1. What is Wilson Yard?

Wilson Yard is actually three different things.  "Wilson Yard" the land generally refers to the 3.8 acres of landlocked land under the redline El tracks from Montrose Avenue to Wilson Avenue.  The Wilson Yard Development Project is a planned development that resulted from the assembling of the Wilson Yard land, as well as three privately owned lots that run along Montrose and Broadway, partially encircling the Wilson Yard land.  These three other lots are the building on the northwest corner of Broadway and Montrose sometimes referred to as the Azusa building because it housed Azusa liquors, the Aldi's and its parking lot, and the vacant lot that was located between Aldi's and the McJunkin building.  The Wilson Yard TIF is a broader TIF area that generally stretches from Magnolia on the west, Leland on North, Sheridan on the East and Montrose on the South.  Funds from this TIF have already gone to area schools, for job training and to help rehab some area buildings. In addition TIF funds have been put aside to assist existing small businesses in the TIF district to improve their businesses.

 2. What was the Wilson Yard land used for?

Much of the Wilson Yard land was used by Truman College for parking.  The rest was used by the CTA for various functions.  CTA was using this land until it agreed to sell it in 2004.

3. Hasn't this land had been vacant for a long time, following a fire?

That is not accurate.  There was a fire in 1996 that destroyed a repair barn that was located ontop of the El tracks just south of Wilson Avenue. A week later there was a second unrelated fire in the McJunkin building where many businesses were located.  The McJunkin building was completely rehabbed and the businesses back in place by the summer of 1997.  In the fall of 1997, the CTA decided not to rebuild the on-track repair barn.  None of CTA's on-ground activities were terminated, and they continued until the land was sold in 2004.  The businesses in the Azusa building were never affected by this fire and had remained active until the building was sold as part of the Wilson Yard Development Project.

4. Why is the development taking so long?

This was a community-driven process that occurred in five parts.  First, it is important to understand that the CTA was ambivalent about selling the Wilson Yard land. They did not commit until 2004.  The first part of the process occurred from January 1998 through April 1999 and consisted of a series of surveys and workshops designed to get a general community consensus on what should occur both with the Wilson Yard land as well as the underutilized land along Broadway. The second part was the creation of the Wilson Yard TIF, which occurred from May 1999 through February 2001.  The third part of the process was creating the Wilson Yard Development Plan and soliciting various requests for proposals from potential developers.  This process, as dictated by law, went from March 2001 until June 2003. The fourth part of the process was acquiring the land and funding for the development plan.  This part of the process went from August 2003 until September 2005, and culminated with the sixth ward-wide community meeting regarding the plan.  The final process is the actual development which began with infrastructure improvements, and was delayed in part because of the big box debate. 

5. When will Wilson Yard construction start?

Construction has begun. To free up the land necessary to build the Target, it is necessary to first move the Aldis store. A new Aldis is under construction on the north end of the site. The new Aldis will be finished in early 2007. After they move, demolition on all structures (Aldis, Azusa building, vacated CTA structures) will follow. Construction should begin three to four weeks later.