Letter to Woodlawn Neighbors    
October 15, 2004    

Dear Woodlawn Neighbor,

We are writing to update you on some important future physical improvements we are planning on University-owned property south of the Midway Plaisance, to dispel any rumors about that work, and to seek your input as the planning process evolves over the coming months.

As you may know, the University of Chicago competes with the nation's other top universities for the best faculty and students, and for research funding that helps us continue to make discoveries. To remain competitive in this work, we have over the last five years invested $600 million to construct new facilities north of the Midway Plaisance, including a new dormitory, an athletic center, and several new academic buildings.

As part of that campus investment, the University launched an aggressive minority-owned and women-owned businesses initiative, committing more than $114 million to minority and women-owned firms on University construction projects, and providing 52 apprenticeships for community residents. We will bring this same commitment to our new work.

We are now entering a phase where we will be making investments in new facilities on our property south of the Midway. Our primary goal is to enhance our core missions of teaching, research and patient care. However, we also wish to support growth in Woodlawn, and also be attentive to the specific concerns of our neighbors. That is why we would like to give you a preview of our thinking and encourage you to let us know what you think of our plans.

The University's vision for the South Campus is straightforward. In addition to advancing our primary goals, over the next fifteen years, we would like the University's campus edge along 61st Street to be a beautifully landscaped gateway to and from our campus, and a bridge between the campus and the Woodlawn community.

Over the next 15 years, the University's South Campus will be redeveloped and enhanced with a new student dormitory, additional parking and office space, and, hopefully, small convenience retail. For the first phase of redevelopment, planned changes to the South Campus are consistent with local planning and zoning laws; however, your input is important to us, especially those of you who live adjacent to the South Campus's southern border, 61st Street . A discussion with you regarding the South Campus gives us an opportunity to work together on important quality of life issues, helping to make this a win-win for the University and for you as a Woodlawn community resident.

Before describing in detail the South Campus Plan, I should first dispel any rumors about the University's plans to acquire property south of 61st, including the acquisition of Grove Parc Apartments. The University does not own any land south of 61st Street, and it has no plans to acquire property in Woodlawn south of 61st Street or west of Cottage Grove Avenue. The University is committed to working with the Woodlawn community to improve the quality of life in the neighborhood, including ways to improve public education, provide employment opportunities, make the streets safer, and create a mixed-income community.

South Campus Plan

The University's South Campus Plan has two major components: 1) projects that will be completed or under construction by 2008, and 2) longer-term projects to begin construction by 2020. Summarized below is a summary of the short-term projects. These are also shown on the attached map.

Short-Term Projects:

• Creating a high-quality landscaped edge along the north side of 61st Street
   
• Building a new parking structure for the University of Chicago Hospitals with offices at ground level (61st and Drexel)
   
• Building a new Undergraduate Residence Hall and Student Dining (60th to 61st on Ellis)
   
• Building a new mixed-use facility with Parking, Office, and Convenience Retail (61st and Woodlawn)
   
• Turning the long vacant former Illinois Bell building at 6035 South Kenwood into office space (61 st and Kenwood)
   
• Creating a new garden in partnership with the Chicago Park District on 60 th between Woodlawn and Ellis

September 8 Community Meeting Feedback:

On September 8, we co-sponsored the first in a series of town hall meetings with Alderman Arenda Troutman to share our vision for the South Campus and seek your feedback on that vision. We were very pleased with the number of residents who attended this meeting and commented on our plans. Your attendance and input demonstrate your commitment to Woodlawn and the importance of an open dialogue between you and those of us representing the University. We welcome and look forward to this opportunity again.

At this first town hall meeting, we heard concerns about ongoing communications with the community during the planning process, increased traffic, and mixed reactions about small, convenience retail as part of a proposed mixed-use building at 61st and Woodlawn. I would like to address each issue we heard as follows:

1). Communications:

You told us that we need to do better in communicating what we're up to and some suggested a web site for more frequent interaction. We heard you. We recently launched the South Campus Plan web site that includes the slides we presented at the September 8 meeting; a list of frequently asked questions; an online forum to post comments from the campus and the community; a sign-up form to receive email notifications; and a timeline that will be updated as the planning phase moves into construction. The address is http://www.uchicago.edu/docs/mp-site/southcampus/.

For those of you who do not have access to a computer or do not sign up online, we would like to add you to our mailing list for meeting notices and project updates. In addition, we are always available and accessible to answer any of your questions regarding the South Campus Plan by phone.

Please contact us at (773) 702-6815 to leave your contact information for future meetings and project updates. Unfortunately, someone removed our sign-in sheet during the meeting on September 8, so we really do need you to call us to add your name to our mailing list. We apologize for asking you to provide this information again.

2). Increased Traffic in Woodlawn:

We have commissioned a traffic study to gain an understanding of the traffic patterns to and from Woodlawn and our campus. This information will be shared with you at an upcoming meeting. We are confident that a well designed South Campus Plan will not significantly increase traffic in Woodlawn.

3). Commercial/Retail:

As part of a mixed-use building at 61st and Woodlawn which would include parking and office space, we would like to include small convenience retail such as a coffee shop, dry cleaner, or convenience store to the ground level of the facility. At our town hall meeting, we received some mixed reactions to this idea and look forward to canvassing the community in coming months to hear more comments about light commercial and retail along 61st Street. Please note that retail is not a requirement of the University, but something we added in large part because we have been told and believe that it will add to the quality of life for residents.

University/Community Objectives

1. The South Campus Planning process, while focused on the University's primary needs, is designed to take into account the desires of our neighbors.
   
   As details for specific buildings are developed, we welcome your input. All comments and suggestions will be considered and evaluated weighing many factors. Ongoing project updates and dialogue with the community will occur in several ways: future meetings, the web site, and by contacting us with questions or concerns.
    
2. The University will ensure that construction opportunities are made available to Woodlawn residents as part of the South Campus projects. You will hear more about this initiative at our next meeting.
    
3. The University hopes to spur commercial/retail development to meet the needs of the campus and the community. As noted earlier, we would like to provide small convenience retail in the proposed building at 61 st and Woodlawn. This small scale retail is not a substitute for large scale retail, including a shopping center, which is still needed in the neighborhood.
    
4. University-owned parking lots, including the one proposed for 61 st and Woodlawn, will be open to the public. The ongoing policy to open all University garages from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. weekdays and 24 hours a day on weekends to provide community access will continue on the South Campus. The University of Chicago Hospitals, which will operate the proposed 61 st and Drexel parking facility, is still evaluating access to its lots after normal business hours.

Next Steps

During the next few months, the University will be selecting architects for its short-term projects. Once they have been chosen and preliminary designs for one or more of the buildings have been developed, we will host our second Town Hall meeting. I anticipate this meeting in the early spring.

Meanwhile, please feel free to visit our web site if you have any questions or comments regarding these initial plans or call Sonya at (773) 702-4568 or by email at smalunda@uchicago.edu. We look forward to working with you in the near future.

Best regards,