Will 346-unit project for Six Corners get council approval in May? It’s not clear

by BRIAN NADIG

City Council approval of a 346-unit apartment complex near Six Corners reportedly has faced delays due to a lack of a project labor agreement, but the proposal could be approved at a May 21 committee meeting.

“When the union is knocking on your door and tells you we want a PLA, you should do the PLA,” Chicago Plan Commission member Claudette Soto told project developer Mitch Goltz of GW Properties during the March 21 commission meeting.

Under a PLA, a developer agrees to use union labor, and it also can include other stipulations. However, PLAs are not required as part of the formal planned development ordinance approval process.

In March the plan commission approved the redevelopment proposal for the former Peoples Gas site, 3955 N. Kilpatrick Ave. It includes 69 affordable housing apartments and about 30,000 square feet of commercial space.

The City Council Zoning Committee often gives its subsequent approval within a few weeks, followed by approval by the full council days later.

It’s not clear why approval of the $110 million project was postponed in April, but the committee could hear the proposal at its May 21 meeting. The full council could then give its endorsement at the council’s May 22 meeting.

Alderman Gardiner (45th) said last week that he does not know if the committee will hear the proposal in May. Gardiner has voiced overall support for the project but has said that he has some traffic and labor issues regarding the development proposal.

“My concern goes right to safety, safety for the residents but also for the workers,” Gardiner said at the plan commission hearing.

At the meeting, Gardiner encouraged project development Mitch Goltz of GW Properties to use all union labor for the project’s construction.

Gardiner said after the meeting that GW has not signed a project labor agreement assuring that union labor would be used for all of the work. He added that PLAs have been in place for other large development projects in the area and help maintain good safety standards on work sites.

At the hearing union representatives expressed concern about a company they claimed had done work for GW on other projects and has had safety issues.

Goltz said at the meeting that he is unaware of any Occupational Safety and Health Administration violations and that general contractors for the Six Corners project would be hired through an open bidding process and have to be licensed by the city and subject to all city regulations.

Given the large size of the development, at a minimum union contractors presumably would be used for significant portions, if not all, of the building construction, according to some zoning attorneys and developers who often work in Chicago but did not want to be identified.

Earlier this month Goltz declined to comment on the reasons for the delay but said that he is looking toward to building the project, which he said should help further revitalize the area.

“We are eager to finish the city process and focus on plans and leasing up and kicking off the project,” Goltz said.

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