CHA Board approves development teams for LeClaire Courts, Wicker Park Apartments
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Office of Communications – Chicago Housing Authority
Molly Sullivan: (312) 786-3344; msullivan@thecha.org
Matthew Aguilar: (312) 935-2646; maguilar@thecha.org
CHICAGO (May 22, 2019) - The CHA Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved the selection of development teams for the redevelopment of LeClaire Courts and CHA’s Wicker Park Apartments and Annex.
The two projects will bring new and improved housing for CHA residents and the communities of Garfield Ridge and Wicker Park, while continuing the Authority’s expansion of affordable housing across the city.
The Board approved the selection of LeClaire Partners, LLC, a development team of Cabrera Capital and The Habitat Company, that will oversee the redevelopment of the former LeClaire Courts, an approximately 40-acre site roughly bounded by the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) to the north, 45th Street to the south, Lavergne Avenue to the west, and Cicero Avenue to the east.
The project is comprised of three development zones and includes housing, retail and commercial components. The development team will work with the LeClaire Courts Working Group, which will guide the planning and implementation of the redevelopment. The Working Group includes former LeClaire residents, community members and other key stakeholders.
The board also approved the selection of Pennrose-Bickerdike, along with a joint venture agreement for the redevelopment of the Wicker Park site at 1414 N. Damen Ave. and 2020 W. Schiller St. CHA will serve as a co-developer in the joint venture for a complete redevelopment of the site, which will add new mixed-income housing and includes the rehabilitation of Wicker Park Apartments and Annex Senior Buildings, two CHA-owned apartment buildings that serve more than 200 low-income seniors.
“This demonstrates the breadth of CHA’s development strategies and our continued commitment to creating new affordable housing, community amenities and retail and commercial development that support holistic neighborhood investment and improvement,” said CHA CEO Eugene E. Jones, Jr. “Our partnerships with developers are helping to expand housing options while also bringing more community assets that will benefit all residents.”
Also approved by the board was support for two developments that will pave the way for new affordable rental housing in the West Town and Humboldt Park communities, bringing 31 new units supported by CHA project-based vouchers (PBVs).
In the first development, CHA will provide 25 PBVs for Pierce House, a mixed-use building at 3527 W. North Avenue, in the Humboldt Park community. The building, to be owned and developed by La Casa Norte, a non-profit social service agency that provides supportive housing and services for homeless youth. The development will include office space for La Casa Norte, medical offices for the Howard Brown Health Center, community space and a teaching kitchen with access to employment readiness programs and life skills.
The board also granted approval for PBVs for the Paseo Boricua Arts Building at 2709-2715 W. Division Street in the West Town community. The project, to be developed by Brinshore Development, will bring a total of 24 affordable units with six PBV units for renters from the CHA waiting list. The new building will include 2,780 square feet of commercial, artist and community space on the ground floor as well as informal gallery space on each residential floor designed to accentuate the art culture of the Paseo Boricua.
Additionally, the Board approved a development agreement with Oakwood Associates, LLC for the next mixed-income phase (Phase III) of the redevelopment of the former the Ida B. Wells, Darrow Homes, Wells Extension, and Madden Park Homes (Madden-Wells-Darrow) site. Oakwood Associates is a partnership of The Community Builders and Granite Development Corp. and will allow the developer to continue its work creating mixed-income housing at the Oakwood Shores community in Bronzeville.