Final phase of Homan Square housing project complete
The sixth and final phase of the Homan Square residential development was recently completed in North Lawndale and East Garfield Park, bringing an additional 52 mixed-income apartments in eight multi-unit buildings to the two communities.
The $13.8 million Homan Square Rentals Phase VI at 3601 W. Arthington St. includes 46 units for residents earning up to 60 percent of area median income and six market-rate units.
Developed on vacant land by the Shaw Co., the project represents the last phase of the Homan Square development, which dates from 1994 and occupies a portion of the 55-acre original campus of Sears, Roebuck and Co.
City financial support included $3 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF), a $2.8 million loan, and $550,000 in Low Income Housing Tax Credits that generated $5.6 million in equity for the project. Other sources included a $1.6 million private mortgage loan.
When Sears built Chicago’s tallest tower and moves its headquarters there in 1973, most of the North Lawndale facility was vacated.
In the early 1990s, the Shaw Co., Sears and the Foundation for Homan Square teamed up to redevelop the property after it sat unused for years.
Phase VI completes a development that already includes more than 350 single-family homes, townhomes and rental apartments, as well as the renovation of existing Sears’ buildings into community service, recreational and education facilities.
Last year, Sears’ former world headquarters campus was designated an official City of Chicago landmark district by the City Council. It includes four buildings and an original park, with a pergola, that were constructed between 1905 and 1907.
A key portion of the area’s redevelopment was also completed late last year, when Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the old Sears Tower, now known as Nichols Tower, has reopened.
The 14-story office structure at 900 S. Homan Ave. was named for its chief benefactors, John and Alexandra Nichols. Current tenants include the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Free Spirit Media, North Lawndale Employment Network and the Foundation for Homan Square.
