The 11-acre vacant lot that was previously the site of the Harold L. Ickes Homes is expected to hold nearly 1,000 units, as long as an ordinance to rezone the space passes. Currently owned by the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), the lot bound by State Street, Federal Avenue, Cermak Street, and 25th Street between South Loop and Bronzeville could be turned into a mixed-use, transit-oriented development if all goes as planned.

According to a report by Curbed Chicago, CHA filed a 123-page document to start the process of rezoning the lot. The Plan Commission and City Council still has to approve the project, as well.

The housing project was demolished in 2010, and since then community members have been promised an alternative affordable housing solution. The newest effort would bring a total of 972 units to the parcel, spread throughout a high-rise building, six-flats, and townhomes. As reported in February, the development would break down as 50 percent market-rate units, 30 percent affordable housing, and 20 percent for “workforce housing,” or those who earn between 60 percent and 120 percent of the area’s median income. 

Rendering via McCaffery Interests

The new figure is an increase from what was reported by the Gazette in February, which only included 877 units, but the breakdown hasn’t been modified. The development would also include 75,000 square feet of retail space, 270 on-site parking spots, and a dedicated greenspace, and it would offer easy access to the Green Line CTA station.

The Chicago Housing Authority is joining forces with McCaffery Interests (Roosevelt Collection and Chicago Lakeside) and the Community Builders (Oakwood Shores and Shops and Lofts at 47) on the project.

“This kind of public-private partnership will help revitalize the Ickes Homes and bring a new vitality to the area, and most importantly, help reconnect and reintegrate the community into the fabric of the greater South Loop neighborhood,” CHA CEO Eugene Jones said in a statement October of last year.

The development’s website is still under construction and the Ickes Master Plan has yet to go to the Chicago Plan Commission. However, if proposals pass as hoped, the first phase of development could begin later this year and the project could be fully completed by 2019.