Starting Nov. 29, the Halsted Bridge at Division Street was closed, creating a detour and extra congestion for residents living in the River North Area. The detour takes cars as well as bikes east to Larrabee Street via Chicago Avenue and Division Street.

According the Dan Burke of the Chicago Department of Transportation, the reconstruction of the Halsted Street Bridge will commence in December 2011 and the projected cost of the new bridge is $15 million.

“The Halsted Bridge had reached the end of its service life,” said Burke. “When finished it will have four lanes with bike lanes and sidewalks for pedestrians.”

Gina Bonfiglio, 27, works and lives in River North. She says that one of the reasons she lives in the area is so she doesn’t have to worry about commuting to her job.

“Everything I need is right here, “Bonfiglio said. “If I cannot get somewhere by walking I will just take public transportation, that is one of the best things about Chicago,”

According to Mike Riordan, president of the River North Residents Association, Larabee Street has always been a congested street.

“The residents in River North are already used to the congestion on Larrabee as well as Chicago Avenue. People are pretty understanding about it,” said Riordan.

Riordan also believes that people in the River North area have alternative means of transportation for work. Riordan says that most residents seem to walk or take public transportation.

“The people in River North just seem to be sucking it up, when it comes to the traffic. I have heard no complaints,” said Riordan.

River North has the Brown and Purple Line station accessible at Chicago Avenue and Franklin Street and buses run on Chicago Avenue every 10 minutes, according to the CTA website.

John Wilkinson, 27, has been commuting to work in River North for the past year; the bridge closing has not affected him and he does not believe it affects many commuters.

“The only people concerned with the closing of the Halsted Bridge at Division would be people who have to commute somewhere that won’t allow them to use the highway. The rest of us just park our cars in a garage and jump on an El,” said Wilkinson.

Sharon Romack from the River North Business Association is not concerned with the rerouting of traffic onto Larabee Street. Romack says that none of the business owners in River North has come forward and complained of the closure.

“I rode the Brown Line every day to work when I lived in the South Loop. Congestion and rush hour is just a part of Chicago. Take it or leave it,” said Bonfiglio.

“I wish I had that much power in the community, where my not liking rice on my burrito makes or breaks a major decision,” responded Staniszewski, president of the Portage Park Neighborhood Association.

Staniszewski has lived in the community for more than 18 years and said he has seen the place change, for better and for worse. Being involved in the neighborhood is something Staniszewski spends all of his time on. From Andersonville to Lakeview, Staniszewski has lived in all parts of Chicago, but recognizes Portage Park his home.

“At our very first meeting with Six Corners LLC (a business district in Portage Park), it was brought up that they were courting Chipotle to move into the Klee,” said Staniszewski. “I made a comment that I did not like Chipotle because they put rice on their burritos. Well, subsequently, Chipotle did not come in and I have been blamed for that ever since.”

In truth, the Portage Park Neighborhood Association is against chains, Staniszewski; they prefer local, home-grown businesses. When Klee Plaza started construction under the direction of Marc Sussman, Gerard said they clashed because the association was hassling them about their building project, which was supposed to bring more stores into the neighborhood.

Sussman declined to comment.

Staniszewski admits that the community needs Klee Plaza, a 64-unit condominium, 20,000-square-foot commercial development located in Portage Park’s ‘historic-style’ six-corners shopping district. But, he said, the community doesn’t need to “bend over backwards to do anything the developer wants.”

“Maybe we do not have the cool shops or restaurants, but we have the better neighborhood,” said Staniszweski.

The lack of “cool shops” is what scares Staniszewski, though. When he moved into the neighborhood 18 years ago, the neighborhood was booming, but since then local shops and businesses have left Portage Park.

A few years ago, the local business community hit a low point. There are still pockets where business is strong, said Staniszewski, but more shops and investment into the business side of the community is what will slowly bring it up.

Currently unemployed after six years as a digital print project manager, the 51-year-old spends most of his time making the community a better and safer place. “In reality, it is just what is in me. I love being part of a community …  and it beats watching TV,” Staniszewski said.

One would think that all of the time spent away from the home would negatively affect his relationship with his wife, but it has only made it stronger. As Staniszewski said, they have been married for almost 20 years “with no murders yet.”

Jill Staniszewski was a reluctant first lady when her husband filled the vacant presidency seat in 2004; now she sits on the board and accompanies him as he passes out monthly newsletters and organizes meetings.

According to Jill Staniszewski, their relationship has remained consistent; they talk about issues and weigh in on matters while offering opinions and suggestions.

“I could see that he was a good president, someone fair, who didn’t use the organization to further his own personal agenda,” she said about her husband’s position.

For the last three years, Gerard Staniszewski didn’t have an opponent for the presidency; he says it’s because it takes a lot to become involved in a community, and some people aren’t up for it. For the last two years, he didn’t even want to be president anymore, but nobody was there to take his place.

The alderman’s office has not approved any issues that the PPNA has fought against, demonstrating the power the association holds in the community. Even people who don’t directly work with Staniszewski say he is a great man with great character.

The neighborhood association holds its meetings thanks in part to Lydia Homes, who offers up the use of her building for their meetings. Travis Satterlee, who works for Homes, has met Staniszewski a few times and thinks he is a stand-up guy.

“I believe him to be reliable and conscientious about his work. He was deemed trustworthy to take on the responsibility of president of the PPNA,” said Satterlee. “He has received many votes of confidence from his community members.”

Addison Park on Clark is a mixed-use development that will consist of a hotel, retail outlets and apartments located along the south side of Addison Street, from Sheffield west to Clark Street and extending south on Clark about a block.

Although the developers have made concessions with regard to the size and height of the complex since the project was first introduced two years ago, community members are upset about the fact that iO, along with other businesses in the area such as the Goose Island Wrigleyville Brewpub, are going to be demolished when construction on the new complex begins.

“iO is home to me. It’s the reason I moved to Chicago over two years ago from D.C. It brings community members together and emphasizes the importance of working in a group,” said Joe Russell, an iO student. He also noted that the building has a strong historic significance.

“I can’t imagine this area of town without it, and I don’t think developers understand what a big part of the community it truly has become,” he said.

Charna Halpern, founder and director of iO, says she was not notified that her landlord sold the property to developers until it was too late for her to find another suitable place for it.

Her lease is supposed to end in 2022; however, Tunney states that demolition could begin a year from now if the project meets approval by the plan commission.

“It’s sad the government doesn’t understand Wrigleyville is much more than just the Cubs,” Halpern said. “It’s sad as a homeowner and businesswoman, because I’m a constituent in this community,” she continued.

Tunney responded by saying that Halpern has been on notice for two years, and that she should have been looking for another place in which to hold iO classes and performances.

Other complaints addressed at the meeting from community members revolved around the issue of what type of retailers are going to lease space in the complex.

Although none of the retail spaces have been filled yet, Tunney mentioned that both Best Buy and Dominick’s are considering leasing space in the building. He said that the final retailers that move in depend heavily on the market at the time.

Constituents are also worried about the appearance of the building itself, since it is a large structure that stands at 91 feet at the tallest portion. They say the building will set a precedent in the area for high-rise structures.

“I do worry about precedent,” Tunney said. “This is where density belongs in an urban environment. The area is supposed to be dense.” Tunney concluded the meeting by reiterating his reasons for supporting the project.

“This has reached community support, regardless of how that is quantified,” he said. “I see this is a positive development because parts of this site have long been dormant. The addition of a hotel and health center will benefit the community, and we’ve seen more health-related facilities in all areas.”

In response to complaints about the façade of the building, Tunney said, “The balance of quality architecture tries to minimize the scale.” The exterior of the building will be a mixture of glass and masonry; developers say the use of different building materials will help the structure to look less industrial.

Edens Spur

When: June 1, 2010 – June 2011

I-355: The Veterans Memorial Tollway

When: April 1- end of 2010

I-290: Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway

When: April 1- October 2010

Congress Bridge

When: April 1 – Fall 2011

Wacker Drive

When: April 1 – 2012

Congress Parkway

Marburger, a first-time owner, said she drained her savings account to make a down payment on her unit because she assumed she was making an investment and safeguarding her retirement. Little did she know, she emptied her bank account into a unit that would later require her to pay more than $30,000 in special assessments.

Three years after making that assumption, she now wakes up every morning to an ongoing legal battle between her building at 1717 S. Prairie and the developers William Warman and Warren Barr’s Limited Liability Company. The condominium board of directors claim in a lawsuit that the developers knowingly cut corners during construction in 2004 and still sold to the public. They said that the building would require an estimated $6.5 million in repairs due to water damage. As the battle continues, owners sit feeling helpless and contemplating two choices:

Pay for the repairs before the building’s water damage gets worse and hope that they win the case for reimbursement, or sell their unit.

If that isn’t stressful enough, owners must confront the ever present threat of foreclosure in a plummeting economy.

There have already been five foreclosures in the building and 10 others could happen once owners begin paying more special assessments, said Leonard Szwajkowski, Prairie District Board President.

Money aside, when it rains or snows in Chicago, some owners feel the obligation to have their neighbors baby-sit their units while they’re away.

“My life has become such that my neighbor Frank has a key to my place. When I travel for work, I have to call him and say, ‘Hey Frank, can you check my condo for water and put down towels for me?’” Marburger said.

Warren Barr, one of the developers of 1717 S. Prairie , said he hopes the issue works out in favor of the condo owners but would not go into further detail about any legal matters.

“Hopefully, calmer heads will prevail and a fair settlement will be reached that works in the best interests of the building residents,” Barr said.

Other owners are pointing fingers at the developers and the condo board itself. Kelly Staley, a 19th floor resident, said the board of directors made no effort to give owners the right to vote on whether they felt they were being overcharged for repairs.

“I feel disgusted, disappointed, and violated -not just by William Warman and his LLC. I am beginning to feel more of those emotions for those who I truly thought were representing us homeowners and our best interests,” said Staley.

Szwajkowski said he is in the same boat as everyone else. He said he has papers piling up everyday on his desk about the issue and the lawsuit has forced him to become a construction expert.

“This building changed my life, I lost friends over this and I can’t move. We’re in too deep,” said Szwajkowski.

William Warman and Warren Barr submitted a letter in 2007 to the board in an effort to propose what they thought were sufficient repairs to the building.

Barr believed it was only necessary to repair the existing water damage rather than execute any preventative adjustments to the building.

“From the information I have reviewed the repairs being proposed are far in excess of what is needed, and it would be a shame if the building decided to spend money that it did not have to spend,” said Barr.

“They were not adequate and only addressed 15% of our problems… we turned him down,” said Szwajkowski.

According to Szwajkowski, if they only repaired the units with existing damage, the water in the walls would simply be redirected into other nearby units. There is no way for the water to be drained from the walls without taking preventative measures, he said.

Tom Justic, a current owner, said that people’s units are leaking from their sliding glass doors to their windows. He said that even though they may not leak all the time, when they do, people have to take time out of their busy schedules to clean and dry their condos.

The original lawsuit was filed in 2004 against Warman and Barr’s development firm. That suit was later amended on May 2, 2008 to include not only the firm but everyone else involved with the building’s design. The court has not yet reached a settlement but Barr himself confidently believes that a solution is right around the corner. “I believe this matter is very close to being settled,” said Barr.

When the initial water leaks occurred, the board of directors said they launched a thorough investigation of the building.

Along with the help of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc ., the firms’ structural engineers and architects went to work in 2006.

WJE’s Final report would become 1717 S. Prairie ‘s trusty handbook. After reading the countless pages of structural jargon – that had to be broken up into five separate computer files – the report states that there are structural imperfections.

On a properly constructed building, strips of steel are placed between the windows and the mortar- which is known as flashing. They are placed there to stop water from getting into tiny gaps in the brick. End dams are there to further ensure that the water is drained off the building by creating a small barrier to repel moisture.

Holes and gaps were found in the flashing and end dams at 1717 S. Prairie . Those flaws are the main cause of damage to the interior drywall and deterioration of the brick and mortar structure according to the WJE report.

“In our opinion, the flashing that was folded back onto itself does not meet the contract documents and is not an effective end dam,” WJE’s Final report said.

Since real estate values have dropped over the past few years due to the worsening economy, an issue like this couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time for everyone living in the building.

Tom Dzurison, a recently retired school teacher, said even if owners wanted to sell their place they wouldn’t get anything for it. Plus, they have already contributed a significant amount of money to lawyer fees.

Owners were even required to make their first payment for phase 1 of repairs on the building this month, according to a board of directors meeting.

“Now all of a sudden, I’m paying $42,000 in special assessments for repairs. I’m already on a fixed income through the state of Illinois because of recent retirement. I’m whacked out, I’m nervous, I’ve been a maniac,” said Dzurison. “This issue should’ve ended already.”