- Credibility:
LOGAN SQUARE — Nearly 700 people applied to live in the 100-unit affordable housing complex being built next to the Logan Square Blue Line station, a response the developer said illustrates the “dire need” for such housing in the gentrifying neighborhood.
The applicants are vying for just 50 apartments in the complex, which is under construction at 2602-38 N. Emmett St. The other 50 apartments are for CHA voucher holders. Nonprofit developer Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. opened up the waitlist for non-CHA applicants late last month.
“Through the waitlist opening process for each of our developments, we’re reminded that there continues to be a dire need for affordable housing, so we remain committed to working to meet the demand through new construction and rehabilitation projects,” Bickerdike CEO Joy Aruguete said in a statement.
With construction more than half complete, Bickerdike aims to open Emmett Street Apartments in January, Bickerdike communication manager Libby Julia-Vazquez said this week. In addition to 100 affordable apartments, the seven-story complex will include 4,300 square feet of retail space facing Kedzie Avenue.
Emmett Street Apartments is replacing an underused parking lot previously owned by the city. It’s financed through a combination of Tax Increment Finance dollars, tax-exempt bonds and Chicago Housing Authority funding.
Credit: Courtesy of Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp.The $40.5 million development is coming to fruition after seven years of furious debate and a lawsuit filed against the city and the developer.
For years, the project’s many supporters, including Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), fought to build an all-affordable housing complex next to the Logan Square station to combat rampant displacement.
But the supporters found themselves up against fierce opponents. In March 2020, a group of Logan Square property owners filed a lawsuit against the developer and the city, arguing that replacing a parking lot with 100 subsidized apartments would cause them “irreparable injury.” The lawsuit was dismissed that June after a Cook County Circuit judge said it lacked standing.
In the end, city officials sided with the project’s supporters and granted Bickerdike the necessary approvals to build.
Of the 100 affordable apartments, half are earmarked for CHA voucher holders, and the other half are targeted to people making less than 60 percent of the area median income. The cap is $39,180 per year for an individual and $55,920 per year for a family of four.
Those who applied to live in Emmett Street Apartments will be notified of their application status in early to mid-September, Vazquez said.
Typically, Bickerdike plans for 1,000 applicants during the “pre-application” process for its developments, Vazquez said. The developer has built and rehabbed more than 2,000 apartments across Chicago since its founding in 1967, according to its website.
Nearly 700 people braved the rain and a tornado warning to apply to live in Emmett Street Apartments last month, Vazquez said.
Further north in Jefferson Park, another controversial affordable housing development has also garnered a lot of interest. About 700 people have applied for 75 units in developer Full Circle Communities’ seven-story building at 5150 N. Northwest Highway.
For more information about Emmett Street Apartments, visit the developer’s website.
CHA voucher holders can fill out an application online. Click on “Submit A New Application” and then search for “Project Based Voucher properties” to find Emmett Street Apartments.
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