Chicago Neighborhoods 2015: Assets, Plans and Trends – A project of The Chicago Community Trust CALUMET Vast district combines industry, natural areas, and housing The Calumet River basin on the southern tip of Lake Michigan was the industrial heart of Chicago’s steel industry for more than 80 years, supporting generations of families across multiple neighborhoods and retail districts. But with steel no longer driving the local economy, the district is redefining itself around historic neighborhoods, natural areas, and clean industry. Still an unparalleled transportation nexus – served by multiple railroads, Interstate highways, and water routes – Calumet offers enormous opportunities for infill housing as well as mixed-use or industrial development. Source: Calculations by Institute for Housing Home to 135,600 people in distinctive neighborhoods like Slag Valley, Irondale, and Altgeld Gardens, Studies at DePaul University using 2010 Decennial Census. the Calumet district contains a mix of African-American, Latino, and white communities, many with well-kept brick bungalows, historic rowhouses, and small apartment buildings. Almost 60 percent of the area’s 46,000 households are owner-occupied. A major driver for investment in coming decades is the availability of large tracts of land once used for industry. Though some land remains contaminated by previous uses, the area boasts Chicago’s most diverse and expansive natural habitats, including roughly 6,000 acres in Chicago and adjacent suburbs catalogued by the Illinois Natural Area Inventory. East of Lake Calumet are the neighborhoods of South Deering, CALUMET DISTRICT OVER TIME 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Hegewisch, and East Side, which grew up alongside the former Wisconsin Steel and Republic Steel plants. Despite the Population 184,007 185,318 164,845 158,526 135,643 loss of local jobs, Hegewisch and East Side have seen only a 3 Share of population in poverty percent decline in population since 2000, to about 32,500 9.3% 16.5% 20.4% 20.3% 24.6% residents in 2010. South Deering lost about 11 percent, to Percent owner-occupied/renter occupied 15,109 in 2010. 66/34 65/35 66/34 64/36 59/41 Sources: Calculations by Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University using U.S. Census data from US2010 Land uses around Lake Calumet are non-residential, including Project at Brown University. wetlands and natural areas as well as heavy industry, tank farms, closed landfills, sewage treatment, and composting. Much of this area is controlled by the Illinois International Port District, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Chicago Park District, and Forest Preserves of Cook County. West of the lake are four square miles of mostly residential communities, including the historic Pullman area where George Pullman built a model town around his railroad-car factory, as well as Riverdale, West Pullman, and Roseland. Population in these communities has fallen 10 to 20 percent since 2000, to about 88,000, driven by high rates of foreclosure and an exodus of African-American families. Because of enrollment declines, four local public schools were closed in 2013. Changing land uses Calumet’s unique ecology and its industrial heritage have allowed for transformative redevelopments in recent years, suggesting the neighborhood’s future: Pullman Park is a Walmart-anchored shopping center built by Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives on the former Ryerson Steel site near 111th Street and Doty Avenue. The developer plans smaller stores and a sit-down restaurant in future phases. The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center on 119th Street in West Pullman is a $160 million facility that attracts 1,500 people a day on weekends with educational, Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – Calumet – February 2015 – Page 2 sports, arts, and supportive programming. Opened in 2012, the 33-acre campus employs 200 people and has become an activity anchor for surrounding neighborhoods. Marshfield Plaza, also built on former industrial land, is a 461,000-square-foot retail destination with 30 stores including Target, Marshalls, Jewel-Osco, and Anna’s Linens. It is directly accessible from Interstate 57 at 117th Street, just west of the Calumet planning district. The Harborside International Golf Center was built by the Illinois International Port District on a 57-acre closed landfill at 110th Street and Doty Avenue. Two 18-hole courses, a practice facility, and clubhouse offer views of Lake Calumet and downtown. The redeveloped parcels coexist alongside EMPLOYMENT – CALUMET industrial, warehousing, retail, and transportation Top six employment sectors (# jobs) 2005 2011 sectors that employ about 10,400 people. Two pipe Manufacturing 6,345 5,478 mills, a cement plant, scrap yards, paint company, Health Care and Social Assistance 1,627 1,657 and food plants are clustered along the industrial Retail Trade 1,871 1,578 Transportation and Warehousing 1,967 1,393 waterfronts and on Stony Island Avenue. The 113- Wholesale Trade 1,308 1,335 acre Ford Chicago Assembly Plant at 130th and Accommodation and Food Services 1,112 1,046 Torrence employs 4,100 people on three shifts – the Total # private-sector jobs in district 19,711 16,424 most in its 90-year history – using components District Citywide from 1,000 additional workers at the nearby Ford Unemployment rate 2012 18.0% 12.9% Supplier Park and other factories in Chicago Sources: Calculations by Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University using Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics data (top sectors) and Heights and Indiana. Olive Harvey College is 2012 Five-Year American Community Survey (unemployment). building a $45 million facility to serve as the transportation, distribution, and logistics hub of the City Colleges system, to open in fall 2015. A greener future Calumet has had an active environmental movement since the 1970s. Irondalers Against the Chemical Threat, People for Community Recovery, and the Southeast Environmental Task Force organized residents and environmentalists to close illegal dumps and raise awareness of the impact of pollution, waste incineration, and heavy truck traffic. Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – Calumet – February 2015 – Page 3 Many of those hazards have been reduced in recent years, but the region continues to host scrap yards, waste-processing plants, and cement facilities. Along the Calumet River, mounds of the refinery byproduct petcoke have provoked neighborhood protests and new regulations, causing one of two storage-yard operators to close operations. Recent investments suggest a greener future. On a 41-acre brownfield at 1201 W. 120th Street, the utility Exelon built a photovoltaic solar farm that generates power for 1,500 homes. At Pullman Park, the green-cleaner company Method is constructing a 150,000-square-foot factory that will seek LEED Platinum certification; it will employ 100, feature a 250-foot wind turbine, and grow vegetables in a rooftop greenhouse. More than 10 years of work by the City of Chicago, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Calumet Area Industrial Commission, Openlands Project, and others have resulted in a series of land-use and open-space plans that outline a major initiative, now being implemented, called the Millennium Reserve. Government agencies will create a Conservation Compact to protect and manage 23 ecologically important sites. The Chicago Park District is developing the 278-acre Big Marsh Park near 116th Street and Stony Island Avenue; the $4.5 million first phase will open in 2016 for biking, fishing, canoeing, hiking, and bird-watching. The Millenium Reserve Steering Committee recommends development of connecting trails to link shorelines, woods, marshes, prairies, and other features. The trails would connect to existing resources including the Burnham Greenway, Major Taylor Trail, and Wolf Lake trail system. Integral to the Millennium plan is the proposed designation of a Pullman National Historic Park – now under review by the Department of the Interior – which would elevate the Pullman district from its current status as a National Historic Landmark. Built in the 1880s as a “model town” by railroad Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – Calumet – February 2015 – Page 4 visionary George Pullman, the neighborhood features two districts of simple brick rowhouses – north and south of the factory complex – plus the Pullman Wheelworks at 104th and Maryland, whose 210 affordable units were recently renovated by Mercy Housing. The 1881 Hotel Florence, a Queen Anne structure at 111th Street and Forrestville Avenue, is being renovated with state funds to become a visitor center. A detailed assessment of the district is provided in The Urban Land Institute’s 2011 report, The Pullman State Historic Site, which identifies reuse options and recommends unified signage and design to cohesively define the district. The National Parks Conservation Association will work with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning to develop recommendations on transportation access, parking, signage, and streetscaping. Source: Easy Analytic Software, Inc., updated January 2014, as displayed on Woodstock Institute Data Portal. Challenges and opportunities Transportation improvements, tourism, and execution of the Millennium Reserve plan will be powerful investment drivers that help the region address long-standing weaknesses in its housing and retail sectors. Much of the area west of Lake Calumet has experienced severe housing deterioration, with more