Community meeting underway to discuss Francis W. Parker School's proposed expansion in Lincoln Park
A community meeting is underway to discuss the proposal by the Francis W. Parker School to acquire more neighboring condos in Lincoln Park.
Principal Dan Frank said that while they plan to expand the school into another one of the residential buildings nearby, they also plan to turn one of their old buildings right here across the street from us into affordable housing. However, neighbors opposing the expansion say it'll be disruptive.
As of now, the school stretches along Clark Street between Webster and Belden, with the athletic field going east across to Lincoln Avenue.
The principal said the plan is to preserve the exterior façade of the building and add a pedestrian overpass across the back alley, which is a similar design to the condos they took over in 2019. The new building would bring in 125 new students over seven years and give financial aid access to over 60 additional students. The proposal also includes installing extra lighting in the athletic field to give students more practice and game time.
Ahead of Tuesday night's meeting, petition flyers were seen circulating on social media saying "STOP PARKER, Save Our Community." Neighbors are concerned about the lights shining into their homes, creating more traffic, and that the building they're trying to take over on Belden is vintage and awaiting landmark designation.
"We've listened very carefully to neighborhood associations, immediate individual neighbors, the alderman's office, to make sure that what we're doing resonates in really healthy ways for the school, for the neighborhood, and for the City of Chicago, and that's not only for people who are here now. This is a vision also for the future," Frank said.
"In my mind, the two big things they're gonna do is impacting my quality of life by extending the school. How long is … you know, 5 o'clock, right now, shuts down, and it's back to the quiet neighborhood, and they're just going to remove residents from the neighbor," said Jeannie Barkan.
The office of Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) sent a statement ahead of the meeting, saying this is the first step in the community engagement process, and they're committed to ensuring that every voice has an opportunity to be heard as the conversation moves forward.
If their proposal is approved and passes through city protocols, school officials said the additional athletic field and neighborhood lights could go in by next summer, with the new building renovations beginning by 2028.
