A construction permit has been issued for the first phase of The Ave, an INVEST South/West development located at 3601 West Chicago Avenue in Humboldt Park. The permit, using the address 3607 West Chicago Avenue, came through on March 13, with an application date of September 4, 2024. It names Leopardo Construction as the general contractor, and an estimated cost of $20 million; the entire project is expected to cost about $45 million.
Rendering of The Ave via KMW Communities
Aerial rendering of The Ave via KMW Communities
KMW Communities and POAH (Preservation of Affordable Housing) Chicago are the developers, with Gensler, Nia Architects, and Site Design Group comprising the design team. As issued, the permit calls for a four-story building with no basement, containing 52 residential units. There will be 30 parking spaces included on the first floor, plus bicycle storage, a residential lobby and mail room, and a community room. Ground level will include an outdoor pedestrian plaza along Chicago Avenue.
The residential units, all of them affordable, will occupy the three upper floors. There will be a fitness center and an outdoor amenity space with a playground on the second level. The unit mix is expected to include one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom floor plans.
The block-long site extends along Chicago Avenue between Central Park Avenue and Monticello Avenue. The east end of the block is the current home of West Humboldt Park Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago. Their one-story building will be demolished, and then NHSC will move into offices on the ground floor of the new building, which will also contain a second commercial space at the corner of Chicago and Central Park. The west end of the block has been an empty lot since the former Chicago-Monticello Medical Center building was issued an emergency demolition permit in August 2023.
Site context of 3601 West Chicago Avenue, via Google Maps
This building at 3601 West Chicago will be demolished. Via Google Street View
Nearby transit options, via Google Maps
Stops for the Route 66 CTA bus will be right outside residents’ doors, and there’s a Divvy rack on the corner of Monticello and Chicago. A four-block walk east leads to the Route 82 Kimball-Homan bus. The Conservancy-Central Park Avenue Green Line platform is about one mile straight south. Just over a mile to the southeast is access to to the Kedzie Metra station and its UP-W trains.
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How does this make sense to build “affordable” housing at nearly $900,000 per apartment? Per the article, At a cost of $20 million to build, if the entire project is expected to cost about $45 million, this means the soft costs are close to $25 million. How is it sustainable to build affordable housing where the soft costs are 125% of the hard costs. This is simply irresponsible.
There simply has to be a better way.
There is a better way—eliminate all affordable housing requirements. We could double or triple the number of units built in Chicago.
Poah says construction costs are 31 million, not 20. Where did you get the 20 million number from? Don’t see it listed on the permit.
The reported construction cost of the permit issued on March 13 in the Chicago Data Portal is $20 million. I just tweeted a photo of it: https://x.com/BuildingChi/status/1902034777240195076
It’s written in the article, just scroll up. I quote it again here, “The permit, using the address 3607 West Chicago Avenue, came through on March 13, with an application date of September 4, 2024. It names Leopardo Construction as the general contractor, and an estimated cost of $20 million; the entire project is expected to cost about $45 million.”
Regardless of how you account for the spending, the average unit cost is $865,384.