VIEW FROM CHICAGO

On the open market, these babies are going for $300,000, hut she could snatch her unit for a coo I $2 7'5,000.

Dan McLean gave my mother the boot.

That's right, Dan McLean, the highflying Chicago developer with the bigtime clout. He kicked my mom out of her very nice apartment near the Chicago River, not far from Navy Pier. Sent her packing. Gave her the old heave-ho.

"What happened, Ma?" I asked when she broke the news. "Did you come up a little short on the rent last month?"

Mom shot me one of those withering looks that mothers reserve for their favorite sons. Rent was the problem, but not the way I thought. It seems that Mom's building, called Cityfront Place, is one of the jewels in a 24-carat real estate deal swung earlier this year by McLean's MCL Co.

Mr. McLean is not one to sit around after a day of serious shopping and simply admire his parcels. Mom learned of his plans one morning when she found a piece of paper slipped under her door: Cityfront was going condo.

A few weeks later, McLean let the rest of Chicago in on the deal. His project, renamed River East, is a 10-year, $750 million monster that features luxury condominiums, new luxury townhomes, a couple of hotels and a 34-screen cinema. Did I mention luxury?

That's the way it's been around here all summer. McLean's venture is just one of several huge developments in the works. Chicago is going condo crazy, and with this highfalutin housing comes all the amenities that threaten to turn the Magnificent Mile into a permanent set for "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."

McLean's plan will finally tie Navy Pier to Michigan Avenue. Meanwhile, another major player, developer John Buck, announced his plans to create a zillion dollar (rough estimate) project stretching west from Boul Mich.

Buck's development includes luxury condos (big surprise there!), a new hotel and some kind of electronic entertainment extravaganza brought to us by none other than the folks at Disney.

Anybody who's a renter or on a housing budget better clear out now. Uh, sorry, that means you, Ma.

To be fair to McLean, he doesn't know my mom, and he'll probably never meet any of the other tenants who have been streaming out of Cityfront Place ever since that condo note came flying under their doors.

It's not like McLean didn't give Mom a choice. He sent a very nice letter inviting her to stay, even offered her first dibs at buying her new luxury con- dominium. On the open market, these babies are going for $300,000, but Mom could snatch her unit for a cool $275,000.

That got me thinking about McLean's other big project, the one over at the Cabrini Green public housing complex. Cabrini residents also have a choice; in fact, they have three.

They can move into one of the new townhomes McLean is building in the neighborhood, though many residents, like Mom, may find themselves a few hundred thousand short.

They can take a federal Section 8 certificate and qualify for a subsidized rent in privately owned housing. But those certificates are in short supply, and there's already a waiting list.

Or they can stay right where they are and take their chances. But even this option is beginning to look a little tenuous. A new federal law requires public housing authorities to examine the "viability" of their structures.

If they discover the buildings are too costly to repair, they can tear them down. Anybody want to guess what the Cabrini numbers look like?

If they can afford it, some will do what my mom did: Go out and find another place to live. Mom's lucky. She shares her apartment with my sister, and the two of them found another high-rise a few blocks from Cityfront Place. That was important, because Mom works part-time on Michigan Avenue and doesn't own a car.

The new apartment is nice, and it has a great view overlooking the site of John Buck's future mega-development. On her days off, Mom can watch the work right out her high-rise window. Unless, of course, she wakes up one morning to find a slip of paper under her door. New condos! Northeast River City Plaza Town Center! Just a short walk to the Virtual Mickey Room!

So enjoy it now, Ma, and don't get too settled. As they like to say in those cheesy motel commercials, we'll leave the light on for you. �

James Ylisela Jr. teaches urban reporting at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He's the consulting editor of
The Chicago Reporter.

Illinois Issues September 1997 / 37