Particle.news
Download on the App Store
12 ARTICLES
·
2w ago

Jackson Park Housing Pilot Clears Council Committee, Heads to Full Vote

The narrowed package reflects a trade-off, advancing a budget-conscious pilot to counter rising housing costs tied to the Obama Presidential Center.

A sea of dandelions is seen at Rosenblum Park near a row of houses in the 7500 block of South Constance Avenue in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood on April 24, 2017. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
Image
The Obama Presidential Center looms over the water at Jackson Park while under construction on Sept. 8, 2025, in Chicago. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Image

Overview

  • The City Council’s Housing & Real Estate Committee approved the revised ordinance unanimously, sending it to the full council for a vote on Thursday.
  • The pilot focuses on an area bounded by 60th Street, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, South Chicago Avenue, 71st Street and DuSable Lake Shore Drive, covering much of Woodlawn and parts of South Shore and Greater Grand Crossing.
  • The measure reserves 30 city-owned vacant lots for new affordable homeownership and rental developments in the pilot zone.
  • It creates a $3 million property tax debt relief program with grants up to $5,000 for eligible owner-occupants in South Shore, Englewood and the Lower West Side, and it extends notice periods for lease non-renewals up to 120 days.
  • City officials estimate a $6 million package using existing Housing Department funds and about $3 million in yet-to-be-secured philanthropy, as last-minute changes cut a tenant advocate office and a rental registry and the map excludes parts of the 7th and 8th Wards after objections.