Chicago’s Largest Mixed-Use OZ Project Lands Financing

Rendering of Ogden Commons. Image courtesy of The Habitat Company

The largest mixed-use project in an opportunity zone in the city of Chicago is moving forward. The Habitat Co. secured financing for the first phase of Ogden Commons, a $200 million public-private partnership development that will rise in the North Lawndale neighborhood. Chicago-based Habitat Co. first announced the development in November 2018.

Financing came through a combination of debt and Opportunity Zone equity, with PNC Bank lending $15 million of the $22 million cost for the first phase at the project.

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Once completed, the 10-acre Ogden Commons development will house 120,000 square feet of commercial and retail space and more than 350 mixed-income housing units. The project is being developed in a partnership between Habitat, Sinai Health System, Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, the Chicago Housing Authority and the City of Chicago. Ogden Commons is situated on land where public housing developments within the Chicago Housing Authority previously stood.

The project will be developed in several phases, the first of which is currently underway and will include 50,000 square feet of commercial and retail space in a three-story building. Retail tenants that have already inked deals for ground-floor space at the project include Steak n’ Shake, Ja’ Grill and Wintrust Bank. The remaining space will be occupied by Sinai Health System and Cinespace Chicago Film Studios.

The second phase of Ogden Commons will be the construction of the mixed-income housing units, which will be spread across a 92-unit multifamily building and three six-unit residential buildings. Developers of the project anticipate a 2026 completion date for the entire project.

Matt Fiascone, president of The Habitat Co., said in prepared remarks that the completion of Ogden Commons will be a “great moment” for North Lawndale, which has long lacked new development and investment.

Earlier this year, Chicago-based firm Cedar Street Cos. and Origin Investments announced they would be developing Pilsen Gateway, a $64.5 million luxury residential community that will rise in an opportunity zone just outside of Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. That project will feature 202 units, seven of which will be designated affordable.