It’s true, all true. Those rumbles and rumors about what John Podmajersky III is up to in what some used to call East Pilsen–the area along and around Halsted between 16th Street and Canalport, where his family is said to own about a hundred buildings–are pretty much right on. Just ask him. Is he now calling the neighborhood the Chicago Arts District–without any official sanction from the city? Yes. Has he removed longtime resident artists from first-floor spaces along Halsted? Yes. Replaced them with commercial tenants? Yes. Ordered those tenants to keep their lights on at least till midnight? Yes. Stripped the blinds off their windows? Dictated “attractive window displays”? Instituted uniform painting and signage? Yes, yes, and yes.
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Podmajersky’s father, John II, who was born and grew up in Pilsen when it was largely an eastern European neighborhood, began to acquire his real estate holdings more than 40 years ago. The area and buildings were in decline, but John II, who worked as a structural engineer for the city, recognized early on that large lofts and cheap rents would draw a tenant base of artists who could stabilize–and glamorize–the neighborhood. Rehabbing one building at a time, he developed a shabby-chic artists’ community, dotted with hidden alley gardens, that spread over 12 square blocks and gained cachet by word of mouth. John III, a graduate of Francis Parker School and the University of Chicago, eventually joined him in the business. Over the last couple of years John III has taken over much of the property marketing and management, a changing of the guard that’s been a source of worry for tenants who see the elder Podmajersky as paternalistic–even idealistic–and his son as a businessman.
You could say the younger Podmajersky’s vision for his empire differs from his father’s by degree. Where pop wanted artists as tenants (and turned the neighborhood’s back to the street), junior is looking for “artist-entrepreneurs”–especially for those high-visibility first-floor spots. “These retail spaces deserve somebody who’s going to take full advantage of them,” he says. His brochures announce that “The Chicago Arts District is ready and waiting for your creative business,” and his two newest renters on Halsted are handsome examples of what he’s after. Fleur Gallery, at 1833 S. Halsted, exhibits established as well as new artists and is owned by Christy MacLear and Ali Walsh, who also run Fleur Fine Art–an art-shopping firm for buildings, corporations, and individuals–out of the same space. The 4Art gallery, at 1932 S. Halsted, run by Robin Monique Rios and Jerod Schmidt, also offers framing, graphic design, and art classes.
