ENGLEWOOD — Hoping to capitalize on the success of the Jewel that opened in Woodlawn earlier this month, Chicago-based DL3 Realty announced this week it would be working with Sterling Bay, the developer behind the controversial $6 billion Lincoln Yards plan, to redevelop part of the former Kennedy-King College campus.
Project details will be revealed to the public in the upcoming weeks, said Sterling Bay spokesperson Sarah Hamilton — though there is speculation that it will be a mixed-use development. This will be the firm’s first project on the South Side.
The 5-acre site, located at 67th Street and Wentworth Avenue, has been a designated tax-increment finance (TIF) District zone since 2011. Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th) told Block Club Chicago there are no plan to use TIF dollars to fund the project at this time.
DL3 Realty is headed by Leon Walker, a Woodlawn native and a University of Chicago Law graduate. The firm also led the development of the Englewood Square shopping center, now home to several stores, including Whole Foods, which opened in 2016.
While Sterling Bay’s plan to develop Lincoln Yards have been met with resistance from Lincoln Park residents, Sawyer said feedback from Englewood residents for the Englewood project has been “overwhelmingly positive.”
“People are enthusiastic about this potential development, and the potential for an economic boost for the surrounding area it could yield,” Sawyer said Thursday afternoon. “But I’m eager to hear from residents with any questions or concerns so we can make sure to address them in full.”
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