“A long-delayed phase of the Lathrop Homes redevelopment is set to move forward after the City Council approved a sweeping financing package Wednesday, clearing a major hurdle for construction to begin on the site’s long-vacant southern end.

“The plan calls for 309 mixed-income units spread across seven rehabilitated buildings and a new five-story structure south of Diversey Parkway. The project’s next phase will also include the restoration of the site’s historic powerhouse building.

“Construction is expected to begin after a financial closing this summer. If all goes to plan, the construction project is expected to be finished during the third quarter of 2028.

“‘This has been so long,’ longtime Lathrop Homes resident Nivea Sandoval told the finance committee during public comment Monday. ‘We need those houses.’

“‘It’s been a long saga, with a lot of iterations to get here,’ Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) said. ‘But this is important for the community, including residents who were moved more than a decade ago and will now have the chance to come back and make this their home again.’

“Plans call for the rehabilitation of seven existing buildings and the construction of a new five-story, 59-unit building. Three deteriorated buildings will be demolished to make way for new development and parking.

“The project also includes the structural repair of Lathrop’s historic powerhouse, whose smokestack will be rebuilt, with the interior left as a ‘gray box’ for a future commercial tenant.

“Additional amenities include landscaped courtyards, community space and roughly 100 off-street parking spaces.

“The latest approval marks a significant step for a project that has faced years of delays tied to financing, design approvals and rising construction costs.

“Lathrop Homes, a sprawling riverfront complex built in 1938, once had 925 public housing units. But much of the site was emptied beginning in the early 2000s as part of the Chicago Housing Authority’s Plan for Transformation, leaving hundreds of apartments vacant for years.

“While redevelopment has progressed on the north side of Diversey — with nearly 500 units completed since 2019 — the southern portion has remained largely untouched, with residents and neighbors raising concerns about deterioration and crime.” (Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 4/15/26)

Lathrop Homes has three times been a Preservation Chicago 7 Most Endangered, first in 2007, and again in 2013 and 2022. We played an important leadership role in the success of the Lathrop North and have been actively advocating for the redevelopment of Lathrop South.

The Lathrop Homes were 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 1938, the 35-acre park-like site is located along the Chicago River, with its graceful combination of mature landscaping and low-rise and gently ornamented buildings, create an intimate and human-scale atmosphere.

After decades of preservation advocacy, the Julia C. Lathrop Homes North celebrated its grand reopening in September 2018. The final redevelopment plan included both historic preservation and new construction, but with a significantly higher percentage of preservation than initially proposed. The original proposed percentage of historic preservation was a tiny fraction of the historic structures, but the final percentage of historic preservation is approximately 75%.

Since that time, Lathrop Homes South languished and suffered from extreme neglect and deferred maintenance. Preservation Chicago has consistently encouraged decision makers and stakeholder to prioritize renovation of the South Phase of Lathrop Homes. We’re thrilled that the second phase is finally moving forward.

The highly preservation-sensitive outcome of the North Phase 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 Logan Square Preservation, Lathrop Homes Advisory Council and Logan Square Neighborhood Association. We applaud the development team for recognizing the history of Lathrop and reshaping their development plans to celebrate and restore much of the site’s architectural assets.

Read the full story at Block Club Chicago

• Major Funding Package For Long-Delayed Lathrop Homes Redevelopment Clears Council, The approval clears the way for 309 new and rehabbed units on the south end of the site, with construction expected to begin this summer, Patrick Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 4/15/26
• Lathrop Homes Redevelopment Gets TIF Boost From City Council; The additional tax increment financing money will help build more than 300 housing units in the development’s southern section, according to the Mayor’s Office and local alderman, Quinn Myers, Block Club Chicago, 1/22/25
• Additional Funding Approved For Next Phase Of Lathrop Homes Redevelopment, Ian Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 11/13/24
• CHA Approves Plan To Jump Start Stalled Redevelopment At Long-Empty Lathrop Apartments; The Chicago Housing Authority has pledged to rebuild hundreds of homes at the Lathrop site for more than two decades. A board member says the CHA must move faster: ‘Things have to change.’, Alexandra Murphy, Block Club Chicago, 3/25/24
• Long-vacant Chicago housing complex attracts crime, graffiti, neighbors say, Lauren Victory, CBS 2 Chicago, 3/18/24
• CHA Approves Funding For Next Phase Of Lathrop Homes Redevelopment, Ian Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 3/28/24
• Lathrop Homes South Campus Public Housing Sites – A Chicago 7 Most Endangered 2022