Wolf Point opponents take case to federal court

2-Jun-13 – With construction scheduled to start in two months, opponents of the plan to build three towers at Chicago’s historic Wolf Point have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the City of Chicago, asking the zoning amendment that allowed the project be voided.

The four plaintiffs in the case are all unit owners at The Residences at Riverbend, a 38-story condominium on North Canal Street, located 250 feet across the Chicago River from Wolf Point. (Left) The Residences at Riverbend on August 19, 2008.

When the city council amended the zoning ordinance for Wolf Point on March 13, to allow construction of one 525-foot 510-unit residential tower on the west side, the plaintiffs say they were “deprived of procedural and substantive due process of law as well as denied equal protection under the law.”

They do not believe the property can support the complex and say in their complaint the city denied them “adequate opportunity to present their opposition.” They want the court to void the zoning amendment and compensate them for damages it did to the value of their property.

Three of the plaintiffs – Ellen Barry, Peter Broido, and John Simon – are members of the condo board at Riverbend. Barry has been a vocal critic of the project. She says increased traffic as a result of the development will overwhelm her neighborhood. Barry has disputed traffic studies commissioned for the project. She says the infrastructure near Wolf Point has not been upgraded in 40 years and she is especially concerned about safety at street-level railroad crossings.

42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly has said the city would be making “substantial changes” to “greatly enhance pedestrian and vehicular safety” on the site and that safety at railroad crossings would be improved. Barry (left) is Chief Information Officer of Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority.

The plaintiffs, who also include William Aylesworth, have asked for a jury trial. Parties have been told to file a joint status report by July 8. A status hearing is scheduled for July 10.

The judge in the case is Amy J. St. Eve, who presided over the recent lawsuit against two companies owned by The Trump Organization.

According to bKL Architecture, the building’s architects, construction of the first tower will start on July 31 and should take about 22 months. The project would eventually include a 950-foot south tower and a 750-foot east tower.

 Related story: Wolf Point construction starts July 31