This letter was first published in the Chicago Tribune. You can find the original here: https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/10/letters-091025-broadway-upzoning/
It is not surprising that we have seen recent opinion pieces opposing new housing: Patricia Sharkey’s op-ed on Broadway and Corinne Svoboda’s attack on the Old Town Canvas project (“YIMBY support for Old Town project sets dangerous precedent,” Sept. 4). With Old Town moving forward, Broadway’s upzoning headed to a vote, the elimination of parking minimums near transit and the potential approval of accessory dwelling unit legislation, Chicago is reaching a tipping point. The pro-housing YIMBY movement has arrived.
Sharkey and the Edgewater Residents for Responsible Development (ERRD) claim their alternative has broad community support. The data says otherwise. The Department of Planning and Development received over 1,600 comments on Broadway, the majority in support. The Chicago Plan Commission saw 450 letters, with 300 backing the proposal. ERRD has created delays by threatening to sue the city, hoping to pressure Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth into walking away from a plan that reflects broad public input. My neighbors and I are grateful she and the city have not bowed to this.
Sharkey also argues that the east and west sides of Broadway should be treated differently because of lot depth. What does lot depth have to do with density? Nothing. For decades, Broadway has been used as a barrier to protect the wealthier blocks to the west from sharing growth with the denser, more racially diverse blocks to the east.
Meanwhile, Svoboda tries to paint the Old Town Canvas developer as some big scary out-of-towner because its LLC is incorporated in Delaware, a routine practice. It has offices in Chicago.
Concerns about affordability are real, but comparing rents in new buildings to those in 1990s apartments is misleading at best. Of course older units are cheaper, just as used cars cost less than new ones. And where do used homes come from? Today’s new construction.
And let’s be clear: We are locals too, homeowners and renters, advocating for more neighbors and stronger communities. Criticizing YIMBYs for organizing online is comical when the opposition has spent decades mobilizing to block housing — thus driving up our housing costs.
The truth is simple: Anti-housing activists are upset because they are finally starting to lose and Chicago is finally starting to win.