Chicago developer completes first phase of affordable housing project in North Lawndale
The first phase of apartments at a North Lawndale development is already 50% leased, and the amenity-heavy project will bring additional housing units to the community as it starts phase two.
Project and city leaders gathered at OC Living, the residential portion of the Ogden Commons development , on Thursday to mark the grand opening of phase one and kickstart phase two of the more than $200 million project. The Habitat Co. will build about 300 units at the former Chicago Housing Authority site.
"We always thought about it as a housing-plus sort of project," Jeff Head, vice president of development at Habitat, said.
Construction on phase two of OC Living will start in about six weeks. Habitat had hoped to construct the apartment buildings in one phase, but Head said it became too expensive to finance.
The buildings are designed as a pair and have a similar shape and design, though the second building is slightly smaller at 75 units. The second property should take about 14 months to complete, Head said, with residents moving in next winter.
He said it's a big milestone for Habitat. Ogden Commons opened a building during the pandemic when only small, socially-distanced events could be held. So Thursday's event allowed for a bigger celebration for a development that's helping to revitalize the area surrounding Douglass Park and Mount Sinai Hospital on Ogden Avenue.
Ogden Commons was announced in 2018 after Mount Sinai approached Habitat about the opportunity, Head said. When the CHA put out a request for proposal for the site, Habitat pitched it as an economic development opportunity, complete with housing and around 120,000 square feet of commercial space.
The first commercial building on the 2600 block of Ogden Avenue was completed in 2022, including a Mount Sinai outpatient center, Wintrust branch and coffee shop.
The first phase of OC Living is a four-story, 92-unit mixed-income building with amenities like a fitness center, community room and park. And 90% of the units are designated as affordable. Rents for the affordable studios start at $1,040 while one- and two-bedroom units reach $2,145 for market rate and $1,337 for affordable.
"In the units, the quality is very close to a market rate quality," Head said. "We do both market rate and affordable as a company and some of the differences are more amenities — and certainly rents — but the [affordable] finishes are very similar to the market units. The spaces, the layouts, are all very high quality."
Habitat is pleased with the momentum the development has generated so far, Head said. After phase two, the company will pivot to townhouse-style residences geared toward families.
"It continues to be a great addition to a really good community around Mount Sinai," Head said. "I think we'll really have a long term, sustainable community."
