In the Galewood neighborhood of Chicago, residents are expressing a strong desire for their voices to be heard in the redevelopment plans for the now-defunct Mars-Wrigley factory. This iconic site, once the birthplace of cherished treats like Snickers and M&Ms, ceased operations on the city’s West Side in 2024.

At a recent community meeting held on Wednesday night, a clear sentiment emerged among attendees: the neighborhood does not need additional housing developments. Instead, the community is advocating for facilities that cater to a broader range of needs.

The developer, McCaffrey Interests, has proposed a vision for the historic site that includes over 470 rental units. However, the community envisions a different future for this space. Residents filled the meeting room, suggesting alternatives such as a library, a senior center, an indoor sports arena, retail spaces, and a job training center.

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Idella Mister, a passionate resident, emphasized the importance of collaboration between community members and leaders. “The key word in community is unity. We need unity in community with the leaders,” she stated. “That’s why we’re out here to say we want to see like a library or a social service, something that’s going to help the community.”

Neighbors packed a community meeting Wednesday night, saying they would like to see a new library, a senior center, an indoor sports arena, retail and a job training center.

“The key word in community is unity. We need unity in community with the leaders,” resident Idella Mister said. “That’s why we’re out here to say we want to see like a library or a social service, something that’s going to help the community”.

Some are worried about the impact of adding more housing to the historic site off North Oak Park and Armitage and what that could mean for safety, emergency response times and traffic. Others concerned about additional cost for taxpayers if no new housing is added.

“You are backed up from the train track back to North Avenue. Consider if you had 400 units in there, where are they going to go?” resident Donald Glover said.

Alderman Chris Taliaferro says McCaffrey Interest presented an initial concept at the end of last year and based off his conversations with the developer, they are open to new ideas.

“I’m hopeful that some of our community groups and residents can come together and present ideas to McCaffrey on a more of a unified basis… and so that we can present those ideas to McCaffrey,” Ald. Taliaferro said.

ABC7 has reached out to McCaffrey and is awaiting a response.

Organizers say there will be another community meeting in the next couple weeks, where they will develop a new plan based off ideas gathered from Wednesday night’s meeting.