Accelerating Community Renewal - In Woodlawn and Beyond

2016 PROGRESS REPORT
Accelerating Community Renewal
In Woodlawn and Beyond

Reading the daily headlines, you would think there
was little good happening in Chicago’s South and
West Side neighborhoods – but that’s far from the
whole story. There are places where good things are
happening – from new manufacturing plants and jobs
in Pullman and Calumet, to new stores and
employment in Bronzeville and Englewood.
CRIME
Another such neighborhood is Woodlawn, where
POAH has worked for the past eight years.
With its population and employment growing (in
2016 Woodlawn experienced the first population
increase in 40 years) at the same time crime is
declining, we believe the story of Woodlawn’s
renewal offers solutions to challenges confronting
cities across America. It is a story of how POAH, with
community, government and institutional partners,
turned a $30.5 million federal grant into $400 million
of investment that produced good jobs, housing,
additional resources and hope for a brighter future.
POPULATION
But mostly, Woodlawn is a story of community
involvement, collaboration and partnership.
Investment and Collaboration
Set the Stage
POAH began its work in Woodlawn at the
invitation of community leaders and the City of
Chicago to oversee the demolition and building
of the long-outdated and troubled Grove Parc
Plaza housing development. In 2011 POAH and
the City applied for and earned one of the first
Choice Neighborhoods Grants from HUD – a
grant that HUD hoped would finance new
housing and be the springboard for broader
community revitalization.
1

Today in Woodlawn, the $400 million of investment
garnered by the grant is nearly twice the amount of
investment HUD had originally hoped to generate.
What made this possible was POAH’s approach:
• By using “housing dollars” to replace
existing apartment buildings on the original
site, POAH spurred additional rental and
homeownership opportunities throughout
the community
• By partnering with community groups,
institutions and residents, POAH identified
the neighborhood’s needs for schools,
recreational sites, and retail businesses
• By making neighborhood safety and
employment opportunities a priority, POAH
was able to encourage entrepreneurs to make
additional public and private investments in
the community
Even before news of a 15 percent increase in
population and the decrease in crime, one could
see the changes taking place. South Cottage
Grove Avenue has been transformed from a
foreboding corridor to a well-landscaped, lively
boulevard where award-winning mixed-income
buildings for seniors and families feature an array
of community amenities. The new Woodlawn
Resource Center provides career training, job
placement and a wide range of community services.
MetroSquash, the renowned youth center, offers
year-round recreation and mentoring programs.
Buoyed by POAH’s investments on Cottage Grove
and throughout the neighborhood, institutional
investors were also active, especially the University
of Chicago, which built a new 1,000-bed dorm just
south of the Midway Plaisance on 61 st Street, and
a new charter school on 63 rd Street.
2

2016 – Accelerating the
Pace of Development
In 2016, POAH and its community partners picked
up the pace. As confidence in Woodlawn grew, so
did new development opportunities.
In the summer, the Woodlawn community
celebrated the ground breaking for Trianon Lofts,
the first-new market rate rental housing to be
constructed in the neighborhood in more than 40
years. On a vacant lot at 803 East 61 st Street, POAH
is building a 24-unit, two-bedroom residential
building with 7,000 square feet of first-floor retail
space. The apartments, 900 to 950 square feet
each, will feature high ceilings, two baths, stainless
steel appliances, granite countertops, in-unit
washer/dryers and free parking.
Lala’s Land of Learning, a well-regarded children’s day
care center, will open a new location in the
building’s commercial space in 2017. And Trianon
Lofts will mark POAH’s fifth new residential
building along the Cottage Grove Corridor between
61 st and 63 rd streets that includes The Grant, The
Jackson and The Burnham.
During 2016 POAH finalized funding for Woodlawn
Station, a four-story residential and retail complex
that recently broke ground at the northeast corner of
63 rd Street and Cottage Grove. The anchor building
of the transit-oriented development will feature 55
market-rate and affordable apartments and 15,000
square feet of retail space adjacent to the CTA’s 63 rd
Street Green Line station.
The development also includes two new buildings
of 15 mixed-income rental apartments at 6408 and
6432 South Maryland Avenue. In addition to this
innovative project, POAH’s acquisition of properties
on Vernon, Eberhart and Kimbark streets will
preserve and enhance additional affordable
housing residences in Woodlawn.
3

While ensuring a continuous supply of market
rate and affordable rental housing has been and
continues to be a top priority for POAH, increasing
opportunities for affordable home ownership is
also a top goal. To accomplish this, POAH has
partnered with the Neighborhood Housing
Services (NHS) and the Community Investment
Corporation (CIC) to create Renew Woodlawn.
Through this partnership CIC acquires and NHS
renovates formerly vacant or foreclosed properties
in the area and sells them at prices made affordable
through subsidies of up to $75,000. By the end of
2016, Renew Woodlawn had a pipeline of 20 more
homeowners and properties under contract.
Community development would not be “complete”
without also improving the lives of its residents, so
POAH moved to strengthen its service component.
POAH hired its first full-time director of the
Woodlawn Resource Center (WRC) which in the
last year helped more than 125 people in the
community find jobs. And there’s a good reason to
believe more opportunities are on the way, thanks
to the approximately $1.5 million the WRC and
POAH raised in 2016 to expand its employment
network.
Inspiring Others
POAH’s developments are not only bringing about
much needed change, they’ve also attracted other
investors whose projects are proof of Woodlawn’s
ongoing revitalization. Those inspired by
Woodlawn’s renewal include:
• KMW Communities: Obtained approval
from the City Council for its plans for 25
new single-family homes, townhouses and
condominiums between the 6100 and
6200 blocks of Greenwood Avenue
• Greenline Development: Moving ahead
with plans for building seven new
single-family homes on Marquette Road
and Dorchester Avenue, and nine
single-family homes at 61 st and South
Ellis Avenue
4

Further proof of Woodlawn’s renaissance came a
few days after the ground breaking for Trianon
Lofts when Chicago received word that the
Obama Presidential Center would be built in
Woodlawn at nearby Jackson Park.
”The Obama Center will accelerate interest in the
area from people looking for quality housing and a
vibrant community," said Bill Eager, Vice President
of POAH Chicago. Eager added that the Center is
also expected to spur the building of dozens of
more new homes over the next several years.
Beyond Woodlawn
POAH was also busy extending its mission in other
urban neighborhoods in 2016. It wasn’t long after
news broke that the Obama Center was coming to
Woodlawn, that POAH acquired Greenwood Park
Apartments, a 122-unit apartment complex at 47 th
Street between Woodlawn and Ellis, just a few
blocks from the former President’s residence in the
Kenwood neighborhood. POAH has already begun
making improvements to the 43-year-old complex.
Completion of the rehabilitation is expected in 2018.
To the south of Woodlawn, POAH joined federal,
state and city officials to mark the completion of the
$5 million renovation of the Lafayette Terrace
Apartments, a 94-unit housing complex consisting
of eight buildings, including a 52-unit mid-rise senior
building at 6950 South Vincennes and 42 family
townhomes. Located just west of the Dan Ryan
Expressway along 75 th Street and close to the CTA,
the transit-oriented redevelopment project began
shortly after POAH purchased the complex a year
earlier. The renovations include energy-efficiency
upgrades, new windows and roofs, new kitchens and
baths, as well as common areas improvements.
“POAH did an amazing job in not only modernizing
Lafayette Terrace, but preserving its affordability.
Because of their work, families who have been members
of the community for years will continue to have quality
housing options and be able to contribute to the
neighborhood,” said Audra Hamernik, Executive Director,
Illinois Housing Development Authority, one of the
community’s partners committed to Woodlawn’s renewal.
5

To the north, POAH joined 25 th Ward Alderman Danny
Solis, residents, and other city and state officials to
celebrate the completed $5 million renovation of
Newberry Apartments at 1355-1357 South Blue Island
Avenue on Chicago’s Near West Side. The complex
was purchased by POAH in 2015 to keep the property
affordable for residents and neighbors, including
long-time residents like Margaret Price.
“We’re grateful for the effort and commitment to
preserve good-quality affordable housing in this
vibrant neighborhood, Ms. Price said at the
community celebration last fall.
The Newberry Park Apartments’ two residential
buildings, 84 apartments and management office
were retrofitted with new energy-efficient systems,
appliances, LED lighting and other new fixtures
and amenities, including new kitchens, HVAC
systems, bathrooms, landscaping and security
cameras, as well as a playground. The improvements
were the first in the property’s 20-plus year history.
Looking Ahead
In early 2017 came the announcement that
Woodlawn had won the “2016 Curbed Cup
Chicago Neighborhood of the Year” award, and
Redfin, a national real estate brokerage called it
the “hottest neighborhood in Chicago” and the
“one to keep an eye on in coming years.”
http://chicago.curbed.com/2017/1/19/14328152/popular-chicago-neighborhoods-2017
With the news that a national grocery store may be
locating in the Cottage Grove Corridor, and more
development is on the way, this neighborhood’s
future is bright.
For more information on the Chicago revitalization,
visit our newly designed website at poahchicago.org
and check out our 4-minute video at
vimeo.com/206441181.
6

1 N LaSalle St, Suite 1750
Chicago, IL 60602
poahchicago.org
facebook.com/poahchicago
@poahchi