Habitat JV Kicks Off $119M Chicago Mixed-Income Project
The first residential phase will add 183 apartments, 90 percent of them affordable.
Habitat and Cabrera Capital have broken ground on the first, $119 million residential phase of LeClaire Courts, a mixed-income, mixed-use redevelopment on Chicago’s Southwest Side. The project will bring 183 apartments to a portion of the former public housing site.
The capital stack includes a $27 million loan from the Chicago Housing Authority, $9.5 million in city multifamily program funds and $5.5 million in tax-increment financing.
The project also received $33.7 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity, $1.3 million in Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credit equity and includes a $1.2 million deferred developer fee. Bank of America and the Illinois Housing Development Authority are also financing partners.
READ ALSO: Why More Multifamily Developers Are Mixing It Up
SCB designed the initial phase, while George Sollitt Construction Co. serves as general contractor. Infrastructure work across the site includes utility and street improvements, new lighting, sidewalks and ADA-accessible pathways. The first residential phase is expected to come online in 2028, according to ABC7 Chicago.
Rising at 4400-4458 S. Cicero Ave. within the Garfield Ridge neighborhood, the community will be close to several dining and retail options and to Chicago Midway International Airport. Downtown Chicago will be less than 10 miles away.
The development will comprise two six-story mixed-use buildings along Cicero Avenue between 44th and 45th streets. Residences will range from studios to three-bedroom units, with 90 percent designated as affordable and the remainder will be at market rate. Nearly half of the apartments are expected to serve Chicago Housing Authority residents, Southwest Regional Publishing reported.
Beyond housing, the first phase will include a 14,000-square-foot early childhood education center operated by Chicago Commons and additional ground-floor retail space. Common-area amenities will include fitness centers, community rooms, resident services space, bicycle storage, playgrounds and gathering areas.
Mixed-income housing has become a key component of large-scale redevelopment projects across the U.S. Residential density is increasingly being used to support complementary retail, public space and community services, while public-private partnerships help finance more complex projects. Recent examples include the $600 million redevelopment of the former Burlington Center Mall in New Jersey and the $3 billion transformation of Willets Point in Queens, N.Y., both of which use housing as the centerpiece of broader mixed-use districts.
A 32-acre redevelopment moves forward
LeClaire Courts will eventually transform into a 32-acre site bounded by Cicero Avenue, 45th Street, Lavergne Avenue and the Stevenson Expressway. The former public housing community was completed in the 1950s and demolished in 2011, leaving the property vacant for roughly 15 years.
At full build-out, plans call for as many as 700 residential units, approximately 440,000 square feet of commercial space and publicly accessible open areas. Future phases are expected to add more mixed-income apartments, townhome-style residences, senior housing, retail and health-care space. The overall project has been estimated at roughly $550 million.
Chicago’s growing multifamily footprint
Midway through October, Chicago had 69 multifamily projects under construction, according to Yardi Matrix data, which would encompass more than 12,000 units upon completion. Out of these projects, 34 belong to the metro’s urban areas.
A few months ago, The Community Builders broke ground on the latest phase of another mixed-income redevelopment. Dubbed Southbridge 1C, the 80-unit property is taking shape about 8 miles away from LeClaire Courts and is set to come online next year.
