- Credibility:
HUMBOLDT PARK — A nine-story affordable housing building will soon go up in the middle of Humboldt Park after years of planning.
Construction crews recently began work on the 64-unit project at California Avenue and Division Street, on the lot home to the large “Humboldt” mural.
Hispanic Housing Development Corp. received City Council approval — and $7 million in multi-family housing loans and grants — to build the affordable apartments. The building also will have 2,500 square feet of commercial space, 19 parking spaces and 49 bike parking spaces.
All of the apartments will be for households earning 30-60 percent of the area median income, according to city officials.
The building also will have a new, Puerto Rico-inspired mural by Antonio Beniquez, the artist behind the “Humboldt” mural, according to the Sun-Times.
Once built, the 95-foot-tall project will be the largest building in the surrounding area.
Construction is expected to take about 16 months, the Sun-Times reported. Hispanic Housing officials didn’t return a message seeking comment Tuesday.
Credit: Chicago DPDThe building will fill a long-empty lot that has been primed for redevelopment for years.
A 2018 plan to overhaul the site into “co-living” apartments for millennials fell through after developers City Pads and “co-living” startup Common failed to reach a purchase agreement with the former owner.
Hispanic Housing bought the site for $1.2 million in February 2019, Cook County property records show.
Hispanic Housing’s project was green-lit by City Council despite design-related concerns raised by some city commissioners and complaints from some neighbors around outgoing Ald. Roberto Maldonado’s (26th) community approval process.
Credit: GoogleMapsIn recent years, Hispanic Housing has repeatedly come under strong criticism for management of its buildings.
Three tenants of a Hispanic Housing building in Rogers Park died from oppressive heat in May, leading to a lawsuit against the local development firm.
Residents of a Hispanic Housing senior building in Uptown complained of a number of building issues in July. A 2019 Block Club investigation revealed a Hispanic Housing veterans building in Humboldt Park is riddled with problems.
Around the corner from the “Humboldt” lot, Hispanic Housing is slated to redevelop the La Casa Puertorriqueña site at 1237 N. California Ave. into affordable housing for older people and families.
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