Logan Square is booming, but some residents feel left out of the party.
While new and rehabbed homes and condos spring up all over the Northwest Side neighborhood, Logan Square activists say the families and diverse residents who improved the neighborhood are at risk of being pushed out by escalating home prices.
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“Logan Square is being hit with a crisis of affordable housing,” said John McDermott, housing coordinator for the Logan Square Neighborhood Association. “We know a lot of young families in their 20s and 30s who are ready to buy homes and are committed to the neighborhood, but they find it impossible to afford anything here.”
The association is pushing for a city ordinance that would require developers to set aside 15 percent of any new or rehabbed development of at least 10 units for affordable housing or pay into a housing assistance fund. LSNA says 25 aldermen have signed on.
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Here’s what residents say:
[ kathryn masterson, redeye ]“There’s no affordable housing here. … The people who lived here originally can’t afford to live here. I lived in the same building for 30 years and had to move when it went condo.”
Tammy Qasem, 42
“I think affordable housing is one of the biggest issues in Chicago. … I’m still in school, but I have friends with jobs, and they’re getting priced out of the neighborhood.”
Simon Spartalian, 26
“Nobody can afford those [new] condos. A lot of them are going empty–everywhere in the city.”
Joaquin Bruzon, 49
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What’s the issue in your neighborhood? E-mail Kathryn Masterson at [email protected].