Precast concrete panels have been lifted to the eighth floor of the Casa Yucatan affordable housing development at South Ashland Avenue and West 21st Place in Pilsen. There’s a ways to go before this one tops out though, as only a handful of the pieces are in place on the top floor.
Rear of the building from 21st Place. Photo by Daniel Schell
Setting a precast panel in place. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
The Resurrection Project is developing project and Design Bridge is the architect. The Blackwood Group and Crane Construction are sharing general contracting chores. The 98-unit building will feature a mix of 38 one-bedroom, 34 two-bedroom, and 26 three-bedroom apartments, all of them designated as affordable housing. There will be 20 parking spaces available in a surface lot. Tenant amenities include a multi-purpose room, training center, reading room, bike storage, and a courtyard with a children’s playground.
Rendering of Casa Yucatan by DesignBridge
Rendering of Casa Yucatan by DesignBridge
North façade. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
All permits have used the address of 1609 West 21st Place. A caisson permit for the development came through on December 17 2024, but work didn’t begin on the site until last summer. The full permit was issued on May 9 2025 with a reported cost of #39 million. Presumably waiting until all the concrete panels are locked in place, a hoist permit awaits in the Chicago Data Portal as of December 22. Once that’s installed. windows can go in and interior work can begin in earnest.
Floor plans of Casa Yucatan by DesignBridge
May 2025, waiting for site prep to begin. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Looking northeast from Blue Island Avenue. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
The south façade. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Phot by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
From a distance. Photo by Daniel Schell
Site context of Casa Yucatan, via Google Maps
Casa Yucatan is rising across the street from Benito Juarez High School, one block north of the busy intersection of Ashland Avenue, West Cermak Road, and South Blue Island Avenue. CTA Route 9, X9, 21, and 60 buses all have stops here. The 18th Pink Line and Damen Pink Line stations are both available within about a half-mile walk. For suburban excursions, the Cermak bus and the Western Avenue #49 can be used to connect with the Western Avenue BNSF Metra station about a mile and a quarter northwest.
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Exciting project, even as the construction process looks like a house of cards.
That’s honestly one of the coolest things about precast. It’s a giant Lego set being put together. I did one a few years back and it was always fun watching it on site visits.
It’s Ashland and 21st, not 16th, as the first paragraph says. Glad to know I’m not the only one who mixes up numbers in my staff reports 😋
oof