Residents Of Lawrence House Fear Renovation Will Leave Them In The Cold

CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's a well-known landmark and a potential catalyst for redevelopment in the Uptown neighborhood. But plans to turn the Lawrence House into high-end rental units could leave current low-income residents out in the cold.

Notorious is an adjective that is often used in describing the Lawrence House, an enormous art-deco building in Uptown that has fallen into disrepair. It is now home to largely low-income residents on fixed incomes.

The $14 million renovation plans to convert the Lawrence House to high-end apartments, but will displace residents like Brian Packard.

"Frankly, I don't like it at all, I mean the North Side of Chicago over the last few years we have lost about 2,000 units just on the North Side. A lot of people living in these buildings are living on Social Security," said Packard.

Packard says this will not end well for some folks.

"A lot of people might end up in shelters because they just can't afford to pay their rent," said Packard.

The nearly 200 residents of the Lawrence House will move out in the coming year and after the rehab, most will not be back to pay rents of up to $3,000 per month.