McKinley Park Neighborhood Plan

Although the housing market is strengthening, it is not too late for the community, aldermen, and partners to implement affordability strategies before market forces drive land and home values higher. Community advocates can find opportunities to take advantage of market forces to leverage developer interest and drive the construction of new affordable housing. The following strategies, many of them low-budget and involving strategic partnerships, offer concrete ways to better engage and involve the community in projects and decision-making. Successful implementation of this plan will rely in large part on community engagement. Given the study area’s demographics, several strategies are targeted to specifically engage underrepresented populations in McKinley Park. Recommendations in this chapter also focus on building off existing efforts and resources to strengthen and support existing and new local businesses.