CHA Transformation and TIFS

Chicago’s public housing is in the midst of an historic moment – the massive redevelopment of public housing as it has been known, calling for these isolated areas of poverty to be recreated as new mixed income neighborhoods. 

Since 1995, when the federal government took over the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), under the Plan for Transformation, 1190 public housing units have been demolished, with another 3013 listed by the CHA as “pending demolition.”  A total of 475 new public housing units have been built and another 2178 have been renovated, again, according to CHA.   The agency’s ultimate plan is to redevelop 25,000 units of public housing by 2010 – a daunting goal and one that may not be achievable, according to many observers.

The unprecedented costs to support this monumental change for the city and its residents will come partly from federal Hope 6 grants  and federal development grants and from the bonding that can be backed by these funds, and partly from private equity and financial institutions through the developers of the new mixed-income communities.  Much of the city’s responsibility in the redevelopment of  the public housing neighborhoods is to restore the traditional city street grid and provide new and upgraded street, sewer and municipal infrastructure.  For the past several years, the city  has been building new police stations in many of the public housing redevelopment areas, and, in a few cases, new libraries.

In a pattern that has accelerated in 2001 and 2002, the City Department of Planning and Development has created TIF districts in significant number areas of public housing areas.  By doing this, the City brings much of the development decision-making power into its own hands, allowing it to make planning and development decisions as well as to issue bonds against future property value in these areas.

To date, the most visible evidence of the new mixed income neighborhoods that the city and CHA envision, is in the Near North TIF district which includes the Cabrini-Green public housing development.  Here, a mixed income residential development, North Town Village is being built partially on CHA land, although not on land where a CHA building once stood.  North Town Village has 261 units, divided into 50 percent market rate, 20 percent affordable housing, and 30 percent CHA replacement housing.

At this writing, infrastructure work has begun at two other CHA developments, with construction of new mixed-income housing to begin during 2002.   One of these developments will be in on the Southeast side of the city in the Lakefront TIF District, which is made up of empty CHA-owned property on which several high-rises stood before they were closed in 1985 and imploded more than 10 years later.   Here, 278 mixed-income housing units will start to go up.  On Chicago’s West Side, in the Central West TIF District, the Henry Horner Homes will soon see the first phase of what will eventually be a 764-unit mixed income development.