To some city officials the Chateau Hotel has been a nightmare of building code violations and crime, but to a handful of residents protesting its closure, the Chateau is one of the last affordable options in Lakeview.
Residents of the building, 3838 N. Broadway, took to the streets March 7 to protest the closure of the single room occupancy (SRO) hotel.
The Chateau was purchased after a slew of building code violations landed the building court. The new owner remains unknown, but 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman previously said the building will be closed and rehabbed into apartments.
Approximately 30 people, representing residents, area clergy and neighborhood organization Lakeview Action Coalition, demonstrated outside the Chateau, asking Cappleman to use his power to stop the closure and keep the building affordable.
Robert Rohdenburg is a gay man who moved to Lakeview in search of a welcoming and diverse neighborhood, he said. He has lived in the Chateau for a year and a half.
"If not Lakeview, then where should I and the others go?" he asked. "Not only is our housing being taken away, but our freedom of choice to live is also being taken away."
The Chateau is the latest in a string of SRO closing to hit Chicago's North Side. Many of them have been in Lakeview.
SROs have long been one of few affordable options for low-income Chicagoans, especially those whose credit histories might make securing an apartment difficult.
But the Chateau has been a source of controversy in Lakeview for years, with some residents complaining the building attracts crime.
Now, Lakeview Action Coalition and other housing advocates want Cappleman to fight to keep the building open and affordable for residents, who face fewer housing options as SROs are bought up and turned into market rate apartments.
Cappleman said he supports affordable housing but that his position as alderman does not give him a legal right to make demands of a private building owner.
"I can't operate outside the law," he said. "I'm not allowed to do that."
He has been trying to work with the new owner to maintain some low-cost units in the building. And he said that the building would maintain an SRO license, although units would be more expensive and contain kitchens.
Still, the building has fallen beyond repair, Cappleman said. It will need to close for renovations. Among its problems, said Cappleman, is an outdated electrical system that poses a fire hazard.
Erin Ryan, president of Lakeview Action Coalition, said that the greater threat facing Chateau residents is that of homelessness.
"Living at the Chateau is not more dangerous than living in the street in the middle of winter," Ryan said.
Cappleman said the new owner wants to work with residents to help them relocate.
"As long as they are willing to work with the building owner, I have been assured that they will find safer housing that's affordable," he said.
The demonstration was the second protest against Cappleman in two days.
A group of more than 200 protested outside his ward office the day before, after the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Cappleman wanted a Salvation Army charitable food truck to leave the ward. Cappleman said he never asked the truck to leave. Both sides have since agreed to keep the truck in the neighborhood and work together.