A close to capacity crowd weathered the harsh wind and snowy conditions to gather themselves into the St. Vincent DePaul Center, 2145 N. Halsted, Wed. night, for a public forum hosted by Alderman Vi Daley of the 43rd Ward and the HOK Planning Group entitled “Children’s Memorial Hospital Site Redevelopment Public Meeting” to discuss the future of some very valuable land in DePaul University’s backyard.The meeting, the third in a series of four, offered residents and other members of the Lincoln Park community a chance to be heard and express their concerns,about the land, in between Halsted and Orchard Avenues. This land will be vacated and sold by Children’s Memorial Hospital when they move into Chicago’s Streeterville Community in, what is targeted as, 2012.

Todd Meyer, the urban planner for the site, said the meeting was held to receive feedback from residents on what they would like to see done with the land.

“What we have learned in our research is that this is a tremendously valuable site, and it is in the heart of one of Chicago’s best neighborhoods,” said Meyer, before splitting the crowd into four different groups. “We are not here to sell you any ideas.”

Once split up Meyer, as well as other members of the HOK group, outlined the many different ways that this site could play out.

“From residential, to hotel, to retail, to many other things, almost anything you could think of could be successful at this site,” said Meyer. Residents, however, remain concerned about what exactly is going to be done with the land. Most desire some open space and like the idea of a pedestrian walkway, which may encourage people to walk to whatever is built and leave their cars at home.

Others’ main concerns revolve around the preservation of some of the older buildings that are being sold, like the Nellie Black Building, 700 W. Fullerton, which they believe adds character and a sense of history to the neighborhood.

Margaret Jackson, a Lincoln Park resident for 30 years, is nervous that the new buildings will be too large. “My concern is that these buildings will be too high, and it will hurt the lighting in the area,” said Jackson. That concern is warranted, as according to Meyer, there are currently no zoning restrictions on the height of a building in that area, and with the possibility of a new developer coming into the neighborhood, it is a story that sounds familiar to Jackson. “Developers have to be aware that people actually live here,” said Jackson, “When they come in and leave their mark, we have to live with it.”

For now, it is too early to tell what exactly will be done with Children’s Memorial Hospital when they move, and just about the only thing that can be said with any certainty is that there are many different possible options.”There are a number of ways that this site could look like at the end of the day,” said Meyer, “There are a variety of options here.