The upcoming Lake Meadows redevelopment project in the Bronzeville community would not only displace tenants but also local businesses. “I know change is upon us. Barack Obama has been saying that for a year now,” said Ricardo Williams, owner
“But it cost money to relocate so where is that money going to come from?” Williams questioned. Williams is concerned that he may have to permanently close his restaurant, which he opened there in 1993. “It’s all about money in Bronzeville these days. If you make $100,000 a year or more, you can live here. If not, then you got to go. It’s just that simple,” he said.
Most of the customers at Mississippi Rick’s and at Munchies, a restaurant across the street at 3511 S. King Drive that Williams co-owns, are Black, he said. “If Black residents at Lake Meadows are displaced from the redevelopment, it would definitely affect my bottom line,” Williams added.
Draper and Kramer Inc., which owns the Lake Meadows Shopping Center and the Lake Meadows housing complex at 500 E. 33rd St., plans to begin redeveloping both sites within the next three to five years. Phase I of the master plan calls for retail tenants to temporarily relocate until the shopping center is completed, according to Don Vitek, vice president of development for Draper and Kramer.
Besides Mississippi Rick’s, other retail tenants at Lake Meadows include Jewel, ShoreBank and Walgreens. “We will work with current stores to find temporary locations in Bronzeville,” Vitek said referring to the displacement that will occur for them. But Black businesses within the shopping center are not the only ones that could be hurt by the redevelopment project.
Other Black businesses in Bronzeville may also feel the effects, said Paula Robinson, marketing manager for the Bronzeville Community Development Planning Studio, a non-profit organization, at 3501 S. King Drive. “Just because a Black business is not located right by Lake Meadows does not mean it is free from harms way,” Robinson said.
“There are Black-owned restaurants, clothing and gift stores in Bronzeville that will undoubtedly be hurt because their Black customer base will shrink. It’s very hard for a Black business to survive without Black customers.” The Amber Inn Hotel, a 120-room Black-owned hotel at 3901 S. Michigan Ave., could also be hurt by the redevelopment, said Debra Thomas, a desk clerk at there. “A lot of the customers, mostly from out of town, that come through here are friends and family of people at Lake Meadows but if there will be fewer Black tenants at Lake Meadows after the redevelopment, then that could mean fewer guests for us,” Thomas said.
Robinson adds that the city wants to turn Bronzeville into a bedroom community, a place where you live but not shop, and that’s why the city is making it harder for Blacks to live and operate businesses in Bronzeville.
“The community has excellent access to public transportation, is close to downtown and minutes away from the McCormick Place. And it costs a lot less to live here than in one of those expensive condominium buildings downtown,” she said. With nearby Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center set to close by year-end and the Lake Meadows redevelopment coming up, Black business owners in Bronzeville said they can only hope for the best.
“Regardless what activity takes place in Bronzeville over the next couple of years, you can count on Black business owners fighting to keep their place at the table,” Williams said. Other Black-owned businesses located near Lake Meadows include a McDonald’s, 207 E. 35th St. and Pearl’s Place, a soul-food restaurant at 3901 S. Michigan Ave.
Wendell Hutson can be reached at whutson@chicagodefender.com.
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