Dive Brief:
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The Chicago Housing Authority picked Texas-based Hunt Development Group to lead construction on the latest redevelopment phase for the site of the former Cabrini-Green public housing complex, on the city’s north side, according to the Chicago Sun Times. The CHA has spent roughly $350 million and has added 2,400 housing units there since 2013.
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Under the plan, a 6.9-acre plot will be developed to provide more than 480 units of mixed-income housing, along with 33,000 square feet of space for retail and restaurants across a 21-story tower as well as low- and mid-rise buildings, with pedestrian access in between.
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Of the housing units, 183 will be reserved for CHA residents while 82 will be made available at below-market rates and 217 will be offered at market rate. Construction is expected to start in late 2018.
Dive Insight:
Cabrini-Green was an archetype of midcentury public housing and its related policies in the U.S. — both in its rise and in its fall. The multi-building project was built in phases from 1942 to 1962 on a 70-acre site on Chicago’s north side. At its peak, it housed 15,000 people.
But the compilation of full-block buildings proved difficult to maintain and had the effect of concentrating lower-income residents on the fringes of, rather than among, wealthier neighboring communities. Subsequently, Cabrini-Green became notorious for neglect on behalf of the city, violence and drug use, which together led to its decline. The project was demolished in phases from the 1990s to 2011.
New, mixed-income projects are springing up on the now-vacant sites and surrounding areas. One recent project in the works for the neighborhood is a seven-story, 84-unit housing project with 26 public housing units and 26 affordable units as well as 17,000 square feet of commercial retail space, according to Curbed Chicago. The project will be built on the site of City Farm, which had been located at the site since 2003.
The project is part of the city’s efforts to redevelop roughly 65 acres of land that formerly housed the Cabrini-Green project. The three-phase plan will deliver up to 2,340 housing units. Last month, the city issued a request for proposals for the first phase, which will add 900 units on 17 acres.
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