhoods with particularly high incidences of homelessness?
Recap of housing policy changes, proposed ordinances, etc.
This could be written by one or several people. The idea is to look at any legislation that’s been passed, proposed, or made progress in the past year, that impacts housing in some way. They should be relatively short pieces that give readers some context and why these changes are important, and ideally will be grouped together.
Good/Just Cause Eviction Ordinance: I’ve had a hard time finding much about this, but apparently several aldermen, including Sigcho-Lopez and Ramirez-Rosa, are working on one right now. This Block Club article contains some info about it, but it’d be good to have an explainer for what the ordinance could do, when it might go into effect, and a bit about the history of people fighting for it.
Just Housing Amendment: Cook County Board of Commissioners passed the Just Housing Amendment in April of last year, but it didn’t go into effect until January of this year, and enforcement didn’t start until February. The amendment makes it illegal for landlords to turn away housing applicants based on criminal history. Since it went into effect just a couple months ago, there might not be a lot of data about it, but this story could briefly cover what the amendment does, its history, and anything the writer can find about what it’s been like after taking effect. It *might* be a good option for crowdsourcing tips through the Weekly’s social media.
Affordable Housing Ordinance: last year, Lightfoot set up a task force to investigate how to revise the affordable housing ordinance, which requires certain developments to provide 10% affordable housing units or else pay a fine. The proposed revisions, headed by Sigcho-Lopez, would eliminate the option to pay a fine and increase the required percentage. Some articles about it can be found here. This story should recount what the ordinance is currently, what the revision looks like, and what we can expect in 2020.
Accessory Dwelling Unit Bill: Evanston-area state Rep. Robyn Gabel filed a bill that would legalize coach houses, or Accessory Dwelling Units. This is an issue we covered in the last Housing Issue with an op-ed in favor of legislation like this. Interview the bill sponsors and housing advocates and track the bill’s process through the state house.
Bring Chicago Home Ordinance: This ordinance, supported by homeless advocates and progressive aldermen, would institute a real estate transfer tax for large transactions that would go towards combating homelessness. It is fiercely opposed by the real estate lobby, and in the last days of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration, his Finance Committee chairman and another powerful alderman blocked it from passing. Mayor Lori Lightfoot campaigned on passing the ordinance, but once she was mayor, attempted to pass the transfer tax, but said she would use the money to close the city budget deficit, allotting just $10 million in additional homeless youth services in the budget. Her ordinance eventually failed, though she is renewing her effort, and progressive legislators are pushing her to adopt the Bring Chicago Home funding model; it now has the support of the majority of aldermen. Lay out this history and talk to the chief aldermen and advocates behind the push. There are three ordinances, introduced in 2019, related to this push. 1, 2, 3.
Trianon Lofts in Woodlawn and Kleo Art Residences in Washington Park are two recently-finished Lego-looking new developments that I’m curious about. Both were developed or worked on by groups dedicated to affordable housing (POAH for Trianon Lofts and Imagine Group for Kleo) -- but marketing a new building as a “loft” or “art residence” screams gentrification to me. Also, the main developer for Kleo Art Residences is Northbrook-based Brinshore Development. Brinshore was sued last year for discriminatory renting practices and has another huge South Side development in the works,“4400 Grove” in Bronzeville. Look into these buildings: who’s moving in, what tenant population do/did the developers imagine, how do the neighbors feel?
Love and Hate for Airbnb
Back in November, Marty Quinn of the 13th Ward and Pat Daley Thompson of the 11th brought forward ordinances to ban Airbnb and other short-term vacation rentals, citing neighbor complaints about rowdy guests and critiquing loose enforcement of the Shared Housing Ordinance. Why are these aldermen in particular complaining? (Quinn makes sense as his ward is close to Midway, but Thompson?) Who’s pro-Airbnb and who’s anti-? The website AirDNA.co collects data on Airbnb, VRBO, etc listings and is journalist-friendly -- the writer who picks up this story would ideally examine AirDNA data to isolate particular pockets of Airbnb activity on the South Side and delve into reasons for and opinions of the prevalence of vacation rental in those areas.
Tangentially, that same Shared Housing Ordinance, passed back in 2016, includes a 4% tax on vacation rentals that’s supposed to contribute to homelessness services. Rahm’s administration told the Tribune in 2018 that $5.7 million of that revenue had already been specifically earmarked towards such support. What’s happened to this tax in the last few years? How/is the revenue being distributed among groups serving homeless populations around the city? What’s the spatial distribution of financial support from the tax in comparison to particularly Airbnb-heavy neighborhoods and neighborhoods with particularly high incidences of homelessness?
Recap of housing policy changes, proposed ordinances, etc.
This could be written by one or several people. The idea is to look at any legislation that’s been passed, proposed, or made progress in the past year, that impacts housing in some way. They should be relatively short pieces that give readers some context and why these changes are important, and ideally will be grouped together.
Good/Just Cause Eviction Ordinance: I’ve had a hard time finding much about this, but apparently several aldermen, including Sigcho-Lopez and Ramirez-Rosa, are working on one right now. This Block Club article contains some info about it, but it’d be good to have an explainer for what the ordinance could do, when it might go into effect, and a bit about the history of people fighting for it.
Just Housing Amendment: Cook County Board of Commissioners passed the Just Housing Amendment in April of last year, but it didn’t go into effect until January of this year, and enforcement didn’t start until February. The amendment makes it illegal for landlords to turn away housing applicants based on criminal history. Since it went into effect just a couple months ago, there might not be a lot of data about it, but this story could briefly cover what the amendment does, its history, and anything the writer can find about what it’s been like after taking effect. It *might* be a good option for crowdsourcing tips through the Weekly’s social media.
Affordable Housing Ordinance: last year, Lightfoot set up a task force to investigate how to revise the affordable housing ordinance, which requires certain developments to provide 10% affordable housing units or else pay a fine. The proposed revisions, headed by Sigcho-Lopez, would eliminate the option to pay a fine and increase the required percentage. Some articles about it can be found here. This story should recount what the ordinance is currently, what the revision looks like, and what we can expect in 2020.
Accessory Dwelling Unit Bill: Evanston-area state Rep. Robyn Gabel filed a bill that would legalize coach houses, or Accessory Dwelling Units. This is an issue we covered in the last Housing Issue with an op-ed in favor of legislation like this. Interview the bill sponsors and housing advocates and track the bill’s process through the state house.
Bring Chicago Home Ordinance: This ordinance, supported by homeless advocates and progressive aldermen, would institute a real estate transfer tax for large transactions that would go towards combating homelessness. It is fiercely opposed by the real estate lobby, and in the last days of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration, his Finance Committee chairman and another powerful alderman blocked it from passing. Mayor Lori Lightfoot campaigned on passing the ordinance, but once she was mayor, attempted to pass the transfer tax, but said she would use the money to close the city budget deficit, allotting just $10 million in additional homeless youth services in the budget. Her ordinance eventually failed, though she is renewing her effort, and progressive legislators are pushing her to adopt the Bring Chicago Home funding model; it now has the support of the majority of aldermen. Lay out this history and talk to the chief aldermen and advocates behind the push. There are three ordinances, introduced in 2019, related to this push. 1, 2, 3.
What’s happening at St. Stephen’s?
Developer John Liu seems to enjoy historic churches. Liu recently renovated the former Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist on Dorchester Avenue in Kenwood, a building commonly known as Shiloh Baptist Church after the community that used it for around fifty years. The first three of thirteen townhouses went on the market in July.
Liu also owns the former Tenth Church of Christ, Scientist on Blackstone Avenue in Hyde Park (also known as St. Stephen’s). It’s a similar structure with a similar history but, unlike Shiloh Baptist, the building hasn’t seen any progress since. The church has a long and tangled history, as well as some agreements that might make development more difficult, but Liu hasn’t given any indication of what his plans are for the structure. (Sam Joyce)
United Church of Hyde Park
Another pitch about ecclesiastical development in Hyde Park — the Sun-Times recently reported on a forum held at the United Church of Hyde Park about the congregation’s future. The congregation is declining, and church leaders have discussed selling part of the land. Of particular interest: the University of Chicago, which owns the Polsky Center next door, apparently had talks with the church for eighteen months but couldn’t come to an agreement. In any case, the church is operating in the red, and may have to jump before it’s pushed. What are the options on the table, and what developers (hello MAC?) might be eyeing a premium corner lot on 53rd? (Sam Joyce)
Jane Addams Senior Caucus Profile
The JASC is a grassroots advocacy organization led by seniors. They focus on four issues: housing justice, healthcare and economic justice, language justice, and civic engagement. JASC operates across the entire city of Chicago, but most of their successful housing initiatives have been on the North Side. Interview a few members of JASC, preferably including at least one member who lives on the South Side. What are they planning for the future? Are there any South Side specific initiatives? Which issues are currently most important to members? This piece can be in Q&A format or not. (Tammy Xu)
Apartment Application and Move-in Fees
Landlords across Chicago charge application fees, ostensibly to cover the cost of credit and background checks, but the cost of these fees varies widely from one apartment to the next. This article would analyze fees across the city (or else find research that has already done this), and report on whether there are disparities that reflect community demographics, income, or other variables. It could be expanded to similarly look at move-in fees, which have come to largely replace the security deposits landlords used to predominantly charge instead. Possible sources: Susan Popkin and Mary Cunningham at the Urban Institute, Keri Burchfield at NIU, Robert Chaskin at U of C, and the Metropolitan Tenants Organization.
What is finding an apartment like?
A series of interviews / interview fragments with people about their experiences finding rental housing. Could use crowdsourcing through the Weekly’s social media to find people to interview. Could also ask in neighborhood Facebook groups, or ask relevant organizations if they know people/members that might want to share their experiences. Ideally it would show a range of experiences, from short and sweet to horror stories. Things to look out for and ask about: how long did people search for apartments? What obstacles did they run into during the application process? How much were move-in fees or deposits? What was moving like?
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