Feedback, Ideas Sought For Lincoln Square Master Plan

CHICAGO — The Lincoln Square Master Plan feedback process will kick off with an information booth in the popular neighborhood Apple Fest, Oct. 6 - 7. Local aldermen, business owners, volunteers, the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce and the Lincoln Square Neighborhood Improvement Program have teamed up to develop the plan, which will accept feedback and ideas over the next six months.

The plan will guide the neighborhood's strategic direction for the next three to five years, the group said.

“The Master Plan is going to be a very collaborative process,” Rudy Flores, executive director of the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. “We’ve developed a website, YourLincolnSquare.org, where people can share testimonials or show us on a map what they’d like to see in the neighborhood. They’ll then be able to view and comment on one another’s suggestions. We’re really eager to see the things they come up with.”

With direction from community planning firm Teska Associates, the Chamber and SSA 21 will create guiding principles for new construction and redevelopment of blighted buildings, the use of public space, business recruitment and other local plans, the group said.

The planning team will build on previous studies of other successful plans, such as those from Wicker Park and Bucktown, Rogers Park and Andersonville. The Lincoln Square plans — along with community feedback and ideas — will help to guide the neighborhood’s public art, sustainability programs and streetscape improvements.

The team will also look at previous studies about indoor and outdoor markets in Seattle, Detroit, Boulder, Colo., and other cities to consider whether a similar shared retail and restaurant space could find a home in Lincoln Square, the group said.

“It feels good to be putting such deliberate thought and study into our plan, and it’s especially valuable to see what has worked in other communities,” said Flores. “But we need more help from residents and people who love the area. We all have a stake in creating an even better Lincoln Square.”

The group will begin the process this month by identifying issues and opportunities, interviewing key stakeholders and gathering input from the community. In November and December, the group will use that information to begin developing the strategy. In January and February, the plan will be visualized and written, and then discussed at a public meeting, the group said.

The final plan is slated to be adopted in March 2019.

Image by Amber Fisher/Patch