Parents Battle to Keep Sun Shining on Park

CHICAGO — The immaculate new playground in Chicago’s well-to-do Gold Coast neighborhood has everything a kid would want, but parents say it won’t be the same without sunshine.

They are threatening to spend millions of dollars, if necessary, to fight a proposed 24-story luxury building that would cast a shadow over the park,

“The high-rise will cause a canopy effect on the park,” said Marvin Herman, who brings his three grandchildren to the playground a few blocks from Lake Michigan. “The park is a very meaningful place for us. We’re willing to fight until it ends.”

Residents have already invested more than $600,000 since 1995 to renovate Goudy Square park. The dirt- and graffiti-free playground of bright green bars and chocolate pudding-colored slides is surrounded by million-dollar homes and luxury apartments.

Several playground supporters have formed a not-for-profit corporation, the Near North Preservation Coalition, to fight the high-rise, where units would start at $800,000. They say that in addition to casting shadows, the project and its adjacent 130-car parking garage will cause crowding and traffic that will endanger kids playing in the park.

The members’ abundant resources have allowed them to hire former Chicago Plan Commission chief Reuben Hedlund to battle the developer’s attorney, Jack Guthman, former chairman of the city Zoning Board of Appeals.

Hedlund said residents are prepared to sue the Chicago-based developers, Fordham Development and U.S. Equities, or to buy the land and donate it to the city to expand the 150-year-old park. Cook County assessor records show the land is worth at least $5 million.

“This is not about shadows or traffic,” Guthman countered. “It’s about people who live in high-rise buildings who don’t want their view blocked.”

Guthman said his client has been as sensitive as possible to residents’ concerns. The original plan was for a 36-story high-rise, but after discussions with residents the developers decided a 24-story building would be better for the neighborhood, said Brian Carley, an associate with the development company.

And the developers said that if they don’t build the high-rise, someone else will. Deteriorating five-story buildings now stand on the lot, a prime piece of real estate. The playground is already surrounded by high-rises on two sides.

The developers are scheduled to meet with the city’s planning commission in September to seek approval for their plan.

The playground is a popular spot. In the morning, dozens of nannies sit on wooden benches, watching children drink from a turtle-shaped stone fountain with a brass fish spout and run around on a rubber ground cover that protects them from falls.

“We’re willing to go as long and as far as it takes,” said Sarah Begel, who takes her 2-year-old son to the park almost every day. “We are just trying to preserve the integrity of our neighborhood.”