While work continues in all but two of the apartment buildings on Jacato Drive, the developer and new owner of the properties is asking the city to change the name of the street.
Charlie Clarke, a principal of both Kinzie Racine, LLP and Evanston, IL-based Kinzie Realty Corp., told The Journal Times that the goal is give the buildings and the residents a fresh start. Spending upwards of $3 million to rehab every unit, hallway and basement in every building can only go so far if the name of the street still makes people think only of the area’s troubled not-so-distant past.
“We are trying to give this street and this neighborhood a fresh start,” Clarke is quoted as saying. “Unfortunately, ‘Jacato Drive’ carries a little bit of a reputation from the past of criminal activity and substandard housing. And what we are hoping to do is reflect this new investment and the fresh start.”
The request to rename Jacato Drive to Anthony Lane – for Anthony Totero who first developed the area – was unanimously approved by the city’s Planning Commission. The matter now moves to the Common Council, though the change could require a public hearing, the story continues.
Racine Mayor Dickert told Racine County Eye last month that he was aware of Clarke’s plan to rename Jacato Drive, and he seemed supportive.
““We’re going to look at that because we’ve got a developer that is committed to doing the work,” Dickert said.