Dear Winnetka Council,
My name is Jeremy Klewin and I am a senior at New Trier High School. It was recently announced that the One Winnetka project was passed based on the council and residents votes. This action raises a few questions regarding the financial issues that go along with the new project. More importantly, however, Winnetka is a part of the North Shore, and also has a big connection with the school I attend. When it comes to building a whole new town center and apartments, there also comes the heavy fee of living and paying for it. This is where my concerns peak in terms of how the community will handle the steep incline of taxes and the change that will come to the town of Winnetka.
At the city council meeting that occurred on September 20th, someone asked about the rent price for the new apartments, and the response that was given was surprising. The One Winnetka Developer, David Trandel, told the questioner that, “the apartments are going to be expensive.” (Trandel) It was later revealed that the price for one apartment will be $4,000, per month. The price of this apartment is mainly targeted to those who are white and/or live in the area of Winnetka. If someone were to have a yearly income of $80,000, a slightly higher income than average Americans, he/she still wouldn't be able to pay for rent. After dividing the numbers, the rent alone would take up 20% of he/she's yearly income, all before having to pay taxes and bills. At the end of the meeting that took place on September 20th, Tradel mentions the project's goals are to “embrace and reflect the rich history of Winnetka while solving some of our current shortcomings.” (Trandel Sep 20) Rebuilding a very large portion of the town center doesn't keep the history of the town at all. However, there will still be one historic thing that remains in Winnetka, the high pricing for living in the town.
According to Open Communities and individual opinions, the average person should not spend over 30% of their gross income when it comes to paying for an apartment. The Illinois Housing Development Authority says that every town should have an average of 10% when it comes to the amount of homes that should be affordable. However, based on a recent report and shown in the graph below, all towns on the North Shore are under 6% when it comes to a number of houses that are affordable compared to the rest. Adding the One Winnetka apartments will only lower the amount of homes that will actually be affordable.
To live in one of these complexes, you need to be in the upper class of society. If you were to look at the demographics of the affordable housing in the north shore, all towns are lowering in the percentage of affordable housing. With that change in affordable housing, the difference in diversity throughout the north shore also changes. In the graph below, it shows that there are a lot more white people than any other race. If One Winnetka wants to succeed and maintain a profit, then the council should consider lowering the price of rent in order to expand to a larger demographic.
I recently had the opportunity to read one of the articles created by Gail Schechter, founder of Open Communities. She came to my Sociology Class at New Trier on October 5th to talk about her experiences with the academic of affordable houses. In the article she handed out, it talked about the same viewpoints as I mentioned in the previous paragraphs. From Gail’s perspective, she thinks that, “A homogeneous community, one exhibiting almost total similarities of taste, habit, custom and behavior is culturally dead, aside from being downright boring.” In a nutshell, she describes communities that are all white or all one race as boring. By creating a larger diversity, you are also then open to a variety of new ways to expand your community such as jobs, events, activities, restaurants, and more. Having a diverse community leads to greater possibilities.
After reading the news about One Winnetka and looking at data about our community, I strongly believe that the council should change the prices for the apartments, so that there will be diversity coming into the town of Winnetka. By having more diversity in your town, you will create a better community for the town. Please consider these changes as time moves forward.
Sincerely, Jeremy Klewin