After decades of preservation advocacy, the Julia C. Lathrop Homes redevelopment began on October 10, 2017. The final plan includes both historic preservation and new construction, but with a significantly higher percentage of preservation than initially proposed.

Lathrop Homes has twice been a Preservation Chicago 7 Most Endangered, first in 2007 and again in 2013. The Lathrop Homes are one of the first and one of the best public housing developments built in Chicago, resulting in a remarkably stable racially-mixed community for generations. Completed in 1932, the 32-acre park-like site is located along the Chicago River and its graceful combination of mature landscaping and low-rise and gently ornamented buildings which create an intimate and human-scale atmosphere.

This more preservation-sensitive outcome is due to a multi-year preservation advocacy campaign by Preservation Chicago, our preservation partners including Landmarks Illinois, and the National Trust for Historic preservation, and neighborhood groups such as Lathrop Home Advisory Council and Logan Square Neighborhood Association.