A multi-year community planning process to redevelop the now-shuttered Mars Wrigley candy plant in Galewood has come to a crossroads. This summer, four community organizations came together in opposition to a developer’s plan and seek to restart the planning effort. But Mars said that would be repetitive and aims to engage the community while moving forward with the developer, McCaffrey Interests.
In 2024, the former Mars Wrigley candy plant at 2019 N. Oak Park Ave. in Galewood closed its 20-acre manufacturing site after 95 years. Following multiple public meetings and months of community engagement, locals are dissatisfied with the direction that the developer is headed.
Last month, local organizations met with Ald. Chris Taliaferro and signed a unity letter that says, “We are in agreement that the current redevelopment proposal for the Galewood Mars factory site from McCaffery Interests, Inc. falls short of community expectations. The current proposal is too strongly focused on housing and lacks details for future use of the landmark building.”
The letter was signed by Austin Coming Together, Galewood Montclare Community Organization, Galewood Neighbors and Northwest Center Chicago. They recommend that, come fall, Mars reenlists Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a national nonprofit that often facilitates discussions between community groups and businesses.
On Sept. 2, Mars sent the community groups a response, saying that reengaging LISC would be repetitive and set back the timeline for redevelopment.
“We agree the next engagement phase should be professionally-facilitated, respectful of all participants, and open to all voices. We would also welcome LISC to be involved in future meetings if they desire,” said Jesse Greenberg, Mars Snacking local affairs director, in the letter. “There are housing mix and the historic building use details being worked out by the McCaffery team. Once that work reaches a point where we have an update to bring to the community, we will reach out to this group to help organize the next meeting.”
Steve Green, chairperson for Galewood Neighbors, told Austin Weekly News after receiving Greenberg’s letter, “We’re not starting over. We have a proposal from a developer, so that’s the basis for the next conversations.”
Mars hired LISC in 2022 to create a community-driven plan for new development where the Mars factory sits.
“Over the past four years, we have closely collaborated with community groups, LISC and our chosen developer, McCaffery Interests, to map the next best use for the existing manufacturing site. This collaboration continues today,” a Mars spokesperson told Austin Weekly News. “As conversations progress, we remain committed to working constructively with our partners and members of the community for an outcome that reflects our shared commitment to the neighborhood.”
As a result of community meetings, in 2023, LISC released a report that said community members wanted a mixed-use site with community areas, green space, housing and small businesses. They also wanted to maintain the facade of the Mars Wrigley headquarters facing Oak Park Avenue.
Last December, McCaffrey — who, like other bidders, submitted a proposal and was evaluated based on how well they aligned with the mission of Mars and the surrounding Galewood community — presented its plans to the community, including 150 senior living units, 197 multi-housing units and 132 townhome units. Plans also include a 64,000-square-foot multipurpose space for events.
According Green, LISC reported that the community wanted three acres of housing, but McCaffrey’s plan had closer to 12 acres.
“There wasn’t much discussion about any community amenities, which obviously cost money and they don’t want to focus on that until they get approval for the amount of housing, or what’s going to make them money,” Green said. “But the community wants to know the opposite — What’s in it for them?”
Dan McCaffrey, CEO of McCaffrey Interests, told Austin Weekly News that he’s open to amending the housing plan for the Mars factory site.
Using a hypothetical number of residences, McCaffrey said, “If I say ‘1,000’ and someone says, ‘No, you can’t do 1,000.’ I can’t go from 1,000 to 10. Maybe it goes from 1,000 to 850.”
Green is also hopeful that there can be compromise on the site’s housing.
“In 2022, there were people who came to those [LISC] community meetings who didn’t want any housing at all,” Green said. “After small group conversations where everyone’s voice was able to be heard, that final template created by the community actually has some housing on it.”
McCaffrey said their plan for the Mars site develops 55% of the property into housing, and 45% would remain streets, a park, open space and a parking lot.
McCaffrey added that, if residents want to leave 17 acres of the 20-acre site without housing, “Who pays for it? OK let’s put flowers down, who plants them every spring? How much does that cost? Where’s the landscaping company that’s going to cut the lawn? Who pays for the lights to make sure that that 17 acres doesn’t become vagrancy?”
And many factors in the building process are outside McCaffrey Interests’ control, the CEO said — Mainly, the cost of infrastructure to install sewers, water pipes, streetlights and roads. Whatever McCaffrey Interests builds has to cover those costs, and the more houses there are, the better the cost per house.
“The LISC report was not an economic report. The LISC report was a wish list of potential community uses,” McCaffrey said.
But Green said there could be ways besides housing to meet economic goals.
“The thing we don’t know and the community doesn’t know, and McCaffrey does know, is what’s the minimum amount of housing that could go in there?” Green said. “What other things could go in there besides housing that could help pay for itself?”
McCaffrey told Austin Weekly News, “There is a number against which you have to build. …Until you know the plan, you don’t know the cost.”
What comes next?
After a handful of meetings with community groups this year, earlier this summer, some met with Ald. Taliaferro twice to discuss next steps — once in July with Mars present, and a few weeks ago without the property owner there.
“We needed to have all the community leaders talk freely and come to an agreement on how to move forward. If the community can’t come together, it doesn’t make sense to have more meetings with Mars,” Green said. “All along they’ve wanted to do something more for the community. …Their intention has always been really good, but I think a lot of people, including them, didn’t realize how difficult a process it is.”
“It’s a very legitimate crossroads of a lot of good intentions,” McCaffrey agreed. “This is an expected part of the process. People in the community, I’m not there; they’re there. They’ve been there a long time, and they get nervous and/or over-expectant. He added that McCaffrey representatives try to “be patient, listen, modify where possible, try to be persuasive where things aren’t possible, and work together.”
In their unity letter, community groups said they also wanted to work together: “Most importantly, we are in agreement on the need for everyone to come together as a community and have a rational, detailed conversation on the future of the Mars site. We all want an approach that should result in a productive and transparent process to reset everyone’s efforts in developing an equitable and feasible plan.”
“I would like nothing more than unity, but it’s got to be unity around a plan, not obstruction,” McCaffrey said. “What I think will happen — whether it’s McCaffrey or the man in the moon, next month or 10 years from now — there will be a prudent development on that site,” McCaffrey said. He cites its vicinity to Chicago and a community railroad, plus potential tax money generation as draws of developing the property with housing.
Green said, though Mars made an unusual move in engaging the community before putting the property on the market, he would be disappointed if Mars reverted to the industry standard.
“Most corporations, if they close the factory, hand the keys over to a commercial real estate company and say goodbye. What Mars is trying to do is unique,” Green said. “My worst-case scenario is Mars says, ‘We tried, but obviously the community doesn’t want to agree on anything or compromise on anything, so we’ll just put it on the market as an industrial site.’ …It doesn’t have to have anything for the community.”