Neighbors of the former Halsted Indoor Mall parking lot in West Roseland crammed into a church to vent frustration over plans to transform the lot into a temporary migrant shelter, chanting, “No migrants in our community,” according to Block Club Chicago. Residents argued the neighborhood has already suffered years of disinvestment and that the city should be directing resources to longtime residents. 

The shelter could also scuttle plans for Morgan Park Commons, a 12-acre project that would transform the site and a nearby vacated Jewel-Osco grocery store into an affordable housing and retail development that was set to break ground next year. 

“There are a lot of people out here hurting that [the city] could be helping, and there’s a lot of problems going on in this community they could be fixing,” Washington Heights resident Daphne Taylor told Block Club. “It feels like we’re being locked out of the situation, and that’s unfair.”

Johnson last week announced plans to open several camps that would include climate-controlled, military-grade tents, bathrooms and showers, intake spaces and other facilities. City officials identified the lot at 115th and Halsted streets as one possible location.

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