We Can Do Better: The Case for a Mixed-Income Westfield Old Orchard

JJ Ivaska, Shelli Patt, and Charlie Saxe contributed to this column on behalf of Skokie Neighbors for Housing Justice.

Mixed-income housing at Westfield Old Orchard was the rallying cry that led the Village Board, prompted by Trustee Keith Robinson, to launch Skokie’s year-long affordable housing policy inquiry. Westfield LLC announced in December 2022 that it would apply for approval to create a luxury 350-unit self-contained rental “community” in Old Orchard Mall. Last week, Westfield announced that it has selected a developer, Focus, and in fact has increased the target number of units at the mall to 400.

Skokie Neighbors for Housing Justice coalesced last year to raise the alarm that the steady stream of luxury-only housing development is failing to help the 8,000 current Skokie households living in housing they cannot afford. The situation is so grave that the Village has declared the escalating rents a public health emergency for current residents. We can and must do better! We can and must address the serious shortage of housing affordable for all Skokie residents, including those among us with lower incomes. We can and must ensure that the new Old Orchard does not become a gilded bubble isolated from the fabric of our community.

Skokie Neighbors for Housing Justice urges the Village Board to use its leverage to ensure the new Old Orchard instead becomes a vibrant, mixed-use and mixed-income development that is open to all and makes Skokie stronger. If not here, where? If not now, when?

We urge the Board and Village to take the following actions:

1. Kick the Tires on Westfield’s Proposal. How much will the new housing units cost to rent? What happens if there is a change in the market and the demand for luxury housing dries up? Westfield and Focus promise to make Old Orchard a more vibrant, mixed-use walkable community. But will the thousands of people already working within walking distance be able to afford those rents? Will a sales associate at an Old Orchard store be able to afford it? Will a first-year teacher at Niles North High School be able to afford it? Will an administrator at the Courthouse be able to afford it? Will a nurse or lab technician at the hospital be able to afford it? A mixed development that includes diverse cost levels will be more resilient and less susceptible to boom and bust. Has the Village run the numbers to see what effect (positive or negative) this development will have on neighboring property tax burdens and all Skokie tax burdens? Exactly how much additional tax revenue does the Village expect as a result of this development over the next 10-20 years? Have projections on similar projects panned out elsewhere? This economic analysis is essential.
2. Be Responsible Skokie Stewards: Do Not Subsize a Luxury-Only Development. Since July 2022, the Village has used the “blighted economic zone” designation to justify an additional 1% sales tax on customers there. In effect, the Village has freed up Westfield LLC’s funds from mall renovation to spend on other lucrative investments like this rental complex. With ample subsidies from Skokie taxpayers and mall customers, Westfield has no budgetary excuse to preclude providing on-site units as workforce housing.
3. Ensure this Development Fits Into a Bigger Plan. Skokie cannot afford for this to be a one-off project that does not contribute to a bigger plan to address the housing cost challenges that 8,000 current Skokie households are facing. That is a major problem in its own right, but it also means those households have less money to spend at Skokie businesses. This project cannot solve it alone, but it must do its fair share.
4. Pass a meaningful inclusionary housing ordinance. The time to act is now.

We know it can be done. Focus, Westfield’s developer, has done it before in Evanston. Two years ago, Executive VP at Focus, Justin Pelej, was quoted in the Evanston Roundtable saying, “We have committed to providing the 10% of affordable housing that’s required all on site. We won’t be buying out of it with the fee-in-lieu option.”

The Village has a duty to leverage its power to put its people first. Only a Westfield Old Orchard development that increases the supply of modern affordable, accessible housing should be approved.