Chicago, Friday, August 18, 2000

Can the University of Illinois at Chicago be trusted to follow its own plan for the Maxwell Street neighborhood? Apparently not.

For months, the University has touted its "adaptive reuse" scheme for the Maxwell Street neighborhood, its alternative to plans proposed by preservationists. UIC officials have repeatedly claimed that their plan will use 21 existing buildings, eight whole buildings and 13 facades. University representatives have repeated those numbers at every opportunity, praising their plan as a reasonable and appropriate way to acknowledge Maxwell Street's unique place in Chicago history.

But the University's pronouncements have been short on specifics. Preservationists demanded to know which buildings would be protected and restored, and which facades would be removed and relocated.

On July 13th, University officials released their list of the 21 buildings. On August 11th, UIC's wreckers demolished 731 West Maxwell Street, one of the buildings slated for "adaptive reuse" on the University's list. Another "adaptive reuse" listing, 1255 South Halsted Street, simply does not exist, there is no building at that address. That leaves six whole buildings scheduled for preservation, not eight, and reduces the total number of "buildings" in the University's plan from 21 to 19.

"At a minimum, the City of Chicago should require UIC to add two more full buildings on Maxwell Street itself to its adaptive reuse plan," says Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition Vice President Steve Balkin. "The Chicago City Council, not to mention the U of I Board of Trustees, approved an 8-building plan, not a 6-building plan. Both should demand that the University keep its promises."

Crews hired by UIC have demolished several buildings in the Maxwell Street neighborhood in the past two weeks, in spite of numerous requests that such demolition be postponed until the Keeper of the National Register in Washington has ruled on the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition's nomination for a Maxwell Street National Historic District. The Keeper's ruling is expected by September 1st.

"UIC is demolishing these historic buildings even though it still does not own enough land in the neighborhood to begin construction of its new buildings," says Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition President Chuck Cowdery. "Once again, the UIC administration has shown that it cannot be trusted to respect this precious Chicago landmark."

The Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition has urged UIC to nominate its plan as a National Historic District and official Chicago Landmark, to guarantee that the buildings will be preserved for future generations, but the University has refused.

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Contact Us

TO REACH US VIA EMAIL:

Chuck Cowdery, President (cowdery@21stcentury.net)
Steve Balkin, Vice President (mar@openair.org)

Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition
P.O. Box 6435
Evanston, IL  60204