The Chicago Department of Planning and Development is looking for a development team to build homes on the large, currently vacant property south of Austin High School, north of the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Pine Avenue.
The department is using an approach pioneered under then-mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Invest South/West initiative. The city solicits proposals for vacant, usually city-owned land on the South and West sides. The team that submits the winning proposal will be able to buy the property and qualify for city and state aid.
Unlike most of the past proposals which called for mixed-use developments, this project will be purely residential. The department is giving developers two options. Scenario A calls for 30 townhomes and an apartment building, while the denser Scenario B calls for seven three-flat buildings and two apartment buildings. Either way, the developers must submit their proposals by June 30.
The 2.6-acre, L-shared property included lots at 100-39 N. Pine Ave. and 100-18 N. Lotus Ave. The site was last home to a development largely made up of rowhouse condominiums. Former residents and neighbors who spoke to Austin Weekly News over the years said the block was a good place to live in the 1960s, but conditions deteriorated from the 1970s onward.
According to a February 2012 memo from a city housing official, by then, there were 5 six-unit buildings on the Lotus Avenue side and 8 buildings that had a total of 90 units on the Pine Avenue side. By that point, the city was seeking demolition of the property. The memo mentioned “rampant crime” and 1,200 arrests throughout 2012 and “dangerous and hazardous building conditions.” Ald. Jason Ervin, whose 28th Ward included the site at the time, supported the move.
While it is not clear when the demolition request was granted, Google Streetview images showed the lots vacant as of 2014.
Since Invest South/West launched in 2019, the record has been mixed – which is why the city phased out the branding. In Austin, redevelopment of the former Laramie State Bank and the nearby vacant lots into housing with a business incubator made progress – the residential component is expected to open in June, and work on the business component is expected to start in May.
In its Request for Proposal, the department indicated it wanted to redevelop the Washington/Pine site because the new housing will “help to repopulate the Austin community area and strengthen blocks that have been negatively impacted by long-term vacancy and disinvestment.” The proposal also pointed to the site’s proximity to Kehrein Center for the Arts, Aspire Center for Workforce Development and the Central Green Line el station.
Scenario A calls for a 60-unit apartment building at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Pine Avenue, and 30 townhomes on the Lotus and Pine sides of the property. The townhomes would have garages, and the apartment building would have a parking lot. The department noted this scenario wouldn’t require a zoning change.
Scenario B calls for two multi-family buildings – one at the corner of Washington and Pine, and one at the corner of Washington and Lotus. Each building would have 60 units. The remaining corner of the property would get seven three-flats, which would account for an additional 21 units. The three-flats would have garages and the parking lot would serve the two apartment buildings. That proposal would require a zoning change, something that usually requires a local alderman’s approval.
According to the department, Ald. Emma Mitts, whose 37th ward currently includes the site, supports the proposal.
Because the property is near the Green Line and CTA bus routes 20/Madison and 85/Central, the city considers it a “transit-served location.” This means that the usual 1 parking space/garage per unit minimums don’t apply. And, as the application notes, because the developer will be buying city land, the developments would be subject to the city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance.
Under those requirements at least a quarter of all units on site must be affordable as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which sets the marks based on the average rents throughout the entire Chicago six-county region. The limits are adjusted every April, so the rents will be based on whatever limits are in effect by the time the buildings are finished.
The development team will need to be able to come up with at least $397,245 to buy the property. However, the RFP mentions that the price may be knocked down if the developer agrees to provide more units than the ARO mandate.
