Funding has been secured for the upcoming first phase of the larger LeClaire Courts redevelopment at 4809 West 44th Street in Garfield Ridge. Located along Cicero Avenue, the project replaces the large vacant lot left behind after the demolition of the former Chicago Housing Authority’s public housing complex near Midway International Airport.
Site context of LeClaire Courts by SCB
Efforts for the $127 million first phase are being led by a collaboration between Cabrera Capital Partners and The Habitat Company. They have been working with the local office of architecture firm SCB on both of the six-story buildings, which will be connected via a central walkway and green park space leading to the 134-vehicle parking garage in the back.
Bird’s-eye rendering of LeClaire Courts redevelopment by SCB
North building floor plans of LeClaire Courts by SCB
Joining the parking lots will be two playgrounds, one of which will be used for a new 10,000-square-foot childcare facility on the ground floor of one of the buildings. The other will hold a community room along with 2,200 square feet of commercial space. Combined, the buildings will deliver 183 residential units made up of studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom layouts.
Rendering of LeClaire Courts by SCB
Per previous coverage, around 90 percent of the units will be considered affordable, including some for CHA vouchers. The remainder will be market rate. The approved funding stack sources $33 million in LIHTC, $27 million in the form of CHA loans, $9.5 million in city funds, $5.5 million in TIF money, among others. A groundbreaking is approved for this fall.
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Always need the MLK mural in the rendering when it’s a project meant for a Black neighborhood
Have you ever been there?Garfield Ridge is >5% Black.
I wonder if I’m responding to an AI entity.
“>5%” means greater than 5%. I think you mean “<5%"
All of the southwest side is not very black lol
When occupied, LeClaire Courts Housing Project was more than 95% Black.
I find this article to be very confusing. Is the $127M going to create 183 living units? If so, that’s $693K per unit. Why? Why is affordable housing not affordable? I thought there is a housing crisis. If the cost per unit could be cut in half, which is still high for an average amenity private sector unit, there would be 366 affordable units. Why do renters need such a large community center? Why a 10k square foot child care space? Why aren’t the bike aficionados screaming about the 134 space parking lot? Who is going to rent the 18 units that are market rate? How many will actually be CHA vouchers instead?
If you spend any time at this website, there have been multiple posts that go into detail about the Kafkaesque reasons that publicly funded housing costs so much.
The “bike aficionados” do not frequent Garfield Ridge, and may not even know where it is. It is outside the secure zone where you are always within a 300 yard radius of coffee shops that can make a flat white coffee.
Hope that clears things up a little bit.
It’s in the sticks, right next to a highway and surrounded on 3 sides by industrial parks and the last side by Midway. Frankly, 134 parking spaces for 212 beds is pretty optimistic about the livability of this neighborhood without a car.
Affordable housing comes with bureaucratic obstacles to navigate, expensive non-traditional funding mechanisms, material and labor guarantees and compliance with the litany of regulations adds a lot of consultant fees that aren’t otherwise necessary.
Another Southbridge and 4400 Grove. I’ll take the over on a decade before another phase begins construction.
Hello I grew up in Leclaire Courts. Moved in their in 1959. I started kindergarten their and all the way to high school. We still come together once a year. Can’t wait until they are built back up.
I would like a chance to see them or possibly move back there. I am 72 married and thankful for my childhood in Leclaire Courts.
Hopefully they complete the full build out. Would be a jolt of life for the area. The Cicero Bus is pretty good to get places too, especially the airport and the orange line. hopefully they can build a grocery store or something here. the Parking lots facing 45th are kind of ugly though.
I would not call this neighborhood Garfield Ridge. Back in the day when the projects were still around this area was called Sleepy Hollow.
Congratulations for the scheduled groundbreaking! Hope to learn more on sustainability planned for Leclaire Court. Cicero Ave corner should honor Bessie Coleman who used Midway Airport for your flight school or a Commemoration to veterans that were welcomed to that community via GI bill housing. Also, units should welcome a number of veterans as tenants.
I-was-born-and-raised-in-Leclaire Courts-they-are-17-years-after-being-demolished-gonna-do-what-was-already-being-done-there.-It-was-a-fully-functioning-neighborhood-with-2-churches,-a-corner-store-2-parks-a-day-care-afterschool-programs-residents-planting-gardens(mainly-the-senior-citizens-that-first-lived-there),sports-programs-and-people-having-home-businesses-selling-candy,pops,chips,cookies-toys.as-well-as-summer-job-programs-where-there-the-youth-and-older-residents-were-landscaping,-and-day-camper-counselors-every-summer-With-the-exception-of-Shirley-walker-and-the-guy-that-that-said-it-was-sleepy-hollow-stand-down.-If-you-didn’t-grow-up-there,party-there-play-ball-there-or-had-family-there-stand-down.-Funny-thing-the-rebuilding-starts-one-house-next-to-where-I-lived-on-44th-cicero-4807.-It-was-also-a-right-to-return-most-of-those-that-had-that-are-no-longer-here!-And-we-have-reunions-there-every-year-for-us-that-grew-up-there-and-made-the-neighborhood-what-it-was-Learn-the-history-about-the-neighborhood-that-was-under-the-stevenson,-easy-access-to-all-sides-of-the-city-by-car-and-public-transportation,-Ford-city,the-Suburbs-and-what-was-formally-Sportsmans-Racetrack-(Later-Hawthorne-Race-course,and-chicago-motor-speedway)-North-Riverside-and-Midway-Airport.They-wanna-make-it-for-the-Rich-and-affluent-and-pass-it-off-as-“Mixed-Income”-While-erasing-the-History-and-Legacy-that-came-out-of-Leclaire Courts.-Respectfully-Do-your-research-on-my-old-neighborhood-because-it-impacted-and-still-impacts-the-whole-world.Thank-You.
The community of the the build is majority black. I live here. But we share community with some amazing Spanish cultures. This phase has not to start at all. So arguing back n forth not worth it. When it actually happens it’s going to be an amazing multi cultural community.
I’m a Laclaire courts resident as well I would love to move back over there we were a community full of good people and love I would love to see them and also have a chance to move back there.
I grew up in Leclaire I would love to come back there. Can’t wait for the applicaton. Can’t wait till they fsinish with it.