The Marshfield Courts, an unsanctioned skateboarding park built by volunteers in a long-derelict, city-owned lot at 1644 W. 35th St., Chicago, has its property listed for sale in the City of Chicago’s ChiBlockBuilder program.
Alongside two other locations in Chicago’s McKinley Park neighborhood, the Marshfield Courts property may be purchased at a low cost to encourage development, with the city offering programs for “missing middle” housing, market-rate commercial developments, open space and other uses.
The Marshfield Courts address is included in the open space program, which sells city property “to be used as open space that is fenced and managed by a resident, group of residents, non-profit organization, or business for local neighborhood activities,” the city stated in its application materials.
A map from the Missing Middle request for applications illustrates a cluster of properties for sale in the McKiney Park neighborhood.The city lists the value of the Marshfield Courts property at $33,596, however, a qualified, successful applicant can purchase the property for 10 percent of this market value.
Demonstrated Engagement
Individuals, businesses and non-profit organizations can apply to purchase the property through a process that requires project specifications, details of property improvements, impact statements and “demonstrated community engagement,” the city said.
Marshfield Court organizers had not replied to inquires as of the time of publication of this article.
McKinley Park Cluster
The McKinley Park neighborhood also includes a “cluster” of properties that can be purchased for $1 each by a single developer for coordinated development.
Five properties on West 34th Street and West 34th Place, west of South Western Avenue next to the railroad embankment, are up for sale through this “missing middle” program that encourages infill housing.
Neighborhood Repopulation
The city describes Missing Middle as “a neighborhood repopulation strategy … for contemporary home construction on behalf of market rate buyers.”
The five properties at 2445 W. 34th St. and 2438, 2442, 2444 and 2445 W. 34th Place comprise the McKinley Park neighborhood’s cluster, with zoning for properties on the north side of West 34th Place currently set for light manufacturing.
Residential and Side Yard
Zoning for the other two properties is currently residential, however, the city noted that rezoning is underway for all properties except 2445 W. 34th Place, already zoned for a two-flat, townhome or single-family residence.
The property next to the El tracks at 3400 S Archer Ave., Chicago, is for sale for commercial development.The ChiBlockBuilder application portal pegs all properties in McKinley Park’s cluster for market-rate residential development except for 2445 W. 34th St., which is offered for purchase as a side yard.
Commercial Development
In the side yard program, a vacant property is offered for sale to the adjacent property owner for 10 percent of the property’s market value, currently listed at $24,443 for 2445 W. 34th St.
The McKinley Park neighborhood also hosts a commercial property offered for development next to the El tracks between South Damen Avenue and West 33rd Street in the ChiBlockBuilder program.
Applications Open
The city pegs the 80,000-square-foot property at 3400 S. Archer Ave. for commercial development. It is already zoned for high-intensity, motor-vehicle related “destination” use where many customers will arrive by automobile, allowing many types of businesses.
Applications for city property sales are open now and will remain open through November 17, 2025. The city will select and announce winning applicants in late December or early January 2026. An informational webinar is set for 11 a.m. on October 15, 2025.
If the city won’t do that, then they should donate their own salaries to buy the property for the community. That would show some real good faith — not just making money off the area while claiming to represent it.
— Dr. Kugler
Thrown off the Council for whistle blowing on the secret toxic migrant camp deal
I agree that the council has zero standards of governance: As a founding board member of the group, I also could not remain on the board: For me it was an anonymous, no-oversight Internet "vote" that has never been conducted again. You were kicked off the board by a "vote" in which you didn't even get to participate or submit your own board member vote yourself, right?
The council is a closed group with no membership or oversight, unaccountable to anyone, but representing that it is the voice of the neighborhood when it absolutely is not. It marches in lockstep with the 12th Ward and seems to function as a retained committee of the 12th Ward, rather than an independent not-for-profit group. I see all the cross-over between politician funders, board members, outside groups and the activity of the council, and de facto direct support for specific political campaigns and politicians. I was very disappointed to see taxpayer funding directed toward the council without seeming accountability or oversight, which could be seen as buying the votes of the most vocal activist groups -- not just the council, but their unspoken collaborators, too -- in the neighborhood.
As a local news publication, we've been blackballed by the council on an ongoing basis and still don't receive replies to good-faith outreach or attempts at engagement. The only other time I've spoken out on this is in a past Letter from the Editor that lays out the council's and its collaborators' attacks on local news:
https://mckinleypark.news/about/letter-from-the-editor/3589-what-s-been-going-on-at-the-mckinley-park-news#attack-on-local-news
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