A new high school is planned for the Near South Side on land once used for public housing. But it’s drawing criticism over location and need.

The Chicago Housing Authority board voted Tuesday to move forward with plans to lease part of the site of the former Ickes Homes public housing complex to the Chicago Board of Education for a proposed $120 million high school that would serve Chinatown, Bridgeport and South Loop teens.

The approval came despite objections from community activists who said the land should be used for more public housing units.

CHA Chief Development Officer Ann McKenzie said the site proposed for the neighborhood school is half of the southernmost block that has been planned as the last phase of the new Southbridge development, a mix of affordable, market-rate and public housing units. CHA CEO Tracey Scott said details are still being worked out, but that the plot could fit both housing and a school.

“We’re going to increase the density of the housing on part of that parcel, so we can still do what we need to do with housing on the parcel and still ultimately fit a school,” Scott said. “We don’t have a final design on what that school would look like, but this proposal and the resolution that’s before you is based on that concept, that we can still put our housing on the Ickes site.”

The resolution the CHA board approved directs Scott to submit applications to the federal government to lease the land and acquire two new sites. McKenzie noted Chicago Public Schools is still in the “conceptual phase” of the proposed Near South Side high school, but if the school is built, it would serve nearby CHA families and provide a meeting space for residents.

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez promised more community engagement when he pulled the controversial school proposal ahead of last month’s Board of Education budget vote. Since then, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has appointed three new Board of Education members.

One outgoing member, Dwayne Truss, suspects he was replaced because he called for more resident participation in the planning of the high school and opposed “a bait-and-switch in terms of CHA land or other land that we did not own.”

The 99-year lease to the Board of Education would cover a 1.7-acre area, bounded by 24th Street on the north, 25th Street on the south, Dearborn Street on the west and State Street on the east. In exchange, CPS would acquire and provide CHA with two nearby parcels on Wabash Avenue, which have been deemed “pretty expensive.”

The broker handling the listing of the two properties — which total about 2 acres — said he fields about four inquiries a week, but hasn’t been approached by representatives of the board or the city.

Scott said she anticipates the Wabash properties may be used for market-rate homeownership.

Outside CHA headquarters Monday morning, community activists urged the city to meet its obligation of providing the replacement housing promised when the Ickes complex was demolished more than a decade ago. Ickes once had 740 units.

Afternoon Briefing

Daily

Chicago Tribune editors’ top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon.

The Southbridge development is expected to feature 877 units, including 244 for CHA families.

“When it comes to Chinatown, we think they should have whatever they need to have in their community. We believe that. But in our community we know we need housing,” said Roderick Wilson, executive director of the Lugenia Burns Hope Center.

Angela Lin — co-founder of People Matter, which performs racial justice work — said her group surveyed 100 community members from Chinatown, Pilsen and Bridgeport after last month’s Board of Education meeting. Lin said most of the participants were not aware of the high school proposal.

“Most of the people we surveyed said that they did not want a high school on the land of public housing because the housing should be for people who need housing,” Lin said. “So if a lot of the community members who are out here do not support this proposal, then I think that the city should reevaluate their decisions and listen to what the community members want.”

The school would be paid for with $50 million in state funding that has been re-appropriated a few times, and $70 million previously announced for a Near West Side high school that was never built.

Critics say CPS should focus on improving high schools in the area such as Dunbar Vocational Career Academy in the South Commons neighborhood and Wendell Phillips Academy High School in Bronzeville. Years ago the district proposed converting the National Teachers Academy elementary school in the South Loop into a high school, but CPS dropped the plan after activists waged a court battle.

tswartz@tribpub.com