Construction moved a step closer in mid-July for Park Boulevard, the 37-acre development of more than 1,300 homes that’s slated to replace the Chicago Housing Authority’s Stateway Gardens public housing complex.
The Chicago Community Development Commission has recommended $12 million in tax-increment financing for the project’s first phase, an important step in starting construction.
The development’s main 34-acre site will fill the giant hole left by Stateway Gardens, from 35th to Pershing between State Street and the Metra tracks, with 880 homes. An additional 436 homes will be located nearby, along Pershing between State and Indiana. Seven architectural firms were involved in designing the six available home styles, which should be on the market by early fall.
Construction also can begin this fall, once the Chicago City Council approves the TIF funding, according to James Miller, CEO of Stateway Associates, LLC, a development team that includes Kimball Hill Homes, Walsh Construction, Neighborhood Rejuvenation Partners and Mesa Development.
Tearing down CHA highrises and reconfiguring public housing in mixed-income communities is the cornerstone of redevelopment efforts on the South Side. Towers at Stateway Gardens and the Robert Taylor Homes as well as smaller CHA buildings in the area steadily have been demolished. Major new developments are being built on the site of these former CHA projects, capitalizing on proximity to institutions like the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago and popular neighborhoods such as the Gap, Hyde Park and Kenwood.
The first phase at Park Boulevard will include 311 residential units – 100 CHA replacement homes, 72 “affordable” units and 139 market-rate homes – as well as 16,830 square feet of retail space.
“Infrastructure improvements, zoning and design are complete and off-site construction is well underway,” Miller said. “Now we can start on-site construction and the selling process, which brings us closer to delivering homes. The opportunities are great for market-rate buyers, and CHA residents can look forward to returning to an area in which they can thrive with a renewed sense of pride in their community.”
Prices on market-rate homes with one to four bedrooms will range from the $150s to the $390s. Affordable units will be priced from the $140s to the $260s.
Financing for the project’s first phase includes $13.9 million in CHA funds, $7.7 million in low-income housing tax credits, $5.9 million in cash equity, $1.6 million in CHA pre-development loans and $45.9 million in residential and retail sales.
Miller said that the start of Park Boulevard and the end of the Dan Ryan’s curtain of public housing would be immense catalysts for the area.
“That’s what has everyone so excited: here you are in the middle of a city near major institutions and transportation, and it’s 34 acres,” Miller said. “We’re integrating an area that had been isolated from the larger community for decades and reintroducing the street grid. It represents a transformation of the South Side. The city is moving south.”
The Park Boulevard sales center is scheduled to open on site in the fall.