Despite declining student enrollments in Chicago public schools and lingering concerns from neighborhood groups, the Chicago Board of Education said Wednesday that it will purchase land and pay a proposed $120 million near We barely approved the plan to take the first step towards building South Side High School.

The Board voted 4-3 in favor of purchasing the 23rd Street and Wabash Avenue property for $10.3 million and exchanging it with the Chicago Housing Authority. Former Ickes Homes public housing complex — for high schools.

The Board also authorized the Public Building Commission to perform planning and design services for the project at a cost of $5 million.

“We knew this was going to be a pretty big conversation, but we had to do it,” said Pedro Martinez, CEO of CPS, a strong supporter of the new high school project. I said we shouldn’t delay our plans.

“A big part of a CEO’s job is to see the big picture,” says Martinez. “While working on long-term plans, we must always respond to immediate needs.”

However, director Senthil Revulli, who voted against the plan, remained unconvinced and questioned that the construction of the new high school was part of the district’s strategic plan.

“Why now? And where’s the money coming from?”

Board member Elizabeth Todd Breland, who also voted against the proposal, said the plan made no sense in a system experiencing declining enrollment.

“I don’t think this project should cross the line,” says Todd-Breland. “We need to rethink existing schools to meet the needs of families.”

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The high school will be funded with $50 million in state funding, which has been reassigned several times, and the previously announced $70 million for Near West Side High School, which was never built. The lease between CHA and CPS is for 55 years, with two 20-year extensions.

The proposal was removed from the agenda of the June board meeting, with several members expressing concerns.

Chinatown leaders say the school, which serves students in South Loop, Chinatown and Bridgeport, is sorely needed in a booming neighborhood.

Local groups or elected officials wishing to support existing schools rather than building new ones, or public housing or affordable housing are appropriate uses of the land in question. For a long time, people who believe that the But the controversy didn’t stop his CPS from pursuing the plan. It also has the endorsement of Mayor Lori Lightfoot. In June, she said, “People in Chinatown have been asking for neighboring high schools for quite some time,” and the data suggested it wouldn’t reduce enrollment at existing nearby secondary schools.

Contributed by Alice Yin of the Chicago Tribune.

kcullotta@chicagoribune.com

tswartz@tribpub.com