New beginning — or bittersweet end?
Potential sale of Parkway Gardens leaves residents worried
The sudden announcement in April that the long-troubled Parkway Gardens housing complex was up for sale sent Martha Askew into an emotional tailspin at the thought of new owners kicking out low-income residents in favor of rich outsiders. For the past six years, the Woodlawn residence has been far more than a home for Askew and her three children. With its peeling paint in the kitchen and faulty living room outlet that fried her last three televisions, the second-floor home is also a symbol of her triumph over homelessness and despair.
Despite the violence in her neighborhood, Askew said she’s built a stable home for her family. She’s a constant presence at her children’s school, keeping an eye on them and other Parkway Gardens children.
She beams with pride when she receives acceptance letters from area high schools for her eldest son, who will soon graduate from eighth grade.
“I made a way for myself,” Askew told a reporter inside
her apartment. “I went through everything I had to go through. I had to go through the streets.
“This is my first apartment in my own name. I refuse to lose it. I refuse to have to move,” she said through tears.
It’s too soon to say whether any families will be affected by Related Midwest’s plan to sell the historic 694-unit complex of apartments, but the sale would offer a fresh opportunity to reverse the fortunes of a complex mired in violence and poverty, and jump-start the housing market west of Cottage Grove Avenue.
A spokeswoman for Related Midwest said the current owner is looking for an owner that would maintain Parkway Gardens as a property for low-income residents.
The real estate market for the eastern end of Woodlawn has been red-hot in recent years since the announced construction of the Obama Presidential Center.
Revitalization hopes hinge on expectations that the presidential center campus commemorating the nation’s first African American president will draw tourists from around the world. The center has also stoked fears of gentrification as new townhouse construction roars on.
Real estate experts say the Obama center, continued construction in Woodlawn and the proposed construction of a 72,000-squarefoot office-and-retail space at Cottage Grove and 63rd Street by developer Leon Walker could inspire investors to look west toward Parkway Gardens for housing as prices rise in the east. The complex is 2 miles west of the Obama center site.
Parkway Gardens could be an attractive target for buyers because taking over the complex means a long-term rent guarantee of millions in government subsidies if the new owners maintain affordable housing, experts say.
But gun violence remains a stubborn problem in the area marked by bloody gang battles that span generations.
Twenty-two homicides have occurred in and near Parkway Gardens since 2001, according to city data, and one so far this year. According to data maintained by the Tribune, six people have been shot there in 2021.
Related Midwest and another division of parent company and New Yorkbased developer Related Management — which also owns luxury high-rises downtown — bought the complex in 2011 for $40 million.
Residents’ complaints about maintenance and mechanical problems are nearly constant. Broken elevators. Leaky apartments. Faulty outlets. The 13-acre property that sits along South King Drive between 63rd and 65th streets also lacks parking for visitors.
City Building Department records show that the property has failed 16 inspections dating to 2003, including its most recent annual inspection conducted in April.
In a statement, Related Midwest touted its $58 million investment into the property since 2012 in the form of construction updates, expanded green space and $10 million spent on security.
“During our time managing Parkway Gardens, we are grateful to have been able to provide fundamental upgrades while also partnering with community organizations to bring new programs and services to residents. We are actively seeking new leadership who will build upon our efforts and continue maintaining the property as affordable housing for years to come,” the statement said.
Decades of efforts to rebuild Woodlawn, one of the hardest hit neighborhoods during the white flight era, have failed. Built on land that had been the once-grand White City amusement park, Parkway Gardens was a beacon for Black middle-class dreams, as the nation’s first and only housing cooperative run by Black families.
Parkway Gardens events used to be social affairs. Their council teas and community festivals drew visitors and media attention. But Parkway Gardens and Woodlawn generally saw a continued exodus of middle-class Black families. Former first lady Michelle Obama’s family lived in Parkway Gardens in the mid-1960s before moving to South Shore. Financial problems in the early 1980s helped drive away the remaining families.
Today, Parkway Gardens has one of the city’s most notorious reputations as a magnet for deadly gang violence. Fans of drill rap music revere it as the infamous “O Block,” a place of danger and rowdy good times thanks to Chicago rappers and frequent Parkway Gardens visitors Dayveon “King Von” Bennett and Durk “Lil Durk” Banks.
Bennett, whose platinum rap single “Take Her To The O” dramatized life in Parkway, was killed in an Atlanta shooting in 2020; Banks recently posted on social media that he wished to buy the complex.
It’s unclear whether new owners would try to maintain homes for low-income residents, seek more affluent residents or shift to mixed income.
Real estate firm Marcus & Millichap, which is handling the sale, didn’t list an asking price but posted aerial drone video showing the grounds and touting its proximity to downtown. A representative with the firm didn’t return a message seeking comment.
‘All this uncertainty’
Related Midwest’s abrupt announcement two weeks ago caused chaos for Ald. Jeanette Taylor, 20th, who said she has been fielding anxious calls.
She told the Tribune she was blindsided by the sale announcement, saying she’d been working for more than a year with several other elected leaders and Related Midwest to address concerns about problems with the complex.
Crime has persisted on the property despite an increased police presence and security improvements, such as iron fencing and a security booth.
“This is why I’m angry about the sale, because we weren’t notified,” Taylor said. “I had been at the table for a year. Six months before that, I started working with Related. To me, this is unfair because now while (residents) already have housing instability when it comes to being able to pay their bills, now you sell the place and there’s all this uncertainty.”
The complex’s murky future has been nerve-wracking for Askew, who is comfortable living there, despite a couple of close calls with death.
In May 2016, she was home when 15-year-old neighbor De’Kayla Dansberry was fatally stabbed during a fight among teenage girls. Three months later, she passed Nykea Aldridge in a schoolyard moments before the 32-yearold mother and cousin of former Bulls star Dwyane Wade, was shot and killed in a crossfire as she pushed a baby stroller in the neighborhood.
Still, Askew maintained that most of the trouble is caused by guests, intruders and former residents who hang out on the northern end of the gated complex and that life among residents, ranging from young single mothers to infirm elderly, was simple.
“This was a steppingstone for me, for mine. I want them to see that everything I went through — and it was bad — but I did it all for ya’ll,” she said, referring to her children.
Resident Tenesha Payne, desperate to move out of her mother’s home with her four young children, said she knew nothing of Parkway Gardens and its reputation before arriving nine years ago. Since then, it has been a constant battle to safely guide her children through the neighborhood. Kids who avoid the gang life can be targets for gang members patrolling for their opposition.
“Having teenage boys and girls, there’s a fear when your boy walks out the door, especially if the community is not really familiar with him,” said Payne, 32, who works as a youth center aide. “That’s one of the biggest struggles out there.”
Payne is skeptical that new ownership will mean a swift overhaul that could usher in mixed-income living. “Anything is possible, but it really takes someone who cares about this community. You have some really good people who stay here.”
‘Positive assets?’
The sale could be a golden opportunity for both Parkway Gardens and Woodlawn, said Sarah Ware, longtime Realtor and treasurer for the Chicago Association of Realtors.
Rising home prices in Woodlawn nearest the presidential center could push interest toward West Woodlawn.
East Woodlawn townhomes “are in the fives ($500,000) and the sixes, and the single families are in the sevens,” said Ware, a South Shore resident who runs Ware Realty Group. “Everybody can’t afford the sevens, so where do you go? You may want to go a little bit west and say, for this (cheaper amount) you may get (a larger space).”
The bigger challenge, Ware said, will come in selecting a new owner with a track record of turning around troubled properties, and someone willing to work with elected officials and residents to create something new.
She added, the violent reputation of “O Block” must end.
“The narrative just has to change for Chicago as a whole, because when you hear Parkway Gardens, people just have an automatic sense of something (negative) already,” Ware said.
“What are the good assets to (the neighborhood)? I think that narrative has to be pitched. We’re less than a mile from shopping. What are the positive assets?”
The benefits of the Obama center on the surrounding neighborhood has been speculated since its announcement. Ware said she’s now optimistic that public interest and outside investment is a reality for a comeback in Woodlawn.
“I tell people, ‘it’s not that your home will be worth more overnight,’ ” Ware said. “More people will be drawn to your house because they are putting more attention on the neighborhood.”
Jennifer Maddox, a Chicago police officer who runs the nonprofit afterschool program Future Ties in Parkway Gardens that employs residents, said she is unfazed by the planned change in ownership but hopes the new owners improve conditions.
“It’s like a money machine here instead of really focusing in on the quality of life and how people are living,” she said.
“It’s not OK for my building elevator to be out for two and three weeks and I can’t leave my house now. It’s not OK that I can’t use the laundry room because you have machines in there with water filled up to the top that’s molded,” Maddox said.
The future
Taylor, the alderman, said she would like to see the complex restored to its former glory.
“I would love to see this go into a trust or a co-op to the community,” she said. “It used to be a co-op. First lady Michelle Obama was born and raised there. It was a gated community. I don’t care if folks pay no rent or $10 worth of rent, they deserve to live in good living conditions.”
Calling life in Parkway “a struggle and a headache,” Payne said she’s eager to move on, regardless of the buyer. “I want to move. This is somewhere where you start off. This is not a place that you want to make a future,” she said. “There’s too much going on.”
Askew said she’s staying for the long haul. She enjoys the neighborhood, its coming changes and life for her children as they enter teen years. Though she’s not even 40, she’s easing into the role of elder and peacemaker. She wants to encourage younger moms to seek education and a pathway up.
“This is my unit and I love it. I may not agree with what goes on outside, but that ain’t got nothing to do with me. Because I can sleep right here and block out everything that goes on. It’s hurtful to see the shootings, the violence. But what more can I do?” Askew asked.
“It’s bittersweet living here. It really is.”
“It’s like a money machine here instead of really focusing in on the quality of life and how people are living,”
— Jennifer Maddox, a Chicago police officer who runs the nonprofit afterschool program Future Ties in Parkway Gardens