Apartment City

The popularity of the Windridge Townhomes west of Highway 281 and north of Faidley Avenue has resulted in a new set of townhomes being constructed in the very same LaRue Subdivision. "We actually have a Windridge I and Windridge II, and there are 58 apartments for those two projects, and they are completely occupied with a waiting list," said co- owner Cathy Mesner of Central City. "That's why we decided to build another project over there." Windridge caters to the 55-and-older population earning 60 percent or less of median income. The next project, called Stonewood Townhomes, will be open to the same clientele. It will be on the opposite side of the LaRue Subdivision, located west of Highway 281 and south of 13th Street. "We hadn't planned to do it, but there is such a strong need in the community for rentals and particularly for affordable rentals ," Mesner said, noting that Windridge has never had even a full month's vacancy in any ...

The more than three dozen people who live in tents under the Lake Shore Drive bridges at Wilson and Lawrence avenues know better than anyone that the structures need repair. Concrete from the Depression-era bridges is crumbling onto the sidewalks and streets below, posing a deadly hazard to tent-dwellers, as well as motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians. So it may seem strange that a homeless advocacy group might sue the city to stop bridge repairs before they start in mid-September. But attorneys for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless want to stop the city's plans to put bike paths on the wide sidewalks under the bridges, which the coalition said would permanently drive the homeless out. "If they put the bike paths in, we ain't going to have room for our tents," said Thomas Gordon, 58, who lives under the Lawrence bridge. The sidewalks can currently accommodate both tents and pedestrians — bike paths would cut the space. The dilemma highlights two local tren...