McMobil

The current rumor about the vacant site on 53rd near Kenwood is that the University wants to buy the property and build a dormitory there.  Sometimes you hear they want to build 8 stories high and sometimes you hear 12.  If the rumor is true-- and I can't verify it-- I'd probably be in favor of the proposal as long as there's retail space on the ground floor.  I'd prefer 8 stories and could understand opposition to 12, but a few things about this site make it a good choice to waive the current zoning regulations in favor of density.

First and foremost, the McMobil site (so named because a McDonald's used to sit next to the Mobil station) is on the north side of the street across from Nichols Park so shadows will not fall across 53rd Street.  Since the half-block on the south side opposite McMobil is grassland and there's been steady opposition to building on it, there's no worry about a canyon effect.  We need to recapture the density that Hyde Park lost by clearing away residences and retail for Nichols Park during urban renewal; building around the edge of the park is a fine way of accomplishing that and the north edge-- across the street from the park-- is a good place to start.  A dormitory would result in fewer cars per residence than most other uses of a similarly sized building.