Robert Taylor Homes is bordered by Pershing Road on the south, State Street on the east, the Rock Island Railroad tracks on the west and 54th Street on the south.

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Resident Leadership

Public housing residents are represented by a strong leadership headed by the development’s Local Advisory Council (LAC). This council is synonymous with a tenant association and is headed by an LAC president who is part of the Central Advisory Council, the governing body of the LAC.

Robert Taylor Homes LAC President (Robert Taylor B)	Mildred Dennis
Mailing Address	5120 S. Federal, 1st Fl. Chicago, IL 60609
Phone	(312) 674-3912 or (312) 674-3913

History

Robert Taylor was considered the largest public housing development in the world when it was completed in 1962. With more than 4,300 units, this massive development occupied a two-mile stretch of South State Street . The apartments were arrayed in a linear series of 28 16-story high-rises, which formed a kind of kind of concrete curtain for traffic passing by on the nearby Dan Ryan Expressway. All but one of these high-rises have been demolished; the last building will close by the end of 2006. By containing a large low-income population on an isolated site, the Robert Taylor Homes property became a national symbol for the errant philosophy of post-war public housing.

Existing Conditions

To prepare for the redevelopment of the Taylor property, demolition of the site is ongoing. All but one of the original on-site buildings have been razed. Fewer than 50 of the building’s units are occupied.

In 1996 HOPE VI funds were granted specifically for off-site Taylor replacement housing. The funds were used initially for the first two phases of Hearts United – The Langston and The Quincy. After the Taylor Master Development Plan was finalized, the 1996 funds continue to be used to produce the new off-site phases, like Mahalia Place.

Plan for Transformation: Mixed-Income Redevelopment

The master redevelopment plan for Robert Taylor Homes, recently renamed Legends South, includes construction of 2,550 mixed-income rental and homeownership units, as well as community and management facilities, and new retail space. Approximately 851 of the planned 2550 units will be public housing replacement units, as reflected in the chart below. Redevelopment for this site will occur in three construction phases. Two construction phases will occur on the footprint of where the demolished high-rises once stood, and one construction phase will occur off-site in the surrounding neighborhood.

In keeping with the Legends South concept of naming each individual phase after a famous Chicago South Side resident, Mahalia Place, the first off-site phase, was named after gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, and was completed in 2004. All 110 units of Mahalia Place are leased. Construction began recently on Hansberry Square, the first on-site phase at the northern end of Legends South. Hansberry Square is named after Lorraine Hansberry and is a 181 unit mixed-income rental development.   The City of Chicago is currently making improvements to the street grid and the surrounding water and sewer system. Plans for the southern part of the Legends South site are still in formation. Brinshore/Michaels Development Company is the master developer of Legends South.

Contact Property Management Office or Service Connector for Robert Taylor Homes