Washington Park Seeks Quality of Life

Washington Park Seeks Quality of Life

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Washington Park residents and leaders want to breathe new life into their South Side Chicago community. And they don’t want to be left behind if an Olympic stadium is built behind their backyards.

A new quality-of-life plan is in the works for Washington Park. The community has a high poverty, no major grocery store and low homeownership rates.

Lynda Jones is the New Communities Program manager for Washington Park. She says the neighborhood is not at its peak.

JONES: And what I mean by that we don’t have the commercial and retail we need in this community. As a result of that, we don’t have access to employment.

The plan will address housing, economics and the arts. Jones says the plan needs to be tight so there’s not a land grab if Washington Park is home to an Olympic stadium.

So far, there’s been some investment coming to the area with condominium conversions.

I’m Natalie Moore, Chicago Public Radio.