DeKALB – City of DeKalb officials, Camiros representatives and Annie Glidden North residents met Wednesday in the Community Room of the University Village Apartment Complex to discuss the last stages in moving revitalization efforts forward.

Adam Rosa, a consultant with Camiros, a neighborhood planning and development firm partnered with the City of DeKalb, introduced 10 core transformational projects central to the plan at large. The projects have been selected with the intention of creating new services and consolidating existing resources present in the Annie Glidden North corridor. Levels of priority were assigned to the projects through an evaluation of the greatest needs of the community; i identifying transit concerns is foremost in the plan.

Rosa said revitalization efforts hope to address the identification of local transportation issues while integrating improvements into the DeKalb-Sycamore Transportation Study [DSAT], transform Welsh Park into a local and regional community destination and develop Greek row into a visually identifiable part of Annie Glidden Road.

“I think being close to NIU does provide opportunities for significant redevelopment through public-private partnerships,” Rosa said. “We want to put programs in place to help people succeed, and in doing that, we need to make a safer, more liveable and more walkable community.”

Assistant City Manager Ray Munch said NIU’s role in the revitalization has been extensive. He said they have been present in the process through the start and hope to see the project fully realized.

“The city has bi-monthly meetings with university leadership and the president’s office,” Munch said. “We’ve been discussing this plan in all our meetings, and the city is intimately involved with the projects. The city manager’s office has a monthly meeting with the Student Association leadership, so we’ve been engaging the students throughout this process as well.”

Many Annie Glidden North residents in attendance voiced concerns regarding the city of DeKalb’s long-term commitment to carrying out the revitalization effort as well as existing concerns with city transit consolidation, Safe Streets and fears of potential gentrification.

Quiana Jones, the program coordinator of Dresser Court Apartments, 1145 Rushmore Drive, said the elimination of a nearby bus stop has presented many challenges to the residents despite the intended effect of improving DSAT. She wished to voice their concerns at the meeting.

“Within the last couple weeks, I’ve had numerous residents come to me almost in tears and frustration because that bus stop has gotten cut off,” Jones said. “There’s residents who have certain disabilities or illnesses that limit them, so you’re piling confusion and frustration on top, [and] that builds their anxiety.”

The Rev. Joe Mitchell of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church prompted members of his congregation to attend the meeting with him in the hopes of addressing concerns he said weren’t being considered by the city of DeKalb and Camiros. He said that fail safes were necessary to prevent harmful redevelopment.

“Often times, those who have finances and money get the things they want while others who don’t have those type of resources get pushed aside and ostracized,” the Rev. Mitchell said. “When I went through the revitalization plan, I didn’t notice anything in there that would prevent gentrification. Unless we have safeguards in place, that will happen in DeKalb.”