The chants and slogans from the crowd of what appeared to be more than 100 white protesters who gathered outside Branch Community Church in northwest-side Jefferson Park February 9 to oppose a proposed affordable housing development felt eerily reminiscent of the 1960s.
But opponents weren’t having it.
Nor is this the first time one of Full Circle’s developments has been met with vehement neighborhood opposition by northwest-side residents who seem to conceive of affordable housing as something meant for people unlike themselves. Though Full Circle has successfully created smaller affordable housing developments in Avondale and Logan Square, last year the company was forced to halt a new development in Portage Park after encountering similar opposition.
“Especially when we have families with children, we’re very sensitive to screening the right way,” says Full Circle vice president Lindsey Haines. “We want to create good neighbors within the building.” Haines also stressed that there are exceptions to all of the company’s criteria and that applicants have an opportunity to appeal if they’re denied.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, nearly 40 percent of Jefferson Park households rent, and the average renter’s household income is $41,158. And rental prices in the neighborhood have increased steadily over the last decade. According to Chicago Rehab Network data analyzed by Chicago magazine, more than 40 percent of Jefferson Park renters are “rent-burdened,” i.e. spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent. And among renters making between $25,000 and $50,000 per year—precisely the households targeted by Full Circle—the burden is even higher: nearly two-thirds are paying more than 30 percent of their income for rent. Though Full Circle can’t restrict its apartments for existing neighborhood residents, the developers and Arena said they’re confident there won’t be a shortage of local interest.
Ben Goldsmith, a CHI organizer and Jefferson Park resident, says that Arena’s other transit-oriented development proposals in the neighborhood didn’t galvanize nearly as much opposition, despite being potentially much taller than the Full Circle building.
