By Trinity Kinslow, Audio Report By Trinity Webster-Bass

Howard University News Service

As the Democratic National Convention comes to a close, life begins to return to normal for local residents in the Near West Side neighborhood where the nightly convention festivities were being held.

Near West Side is a diverse, historic neighborhood where many poorer Irish, German, and French immigrants found homes in the early days of  Chicago. In the 1930s and 1940s, African Americans  moved to the area as a result of the Great Migration.

The Near West Side is home to a diverse community of residents.

While the DNC held many benefits, such as boosting the Chicago economy, traffic and road closures caused hardships for some of those living in the area.

”We’re always catching the bus and the bus routes done changed over here now. They dropped us off like three to four blocks from here, it’s really bad,” said Roy Giles, a 78 year-old resident of Patrick Sulllivan apartments.

Joe Mason, another resident in the building, doesn’t mind the traffic though.

“It’s an honor to have this convention here, in Chicago,” he said.

Patrick Sullivan, an apartment building that houses around 3,000 residents, is squarely in the middle of land that Center officials have big plans for.

The 1901 Project is a $7 billion 10-year plan presented to the city of Chicago by the owners of the United Center to revitalize the Near West Side neighborhood.

According to the plan’s organizers, the project, which was announced July 2024,  will transform the area into an entertainment district and mixed-use neighborhoods with new retail spaces, residential units, and even a new music hall.

The plan is estimated to take about ten years to complete, creating 63,000 jobs and 13,000 permanent jobs.

Alexis Porter moved into the community a month ago, but she believes the new plan could be beneficial.

“I think this might be the best place to do it because the United Center is so close,” said Porter. “You can have the concerts and basketball games there and then other things people can do in the area, and I think it will add a lot of money to the economy.”

Tenured residents, like Giles and Mason, believe the area could benefit from revitalization, but neither of them wants to be left out of the development plans.

“I don’t know what the big picture is but I would hate to see Patrick Sullivan Apartments get torn down,” said Mason. “That means I would have to leave this area.”

‘If they put something over here for the seniors, I can deal with it,” said Giles. “Give something back to the seniors over here, that’s what I want to see.”

The 1901 project awaits approval from the Chicago City Council. If approved, construction could begin as early as spring 2025.