Fresh out of service in
1967 I went to work for an old south side Chicago property management
firm. In Chicago's old Grand Boulevard district at 47th & Martin Luther King
Drive. Some formerly elegant apartment buildings and some of the most
beautiful vintage brick and stone homes from the late 1800's. The
tenants were mostly older black folks who had kept the neighborhood
stable and in good repair since the late 30's. But the neighborhood was
changing. Housing projects all around the city were drawing in some
residents from other areas...other cities. These new folks were changing
the balance of good to bad. The 1965 to 1970 period ended with massive
amounts of apartments and homes being torn down, and I was being tagged
by the Building Department as the "King of demos"
"The Prince of
Destruction".... as one clerk called me.
This one lived!
During
my tenure at the firm (22 years) I did everything to advance myself and
the company. I went to night courses all over the area to enhance my
knowledge. I joined every professional organization that would have me. I
secured positions in the National, Illinois, Chicago, and South Side
Real Estate Boards.
I mainly sought new sources for revenue for the
company. We knocked on doors in every way you could. Doctors own a lot of
property. I'll contact them! Many phone calls and leads and I had
picked up over 1,000 additional units to manage. I hit up on the Banks and Trust
companies. A lot of work there. One banker told me " HUD and FSLIC were
huge property holders. There were a lot of foreclosures going on in
the 70's and 80's. We secured Area Management Contracts for both
agencies and exploded from then on. At one time we had the contract for
the largest geographic chunk of the south
side of Chicago. From Madison Street to 127th Street, from Ashland to
Lake Michigan. I used to live in most of these areas that we were now in
charge of.
When
a bank or another agency like HUD insured a loan where the folks
default, a foreclosure follows. The bank or other lender holds the
property about a year before they could turn it over to HUD. The period
of redemption. Then HUD gets the title and assumes physical
responsibility for the property an it's ultimate disposition. HUD sends
me the notice of title and I make the first physical inspection of the
property after it was vacated and after the one year period of
redemption. Banks and S&L's were supposed to be cutting the weeds,
maintaining the exterior, keeping it secured, disconnecting utilities,
winterizing, etc. Some did...most didn't. Many places were opened to the
elements and vandalized in one form or another. My job then was to
survey the property , prepare an inspection report, Take Polaroids,
estimate the repairs, appraise the value...to basically determine it's
useful life.
These were mostly high crime areas.
I
ordered the wholesale demolition of over 2,000 homes because they
weren't worth putting a single dime of the taxpayers money into a losing
proposition. Many of these homes were beyond repair and should of never
passed the lending process. But that was HUD. I
put every place under a construction microscope and like a triage nurse
and executioner hybrid,had the bad ones torn down.
During one such "shock and
awe" period of demolition is when the gal at the permit office called
me the "The Prince of Destruction"
At
one point We had 5 guys making regular inspections after the initial
take over But I personally inspected every new property. One of the side
benefits was the things that people leave behind. Always a bit of a
scavenger treasure hunter I wasn't above carrying some gem to the car.
Later on I
would simply mark what I wanted and have the clean out or the demo crew
put it aside for me. I would pay them to bring it to my shop.
Thomas Hull & John McNairy
An
amazing amount of items including antiques, furniture, architectual
stuff, every kind, trinkets, treasures, even old guns left in basement
and attics. I carried a folding ladder for my inspections anyway. A jump
suit and a flashlight as most places were boarded up solid. I ain't
afraid of no ghosts! I repaired a lot, sold a lot, gave away a lot. So
many stories to tell about certain inspections. Like falling into a
basement in the dark...filled with cold water from a broken pipe, making
my way to a window, breaking it out and crawling out into a cold
winter. Live critters, dead critters, one dead guy. Crazy neighborhood
dogs guarding a vacant yard. I met a lot of interesting people too. I was
handling my old stomping grounds in Roseland. A southern suburb near the old Pullman district. Roseland is where my 1st daughter was born.
My friend Pat McAuliff was
the area inspector and kept a close watch on his
section.It was during the mid 80's that I met a young Barack Obama in
his Roseland church office.
As the Area Manager for HUD in the area he
was asking me about the dispositions of some area properties.I
explained the process and that was that. He was professional, cordial,
and right to the point. I was to see him a few months later at an
Altgeld Garden meeting on asbestos removal. I was a chairman of the
Chicago Real Estate Boards management group and appointed the resident
asbestos expert and represented them. He was working to secure abatement
funds and assisting in new CTA bus routes to extend to the gardens. And
that was that. Small room, noisy crowd.
As
I look back now at the work...the fun...the danger, I also realize the
impact of that lost
housing stock. Many of those neighborhoods I grew up in, like Englewood
still have a long way to go. But I know, that those properties needed
to go. Never again to be quickly painted and scammed back together so
some lender could pass a loan to a property and person ill equipped to
keep it viable. Some of the neighborhoods held on.
We rehabbed this apartment building at 71st & the Dan Ryan.
It's always "only
the strong survive" and change is constant" attitude that prevails.
A lot more needs to be done.
