By Ben Joravsky
According to Kaluzny, he and his partners should be free to do pretty much what they want with the building since they own it. Apparently city officials agree; after talking tough in court and the press, they’re conceding defeat, leaving outraged residents to wonder if the city will ever take a strong stand for preservation. “Are there no standards?” asks Gladys Alcazar, a member of the East Village Association, a prominent community group in West Town. “I mean, if a great old building like Goldblatt’s can’t be saved, nothing’s sacred.”
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Delray contends a grocery store cannot be built inside it. The company felt it was taking a risk just buying the building (for an estimated $1.75 million) and moving to the area, a mix of ethnicities and classes. Indeed, Delray sees itself as an urban pioneer, creating jobs and providing services for neighborhoods other businesses overlook.
But apparently Delray misread the wider community, for opposition quickly spread. The area wasn’t so economically depressed that residents would welcome any development scheme. On the contrary, residents feared that destroying Goldblatt’s (even if it was vacant) would spur the trend toward suburbanization.
But Delray sued the city for withholding a demolition permit, and a Cook County Circuit Court judge ruled that Delray should be allowed to demolish the building because the city can only deny a permit for buildings already awarded landmark status.
But Delray officials were unenthusiastic. “All I can say about that deal is that Berger did not offer three million in cash,” says Kaluzny. “I can’t talk about the particulars.”
But Alcazar says residents will never forgive Delray if Goldblatt’s is destroyed. “Their attitude’s condescending, like ‘We’re doing you a really big favor coming here ’cause you live in a ghetto and you should take whatever we give you.’ We’re not giving up. We’ll march on Granato’s office and call the mayor and press our case before the City Council. We think they can stop this by simply telling Delray no. They should fight as hard for this as they did for Meigs Field.” o
