Five years after the Oak Park Regional Housing Center submitted a proposal to construct affordable housing in Austin, the nonprofit has completed its first development project on a stretch of the Soul City Corridor on Chicago Avenue.
The ribbon cutting for the Austin United Alliance apartments next to the historic Laramie State Bank building took place Sept. 10 at 5200 Chicago Ave. The apartment building hosts 78 mixed-income units, including 50 affordable units.
On Sept. 25, tenants will begin moving into one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. Each unit boasts large kitchens and bathrooms with lots of natural light.
“Our residents have the opportunity to live in what I like to call modern suites, right here on the West Side of Chicago,” said Ald. Emma Mitts of the 37th Ward at the ribbon cutting. “These are spaces that provide comfortable dignity and a sense of pride, and our residents deserve nothing less. …When we invest in our buildings and neighborhoods, we’re not simply changing the appearance of a block. We are creating environments where people can feel proud to live, raise their families, and build their future. And that is why development like this matters.”
Lissette Castañeda, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Housing, gave multiple examples of the types of tenants who would be moving into the 50 affordable units.
“This would be a family of four making $60,000-to-$73,000 a year,” Castañeda said. “That’s a single mom working two jobs to make ends meet. That’s Grandma on disability and Grandpa on a fixed income from his pension. That’s the young family on their own, trying to ensure they keep a roof above their heads and food on the table.”
During his speech, Mayor Brandon Johnson, who lives in Austin, spoke about the need for affordable housing on the West Side.
“Working people should be able to live wherever they want in this city, and we should make sure we prioritize the communities that raise them,” Johnson said. He added that Austin used to be the largest neighborhood in Chicago. Today, it’s “the most concentrated, largest community where Black people reside. The only folks that have been pushed out of this city have been individuals who live on the West and South Sides. And if we’re going to build the safest, most affordable big city in America, it starts by repopulating the very communities that bring the soul to this city.”
State Rep. La Shawn Ford — who is the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in the November election — said the Austin United Alliance apartments are improving the economic value of the neighborhood he grew up in.
“This building right here, it increases property value for my mother’s house that she bought in 1974 because this vacant lot that was a brownfield is now a place where people live,” Ford said.
Journey to Austin United Alliance
In Jan. 2020, over 600 people attended Chicago Department of Planning and Development community meetings “to help identify the most catalytic investment locations along Chicago Avenue,” said Ciere Boatright, commissioner of the department, at the ribbon cutting. “The consensus was overwhelming. The best spot was the corner of Chicago and Laramie.”
Responding to a Request for Proposals, seven developers submitted prospective designs, which were analyzed at more community meetings.
In 2021, Athena Williams, executive director of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center and an Austin resident, and Austin United Alliance were announced as the winning proposal. The nonprofit, which provides services to housing seekers and housing providers, then began its first development on the long-vacant lots and restoration of the adjacent, decrepit Laramie State Bank.
“Right here, next to this old bank building sat four vacant lots, and they sat empty for years,” said Jessica Caffrey, executive director of the Cook County Land Bank, which bought the vacant parcels in 2022. “They were tax delinquent, and nothing was happening. They had racked up years of back taxes that made potential buyers question whether it was worth the investment. But that’s what the Land Bank does, and that’s why we exist. We take properties that everyone else has written off as not worth it, and we make them a great investment for the community.”
The Chicago Department of Housing contributed $30 million to the Laramie State Bank apartments project, and tax credits for low-income housing generated another $20 million, according to Castañeda.
Cong. Danny Davis — who attended the ribbon cutting and to whom Williams dedicated a mural wrapping around the first floor of the building at the start of the ceremony — was one of the original sponsors in 2000 of new market tax credits, which give private investors tax credits in exchange for developing in low-income communities.
Despite funding and buy-in from Pivotal Housing Partners, a design and development partner, the apartment project was not without its hiccups.
“This didn’t come because Athena [Williams] snapped her fingers and pulled everyone together. Athena actually had to deal with opposition, but she stayed the course,” Ford said. “When you see this, you’d think everyone would be for it because Chicago and America needs housing. But there are people who didn’t think we needed housing here.”
According to the Oak Park Regional Housing Center, since February, it has provided rental counseling to more than 1,000 Austin residents. And over 400 people attended a single housing application session this June.
“This was a response to a need,” Oak Park Village Trustee Jenna Leving Jacobson said of the new apartments after the ribbon cutting. “As some of the speakers alluded to, it’s going to make the whole community healthier and safer, and that’s why I’m invested in figuring out solutions to the housing crisis. It’s public safety, and that’s my job in this role.”
Building Soul City
The Austin United Alliance apartments are the latest addition to the Soul City Corridor — a stretch of Chicago Avenue that is actively being redesigned to uplift a historic part of the West Side. The Austin African American Business Networking Association has played a large role in the initiative.
“When no one really focused and believed in Chicago Avenue, Malcolm [Crawford, executive director of AAABNA] did,” Ford said. “He made sure that he got on peoples’ nerves, he offended people, he did all the things he needed to do to make sure that Soul City became the destination that it is today.”
There are several more developments planned for Chicago Avenue and the surrounding area.
“Many more improvements are coming to nearby blocks that will ensure that Chicago Avenue thrives on behalf of all the people that live and work nearby,” Boatright said. “Roughly two dozen planned and pending projects valued at more than $60 million are happening under the leadership of Alderwoman [Emma] Mitts and Mayor Brandon Johnson.”
In six weeks, the same contractors who completed the Austin United Alliance apartments will begin work on the neighboring Laramie State Bank building. This time next year, the historic Art Deco building will have a bank, coworking space, business incubator and cafe.
“This section of Chicago Avenue is currently still under construction, and that’s proof positive of the investments that are being made,” Johnson said. “The West and South Sides of Chicago will never be ignored, not as long as I’m mayor of the City of Chicago. This economic enclave and corridor on Chicago Avenue, Soul City, really embodies the essence of what this project is about.”