Overview
- The City Council, which voted Wednesday, cleared the last major funding hurdle for work on the south end of the Julia C. Lathrop Homes.
- The package combines up to $100 million in city housing bonds, $40 million from a tax-increment district that steers rising property taxes to projects, a 43-year interest-free $41 million CHA loan, and tax-credit equity.
- Phase 1C delivers 309 apartments across seven rehabbed buildings and a new five-story structure, restores the site’s historic powerhouse and smokestack, and removes three unsafe buildings.
- Developers Related Midwest and Bickerdike plan to close financing this summer, start construction after that, and finish in the third quarter of 2028, with Bank of America, Citibank, and LR Contracting in key roles.
- About 80% of the homes will be income-restricted for households earning roughly 30%–80% of area median income, 61 units will rent at market rate, and residents voiced both relief and concern after years of delays and fewer deeply affordable homes than the original 900-plus.