(courtesy of Vermilion Development)

In May 2008, when the University of Chicago completed the $6.5 million purchase of Harper Court, President Robert Zimmer heralded the moment as an opportunity. “Ideally,” he said in a public statement on the purchase, “this project will be reflective of the distinctive nature of Hyde Park and represent the best of Chicago’s mid-South Side.” This January, after Vermilion Development was selected by the University to redevelop Harper Court, its CEO, David J. Cocagne, was quoted by the Chicago Maroon echoing the same sentiment. “We’re very excited to be undertaking this project,” Cocagne said. “We think it will be very transformative for the commercial core of Hyde Park and will really celebrate all that Hyde Park is.” Read the rest of this entry »

Seven months after the University of Chicago purchased Harper Court, the fates of several tenants at the 52nd and Harper complex remain undecided. When the University purchased the property last May for $6.5 million to redevelop it as a higher density mixed-use space, tenants were notified that they would have until the end of 2008 to move out. When they complained, leases were extended to the end of January 2009, and at a January 12 meeting the deadline was moved again to June 2009. Some businesses have relocated within the neighborhood; the Mexican restaurant Maravillas has already put up “coming soon” signs at a second location at 55th and Lake Park. Others, such as sister restaurants Dixie Kitchen and Calypso Café, are considering leaving Hyde Park because of a dearth of appropriately-sized retail spaces and parking in the neighborhood. And small shops like the Artisans 21 cooperative gallery, which lead a precarious existence in the best of times thanks to their need for a specific clientele, may have nowhere to go at all. It’s ironic that this displacement and destruction of local art initiatives is exactly what Harper Court was built to prevent in the first place. Read the rest of this entry »

Jerry Kleiner’s new restaurant Park 52 opened in Harper Court just over a week ago, and it is poised to establish itself as Hyde Park’s one fashionable destination restaurant.

The restaurant is arguably the most expensive in the neighborhood, with the bulk of its entrees over $20, comparable only with La Petite Folie. Its design is just as uniquely high-end. Chant, another recent Hyde Park opening, also broke ground for high-end Hyde Park dining, but Kleiner’s team went leaps and bounds further with their design. Read the rest of this entry »

“What do you want with your vodka?” asked Jerry Kleiner, as I sat down with him and his kids at his South Loop restaurant Room 21. Tempted to ask for vodka with my vodka, I asked for an iced tea instead. Better to stay sober when interviewing the mogul of such heavy-hitting eateries like Giocco, Opera, Marché, Red Light, and now, Park 52, located in Harper Court at 52nd Street, and scheduled to open in early March 2008. Given Kleiner’s characteristic belatedness, April seems like a more plausible opening date. Read the rest of this entry »

To speak of Hyde Park is to inevitably talk about the University of Chicago. As the University’s home for the last 115 years, Hyde Park bears all the influence of having a major intellectual and cultural institution in its midst, and that influence from this brainy school is very particular: There are more bookstores per capita in Hyde Park than in any other neighborhood in Chicago. The relationship between the neighborhood and the school has not always been pleasant, especially during an urban renewal effort in the ‘50s and ‘60s that destroyed homes and leveled—quite literally—the club scene on 55th Street. Today, however, Hyde Park is at the forefront of the South Side’s renaissance. While Bronzeville rebounds and Bridgeport explodes, Hyde Park and the University of Chicago are pooling their resources to make this the intellectual and cultural heart of the city. Read the rest of this entry »