Wrigleyville Neighbors Demand Changes To Cubs Parking Lot Expansion 20%
By Patrick Filbin17%
7/17/2026, 12:51:00 PM
Topics: Chicago Politics, Real Estate Development
BS Summary: This article contains 8 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Bandwagon, and Appeal to Emotion, with Self-Serving Bias as the most egregious example at 8.9% saturation with 86 hits. Analysis detected 467 faulty-reasoning hits from 968 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 34.7% and a BS Rank of 20% (14,488 of 17,975 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 80.60% of the article peer group.
WRIGLEYVILLE — Neighbors are urging city officials to require the Cubs to comply with city landscape and stormwater rules before allowing a major parking lot expansion near Wrigley Field.
Residents have gathered more than 1,600 signatures opposing the Cubs’ proposed lot plans and are asking alderpeople to write environmental, traffic and privacy protections into the planned development amendment needed for the project to get final approval.
The latest dispute marks the next chapter in the debate over the Cubs’ proposal to expand the Camry Lot from 688 to as many as 947 spaces by incorporating the former House of the Good Shepherd property the team purchased from Catholic Charities.
Block Club first reported on the proposal in March.
Since then, neighbors in the 44th and 46th wards have organized around the proposal, collecting more than 1,600 signatures for a petition and pressing the Cubs to bring the project into compliance with city landscape and stormwater regulations.
Chuck Blasgen, a longtime Lakeview resident who has helped organize the neighborhood opposition, said residents’ concerns intensified after the Cubs removed 29 mature trees from the former House of the Good Shepherd property in June.
“We had done a great deal of research in advance about what the ordinances are, what planned development was, what the history of this particular planned development was, and what we thought were sensible and reasonable requests for the neighborhood,” Blasgen said.
“What really put the neighborhood over the edge was waking up to find the Cubs had put 29 trees through the wood chipper that were 30 to 50 years old.”
Michael Lufrano, the Cubs’ executive vice president of community, government and legal affairs, said the tree removal was part of the planned redevelopment of the former Catholic Charities property.
The Cubs bought the property last year after the nonprofit relocated its women’s shelter.
The Wrigley Field Camry Lot parking area west of the ballpark in Wrigleyville.
The Chicago Cubs are seeking city approval to expand the lot and add hundreds of parking spaces on nearby property they recently purchased.
Credit: Patrick Filbin/Block Club Chicago
The city issued permits that allowed the Cubs to demolish the buildings.
Expanding the Camry Lot still requires approval from the Chicago Plan Commission and City Council.
Lufrano said the current proposal would ultimately leave the site with more trees than it has today.
The Cubs are looking to expand the Camry Lot by incorporating the former House of the Good Shepherd property, adding 259 parking spaces that team officials say will help accommodate fans who already drive to games while reducing parking on nearby residential streets.
Team officials have also said the additional parking would improve accessibility for older fans and those with disabilities who rely on the lot’s shuttle service to reach Wrigley Field.
The Cubs were hoping to complete the expansion before Wrigley hosts the 2027 All-Star Game, but Lufrano said Thursday the project is unlikely to be finished this season.
“We met a couple of weeks ago, and we said, ‘Give us a couple of weeks to get back to you,'” Lufrano said.
“We want to understand what their concerns are, and we want to be a good neighbor to the extent we can.
We’re going to try to address them.”
The 400 feet marker amid growing ivy at Wrigley Field on May 2, 2025.
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Neighbors met with the Cubs and representatives from the offices of alds.
Bennett Lawson (44th) and Angela Clay (46th) on June 30 to discuss a list of conditions residents want written into the planned development.
Neighbors want the Cubs to add more interior landscaping, replace the trees removed from the property, release a stormwater management plan and traffic study, limit lighting and security camera impacts on nearby homes and delay additional work until those issues are resolved.
Residents argue the city’s landscape ordinance requires parking lots of the Camry Lot’s size to include substantially more interior landscaping than the Cubs’ current proposal and believe the team should bring the entire expanded lot into compliance as part of the planned development amendment.
Residents also continue to question whether adding nearly 260 parking spaces would worsen congestion around Wrigley Field.
“The new plan includes operational changes that are going to push traffic straight to Clark Street and have people who exit the lot to turn west so that they don’t turn into the neighborhood,” Lufrano said.
“We’re confident that the operational things we’ll put in place will allow the neighborhood and the streets to absorb the additional cars.”
Blasgen said residents are not trying to stop the project outright but want the Cubs held to the same standards as other developments.
Lufrano said the team believes the planned development process allows it to work with city officials and neighbors on an alternative landscaping plan, noting other major sports venues have received similar accommodations.
“We’re looking at their request to see if we can add even more trees.
We’re looking at their concern about lighting and can we dim the lights a little so they won’t spill out over the walls,” Lufrano said.
“We’re looking at a number of the other concerns that they raised in the meeting.”
The 44th and 46th ward offices are still collecting feedback from residents about the project.
Any expansion of the parking lot would still require approval from the Chicago Plan Commission before advancing to the City Council, where the planned development amendment would receive a final vote.
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