The Harvey City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve the first steps of a community solar project to be located on city-owned land, after a previous vote on the project was postponed due to a power outage.
Marquis Matilla of Evolved Living, who presented the proposal to the council’s Legislative Committee, emphasized it would not cost the residents or city of Harvey anything.
“If the project is successful, Evolved Living would manage the project, ensure maintenance is done, again at no cost to the city and no cost to the residents, for the benefit of the residents,” Matilla said.
The council approved a feasibility study, which Matilla estimated would take between 60 and 90 days, to determine whether the land was suitable for the project.
“Our goal is to validate that the site is suitable for the solar project, to do technical studies to see what the size of the project and capacity may be, and to do economic modeling to see what the environmental and economic impact will be,” Matilla said.
If the project is deemed feasible, the next step will be to secure the various permits and approvals.
Matilla’s presentation indicated a vacant triangular patch of land bounded by Turlington Avenue, East 149th Street, and Loomis Avenue as a potential site.
“This is land that’s been sitting, probably over a decade or two, correct?” said 3rd Ward Ald. Telanee Smith. “That’s land that the city hasn’t gotten a dime off of, at all.”
Harvey would receive revenue from leasing the land and from ComEd payments, while Evolved Living would be responsible for construction, development and maintenance, according to Matilla’s presentation.
“Typically with community solar projects, residents will receive 20-50% savings on their electrical bills, and that is available to subscribers, whether they are residents of the community, community organizations or local businesses,” Matilla said.
The project, including the feasibility study, would be funded by a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Matilla said.
“Funds were made available for this, basically, Solar For All program, so that those in less fortunate communities can have access to renewable energy,” Matilla said. “That’s why it costs nothing.”
Matilla said the cost of the feasibility study was not yet determined.
“It’s hard to tell until we get on the site, we size the system to see how many modules we can fit on the site, how many converters we need and then we come up with a cost for engineering, a cost for those other studies and things of that nature,” Matilla said.
Some residents offered questions and concerns. Melissa Crawley said although the project may not cost the residents anything in the immediate term, she was concerned about long-term consequences, including environmental effects.
“I have heard it repeated that this project will not cost residents anything,” Crawley said. “No cost up front doesn’t always mean that there’s no cost to the community. Cost is not always immediate and it’s not always financial.”
Historically, under-resourced Black communities like Harvey have been left with consequences such as health impacts and long-term liabilities due to developers, Crawley said.
“Communities like Harvey have historically been placed in positions where projects are brought in with promises of development, but without full transparency, without meaningful education and without real accountability,” Crawley said.
Sixth Ward Ald. Tyrone Rogers asked if it would be possible to expand the project if it was successful.
“There’s only so much we can fit on that land,” Matilla said. “But thankfully enough, Harvey does have other sites available. Once this project is a go, it’s in operation and everybody’s happy, we can look and say, hey, is this something we want to do on other sites?”
Many details of the potential project are still undetermined due to it being in the early stages, Matilla said, such as the length of the lease on the land.
“I don’t like the impression I’ve been hearing, like it’s so difficult to get things done in Harvey,” said 5th Ward Ald. Dominique Randle-El. “It’s not that difficult. We’re talking about solar panels. You put them on your house, why can’t you put them on the ground and let everybody benefit?”
The City Council also voted unanimously to apply for a Site Readiness Program Grant to clean up an area in the west of the village bounded by Dixie Highway and Western Avenue.
Acting Mayor Shirley Drewenski said the city, which is in persistent financial distress, was looking at every avenue to clean itself up and find available funds.
“We’re going to attempt all things, and I’m not above begging,” Drewenski said. “We will apply for every grant that we possibly can.”
Drewenski said several employees laid off last fall to cut costs had also been reinstated, and addressed the fact that Harvey’s application for financially distressed city status was refused by the state.
“It didn’t put us in a crisis, because we knew our odds were limited,” Drewenski said. “Nobody, especially the state … wants any city to become distressed, because they do not have the funds to take over.”
Attorney Harris Kouklakis, representing J&T Group, said the city was not fulfilling its side of a redevelopment agreement for abandoned and dilapidated properties approved in December 2024.
Tom Koerner, president of J&T Group, said he was working with former Mayor Christopher Clark on the project, but that communication had been interrupted when Clark died in January.
“What we’re asking is for the city to work with the J&T Group to transfer these deeds into the J&T Group’s name so they can be rehabbed,” Kouklakis said. “As of right now, there is a huge risk of the whole program that was agreed upon being terminated because of Harvey’s lack of communication and execution.”
Drewenski said the project was put on hold because of the city’s limited resources, and said the city was working on setting up a committee to address the issue of redevelopment.
“Here’s our choice. We have five dollars. Where are we doing to spend it? On the future? On properties?” Drewenski said. “Or are we going to spend it on lights, sidewalks, potholes and resources?”
Harvey recently held a ceremonial groundbreaking in February for a different redevelopment project located on city property, Turlington Homes, which was also approved prior to Clark’s death.
elewis@chicagotribune.com
