A groundbreaking ceremony has been held for the affordable housing development at 2120 North Mozart Street in Palmer Square. Located at the corner of West Shakespeare Avenue, the project will redevelop the former home of the Humboldt Park Methodist Church. The effort is being led by the Latin United Community Housing Association (LUCHA).
Rendering of 2120 N Mozart St by Canopy
LUCHA recently purchased the nearly 100-year-old church and the adjacent residential building to the north. The building includes 12 units that were previously managed by the church, which has offered on-site affordable housing since its founding, according to Block Club. LUCHA has partnered with local architecture firm Canopy to design the project.
Rendering of 2120 N Mozart St by Canopy
The work will include renovating the 12 existing units with new bathrooms, kitchens, and a shared residential entry. The sanctuary to the south will have its façade restored, and a small addition will be built on the top floor to accommodate 10 new units. These will include studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom layouts, all designated as affordable.
Rendering of 2120 N Mozart St by Canopy
Other smaller components of the project include a new fence and gate for the small front courtyard, along with additional seating and landscaping. The $20 million project is fully funded, and first pulled permits this past summer. Construction is now underway and the development team plans to complete the work in approximately 12 months.
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Seems like a well planned repurposing, will be interested to see the finished project.
Am I reading this correctly 22 affordable units for $20 million?
Same question…..!!
“Am I reading this correctly 22 affordable units for $20 million?”
Not quite. It’s 22 affordable units AND preserving and repurposing a historic church. 100% worth it.
Nice but my god each “affordable unit” is the same price as a new luxury 3bed,2bath condo.
Affordable housing development sounds like a scam. 12 of the units already exist and are only being renovated. That means that the new 10 units will cost $1M+ each!
I plead with all of the commenters to actually learn that the funding for an affordable housing development is not equivalent to the construction cost for market rate housing that is listed in construction permits, or even in sale prices.
Affordable housing developments include all in costs beyond construction costs, & in cases like this it also seeds a long term maintenance fund, property acquisition, & historic preservation costs. When you look at the affordability threshold 15-50% of AMI, it is understandable why there would be such up front high cost in order to sustain that deep subsidy long term.
How much is the long term maintenance fund on this place?
I wish I knew that side of the balance book. I just know that it was lumped in with other carrying costs that were funded by an endowment for other affordable projects I have worked on in the past.
People would see the announced budget (because “we’ve invested $XX million in ABC” is what organizations want to brag about, not low construction costs per unit) & think I had designed a building with gold plated toilets, when most of the budget was applied to items that were not unit specific (playgrounds, updated landscaping, new sustainable energy system, etc.).
Thank you. I keep repeating a similar message everytime someone complains about the cost per unit for an affordable housing development, just like this where the term affordable means the below market rent that will be charged to owners.
“Affordable Housing” is a scam is every way imaginable. 1st the developers get this whopping influx of cash from the city and only spend a fraction on these cheap looking and cheap material buildings. 2nd- does every one realize that in Chicago “affordable housing” means I can have a high paying job and still qualify for the subsidized housing because the thinking is I only make 150,000 a year and thats below what the ritz building says I need to afford to live there-Affordable housing is not putting those who need housing into shelter-Its putting folks who make a great living into buildings with a subsidy.
Your criticisms do not actually apply to this development, as it has a 15-50% AMI threshold. Meaning even a family of 8 at the upper end of that range is limited to a yearly income of $79,150 max.
The low end is literally people who would otherwise be in shelters, $12,600 yearly income for a single person in a studio unit.
Yeah, it’s easy to think affordable housing is a scam if you confidently make up just about every point against it. There are significant issues with the process in the city but you are just lying.