“Additional funding has been approved by the Chicago Community Development Commission for the next phase of the Lathrop Homes redevelopment around 2712 N Hoyne Avenue. Earlier this year we covered the project when it gained funding approval from the CHA, now an additional $25 million in TIF money is on its way towards full city approval.

“Originally built in 1938, the multi-building complex spans over 35 acres of riverfront property and contained 925 units when it was first completed. However, like many other housing projects of the time, lack of maintenance and funding led to its eventual closure in 2011. Since then two phases of redevelopment were completed in 2019 and 2023 bringing back 488-units.

“While those two phases focused on the upper half of the complex that sits north of W. Diversey Parkway, this next phase will redevelop the area south of the street including the historic powerhouse. The project calls for the construction of one new structure, the restoration of seven existing buildings, and the demolition of three buildings at 2742, 2706, and 2620 N Hoyne Avenue.

“These efforts are being led by the CHA along with Related Midwest and Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. Meanwhile the design of the new structure set to rise at 2740 N Hoyne will be done by bKL Architecture, the rehab of the existing buildings by HED Architecture, and the powerhouse will be by Arda Design formerly Bauer Latoza Studio.

“All together, this phase will bring 309 residential units of which 121 will be CHA replacement units, 92 will be considered affordable for those making 30 to 80 percent AMI, and 96 will be market rate. In total, there will be 24 studios, 169 one-bedroom, 106 two-bedroom, and 10 three-bedroom apartments.

“Meanwhile the powerhouse on the southern tip of the building will be restored and the smokestack rebuilt, turning the structure into a gray box that can be built out by a future tenant. Residents will also have access to 100 vehicle parking spaces, landscape courtyard, and other community spaces.” (Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 11/13/24)

“For more than two decades, the Chicago Housing Authority has pledged to rehab and rebuild hundreds of apartments at the Lathrop Homes site in west Lakeview.

“But even as the city’s affordable housing crisis has grown worse, the CHA’s efforts at Lathrop have been halting, leaving neighbors wondering why scores of apartments are still sitting empty and decaying. The half of Lathrop south of Diversey Parkway remains a ghost town, its vacant buildings marked with graffiti, the windows boarded up after being smashed in by trespassers

“‘Over the years, people were told to move, and the vacant buildings just weren’t kept up, graffiti everywhere,’ said neighbor Charles Hogren, who lives north of Diversey. (Murphy, Block Club Chicago, 3/25/24)

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 pushed 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.

Lathrop Homes has three times been a Preservation Chicago 7 Most Endangered, first in 2007, and again in 2013 and 2022. 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.

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 Chicago YIMBY

• 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