Comprehensive Plan for Howard Street and Morse Avenue
Rogers Park’s two commercial areas most in need of improvement now have a comprehensive plan for improvement. DevCorp North and a steering committee of 20 local residents facilitated an extensive community process, including customer and business surveys and three community meetings, to develop a set of 27 recommendations and 80 strategies that are intended to provide a framework for change.
The recommendations are grouped into five categories that evolved from neighborhood concerns expressed at the community meetings, including: Shopping Mix, Public Safety, Design and Appearance, Community Development and Transportation.
Some of the priorities for 2007 include:
- 4 business attraction sessions to recruit the types of businesses sought by the community,
- Developing more opportunities for public parking on Morse Avenue through shared parking arrangements
- Developing a community mural on the Glenwood Avenue CTA berm wall to further develop the Arts district identity
- Promoting the recently created Business Improvement Program that provides financial incentives to property owners to improve their facades
- Developing a collaborative task force to create a Handbook for Developers and another task force to tackle nuisance buildings
- Creating more supportive opportunities for existing businesses through new workshops, group advertising, and technical assistance
The project was initiated by a Full Circle grant from the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (now CMAP). DevCorp North began the planning process by reviewing the 14 plans or studies that have been conducted in Rogers Park over the last twenty years and took note of why plan goals failed to be implemented.
The Commercial Corridor Revitalization Plan for Morse Avenue and Howard Street learned from these lessons and is different in four very important ways:
- This plan won’t sit on any shelf; it is already online and is being widely circulated.
- The scope and areas of responsibilities are limited to those in which DevCorp North is either directly or indirectly involved. Recommendations address business, community and economic development concerns and issues.
- There are resources to implement strategies through Special Service Area #19 on Howard Street and #24 on Clark/Morse/Glenwood. A lack of resources is often the greatest hurdle in turning any plan into reality.
- The plan and implementation process will continue to be transparent and open: DevCorp North will maintain a bi-annually updated report on our website of project outcomes and broader indicators to evaluate progress.
DevCorp North will be keeping track of progress and implementation of this plan on their website.
For more information, call Dan Butt at DevCorp North, 773-508-5885.
download plan (pdf, 28 pages)
download recommendations (pdf, 15 pages)