4 minutes ago, almagest said:

Is Bridgeport really gentrifying? Because it's been "gentrifying" since I was at IIT in the early 2000s, and not much has changed whenever I've visited friends when back in town or gone to Sox games. It also doesn't have great public transportation access unless you live near Sox/35th red line stop or the Ashland Orange Line stop.

Seems like most of the serious gentrification over the past couple decades has been along the N Milwaukee corridor.

It's nothing like what has become of Wicker Park, Logan Square, those places along the Milwaukee corridor. More family-oriented. And Chinese. Not as wealthy or yuppy. But home prices are high, crime is basically non-existent and it would hard to see that trend not continuing. Smacking down a big industrial site in place of an entertainment venue wouldn't help. Chinatown is definitely yuppified and spreading out. I live east of the Dan Ryan and I probably would not have even 10 years ago.

East-west public transit isn't great but it's not phenomenal on the north side either. Orange and Red lines (and Green, how could I forget Green...it's redundant to me) are pretty easily accessible as well as express buses to take you to the Loop.

Edited 44 minutes ago44 min by nrockway

3 minutes ago, Mouthsider said:

I do think there’s a fine line to walk in which this move, though puzzling, could still serve to positively develop Bridgeport in some ways. h. jones raised some good points regarding concessions:

Things like that would be great for the neighborhood, and would definitely help to make lemonade out of Amtrak’s lemons. However, unless prodded by relevant politicians, I’m not sure of Amtrak will do that out of the kindness of their hearts.

I’m pulling for Bridgeport. After all, we wouldn’t be the “South Siders” without our south side neighborhoods.

I'm concerned that this public review doesn't actually get done and concessions aren't made. The land is already sold, right. This federal administration is running amok with our public assets and this is just a local example of it, I feel.

11 minutes ago, nrockway said:

I'm concerned that this public review doesn't actually get done and concessions aren't made. The land is already sold, right. This federal administration is running amok with our public assets and this is just a local example of it, I feel.

Fair points. I’m just spitballing out of wishful thinking. The next residential meeting is the 26th, so I guess we’ll get our answers then.

But at least it's not an even more evil data center...?

https://nypost.com/2026/08/21/sports/mets-fans-startled-by-hand-creeping-through-hole-in-citi-field-stands-to-snag-peanuts-hot-dog/

Edited 18 minutes ago18 min by caulfield12

Oh, for the days when mere billionaires were hated...did it all start with Mr. Potter in Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life"?

Now you pretty much have to be a deca-billionaire or PE behemoth to even register on the public radar.

You've recently got the likes of Bezos and the Kushners with pretty much zero knowledge of sports collecting teams like trophies just for prestige or as a cocktail party talking point.

They only look at it as a way to diversify their portfolios/tax write off and way to potentially out return index funds...as long-term bond markets start to crash in the face of another yet $20+ trillion in crushing debt added in the past decade.

Edited 7 minutes ago7 min by caulfield12

1 hour ago, Mouthsider said:

I think this is exactly the problem. Bridgeporters can’t even afford to be upset about losing the Sox; they’ve been ambushed by plans of turning a significant amount of their neighborhood into a railyard/maintenance center. Nobody wants to see that type of industrial development grafted into a thriving neighborhood, let alone the residents. It’s gonna be interesting to see what (if anything) is done to placate the mob.

You know that the land they're looking at is currently a freight yard? It's not going to be all that different to be honest.