hoodline South Shore Rezoning Push Aims To Turn 71st Street Vacant Lots Into Housing
September 14, 2026CHICAGO — Alderman Desmon Yancy wants South Shore to grow up, not out. His pitch: rezone large stretches of 71st Street and the nearby Pocket Town micro-neighborhood to allow apartments, sit-down restaurants and denser housing on land that’s currently limited to single-family homes, storage lots or low-slung storefronts.
The rezoning proposals, first introduced by Yancy in July 2026, would touch large portions of 71st Street between Stony Island Avenue and Yates Boulevard and reclassify much of Pocket Town in Greater Grand Crossing as a residential district allowing two-flats, townhouses and multi-unit buildings, according to Block Club Chicago. Yancy has said South Shore must grow vertically because it cannot grow horizontally, per the same report, framing the density push as a response to the neighborhood’s limited undeveloped land.