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A report last year by the commercial real estate data company CommercialCafe said that of the 30 biggest cities in the United States, Chicago has the second-highest amount of office space that could be converted to residential use. Nearly 27 percent of Chicago’s office stock has conversion potential, the report said, with the bulk of the space it identified deemed to be “largely viable” for conversion.
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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So, this is part of re-imagining/revitalizing/rejuvenating downtown Chicago? Yikes.
Lest we forget. Mortgages on those buildings must still be paid. And I don’t believe section 8 housing will cover the cost. Don’t ask for a skyline apartment.
The buffoonery continues. Doesn’t anyone at City Hall remember all the CHA high rises that were torn down because they were hellholes to live in. It wasn’t that long ago. Absolutely nothing for kids to do. No parks. No open space at all nearby. Where are the nearby schools? How about grocery, clothing and toy stores? Elevators, common areas and hallways defaced and crime ridden. So we are back to the high rise plan for low income folks. Or does someone really think they will fill up these buildings with no children couples or singles. I hate to tell you,… Read more »
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Cabrini Concrete!
With Chicago and IL losing population, who’s going to move into these conversions? With downtown dying, why would anyone want to live there? Unless, it’s low income housing, meaning Cabrini Green is making a comeback.
Section 8 housing on its way in the loop.
As salivated over, promised and probably delivered by Six Percent and the Marxists.