News and Rumors

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June 9, 2003 Avanza market still not open, but moving along, as is the parking lot overhaul and the new building at Cermak/Rockwell. Thanks to Katherine at Solomon Property Management (773/248-4700) for having workers remove the debris from the sidewalk. Bad news-- Flamingo Video and Ice Cream will be moving out within 2 months-- apparently they wanted more flexibility in the terms of their arrangement with the management than Solomon felt was reasonable. It is (was) a great example of a place a family could walk to on a nice evening which supported the local culture. I'll try to find out of they'll be moving locally. Still no retailer for the new building-- call Katherine with your suggestions for retailers you'd like to see. Or better yet, contact a retailer directly and tell them how much you'd like them to consider this space. My feedback was that a health club and a garden center seem to me to be the two most missing entities from this part of the city. The rumor of a Pete's Market for the old Jewel space is still alive-- there's one at 47th (?) and Kedzie if you want to see what they're about. I would most like to see the store raized and the parking lot depaved, and a new city park developed.   Street fruit and vegetable vendors spotted in the usual places: 21st/Damen, 21st/Rockwell (weekends), Watermelon guy at 23rd/Western . . .   That's about it . . . no news is good news?

May 22,2003 You know spring has come to Marshall Square when you can hear the tunes of more than 3 ice cream trucks at the same time, courtesy of our huggably short blocks. Suggestion: Don't bother telling your north side friends about ice cream trucks that shout "hello!". They won't believe you. Anyone noticed a new tune that sounds kind of sad? I wonder if the Ice Cream Institute has been researching the relationship between ice cream consumption and mood in the hopes of increasing sales. . . The "Avanza" market, a possibly upscale supermarket from Minneapolis with an 'hispanic' specialization, is nearing completion at Cermak/Rockwell; preliminary work has been done on the parking lot, which will get shrub-islands and striping to try to improve traffic flow (currently traffic just cuts across at the most direct angle, an endearing West Side tradition). Per a source at the strip-mall management company, a new building will also be erected on the street-side of the lot, and they hope to attract a "major retailer". There was confirmation that there had been some contact with Bally's, but as of yet a retailer is still being sought. Broken parking barriers still block the sidewalk on the Rockwell side-- watch for this to be taken care of soon (?).

Ald. George Cardenas (12th) has a temporary office on Cermak west of California. They are still in the process of searching for a permanent office-- no known prospects at present. Most of the work is being done downtown. Call the office and say hi: 773/843-9955 312/744-3040 I'm trying to get help with several issues: 1) Getting the traffic circle at 24th/Washtenaw restored 2) Getting bus shelters earmarked for our neighborhood-- specifically on California near 24th, and on 26th near Rockwell. 3) Getting the Boulevard parkway more consistenly cleaned up and taken care of. 4) In general getting increased attention and resources to the pedestrian environment Thoughts? hk@marshallsquare.com

The California Blue Line stop is moving along-- structures on both sides have complete foundations and most of their walls.

There is no confirmed news on the former Jewel space; Alderman Smith's office has no knowledge of any plans for a youth club and library despite claims of one local resident that he had personally orchestrated a "done deal" with the city.

Per discussions with the 12th ward office, it seems that there is a good likelihood of a new high school being built along 26th street -east- of Rockwell. The parcel between Rockwell and Washtenaw, which Lopez Building Materials is very slowly trying to vacate, has supposedly been sold and will be developed into a strip-mall. Apparently this is old news to some of the locals . . .

I came across a bit of local history-- on the site of the former Kimball mansion in the prarie district is a picture of a Kimball Piano and Organ factory which apparently stood where the aforementioned strip mall is to be built. I ordered an out-of-print history book from the Kimball website, but unfortunately it's as if the 26th/Rockwell factory has been erased from their history. Some discussion with an elderly neighbor revealed that the largest part of the factory may have stood on the south side of 26th, roughly where the parking garage and the nursing home are now. The etching at 17th/Prarie seems to show it on the north side of 26th, though. Per discussion with the same neighbor, the R&D portion of International Harvester stood on the south Side of 26th, between Western and Rockwell, while the bulk of the manufacturing was east of Western Ave (also south of 26th/Blue Island).

More history from my neighbor-- most of the single-family homes in my stretch of 24th place originally stood to the west of California, but were moved in the 20s to make room for Harrison High School (now Salcedo Elementary).

May , 2003: Searching the web under "Marshall Square" reveals two things: 1) The Boys and Girls club and the Library are widely linked 2) The Marshall Square theater (now Apollo 2000 at Marshall/Cermak), originally a vaudeville venue and then a silent movie theater, is perhaps the most historically significant structure in this neighborhood. Among other fun facts, newspaper columnist Mike Royko apparently ushered there in his youth. Apparently lots of movie buffs with web-skills and free time out there :-)

March 13, 2003: contractors are hard at work inside the former Toys R Us, getting a new grocery store ready. A questionable source said it's part if a chain of mexican groceries from California .

March 13th, 2003: A resident of Cermak/Washtenaw claims the former Jewel at Rockwell/Cermak has just been acquired by the city and will become a library and youth center.

March 2003: first big snow of the century . . . the giant parking lot at the Aldi /deceased Toys-R-us plaza at Cermak and Rockwell is meticulously plowed within seconds of the last snowflake . .. burying the public sidewalks on Cermak and Rockwell with giant mounds of snow. Daily calls to ald. Smith's office (28th ward) and Streets and Sanitation produce . . . . nothing. Business owners in the mall are completely disinterested when approached, and refuse to give any contact info for mall management across the board. If you're reading this and you care about the walkability of our neighborhood, please consider telling owners of businesses in that mall what you think of their apathy.

March 2003: Hispanic Democratic Organization-backed 12th ward aldermanic candidate George Cardenas beat ald. Rafael "Ray" Frias in the 12th ward aldermanic race but didn't get 50%, so now we might have to put up with another month of hate campaining until the April 1st runoff. This is the time to call the 12th ward office and see what you can get them to promise (I'd love to post the results here!) Update 3/11: A Frias office staffer says Ray has dropped out of the race and they're "packing up the office". The city website lists George Cardenas and Com Ed employee Jose "Chavelo" Rodriguez of 23rd Place/California as the remaining candidates. It is unknown at this time whether Chavelo plans to continue. Update: Chavelo dropped out the moment he found himself back on the ballot, and Cardenas has since been successful in petitioning to be declared winner-- so no runoff for the 12th.

Feb 2003: ald. Ray Frias mentioned the possibility of a small strip-mall in the 2600 block of 26th . . . Contact him and tell him you want a business that serves the local community, not the army of SUV s on their way to Cicero. Is a supermarket that local residents can walk to too much to ask? Update March 2003: We effectively have no alderman until Cardenas takes office in May, so save your breath . . .

Jan, 2003: A New Pizza Hut is going in at Cermak/Western-- looks like it will be open by the last week of January. Better than an empty storefront . . . Update: It's open and it's delivery and carry-out only . . . just what we need-- more cars honking . . . and more flyers in our yards and gutters

Dec '02: A Bally's Total Fitness in the former Toys-R-Us? Source: checkout gal at dollar store

Dec. '02: Changes to many local bus routes, including: The 60 Blue Island no longer heads straight to the Art Institute, but instead heads north to the metra station at Washington before heading east to Michigan. It now takes Madison outbound. The Cermak Express bus (21x) now diverts to Ogden east of Kedzie and heads downtown and back all day on weekends, in a 6 month pilot study. Be sure to ride this bus often to assure we have Ogden corridor bus service 7 days a week!

Dec. '02-- work is well underway on the Blue Line renovation. A friend within the CTA believes that the Cermak Branch when complete will no longer join the blue line but will become the south branch of the Brown Line (Ravenswood). It is widely assumed that it will run on weekends once complete, although there have been no official statements from the CTA to that effect.

November '02: A Pete's Market in the former Jewel space at Rockwell/Cermak? Source: local beat cop Most of 2002: Whole Foods market and Trader Joe's fight a vicious battle for the empty Jewel store at Rockwell/Cermak, which closed in January of 2002. Utimately, Starbucks swoops in and outbids them to use the space for a new concept "Starbucks Community Center". (OK, just kidding about everything but the Jewel closing.).