Chicago Construction News staff writer
North Lawndale has broken ground on the Trumball Collection, a group of nine market-rate three-flat apartment buildings funded by Chicago’s Missing Middle infill housing program.
Developer responses to a DPD Missing Middle RFP for 30 vacant lots in South Chicago and West Englewood are under review – one of five Missing Middle projects in North Lawndale.
Five minority-led development teams are approved to construct 40 multi-unit buildings valued at $37.7 million. Consisting of 115 market rate, for-sale units, the buildings will replace 35 vacant city lots.
The $6.5 million project will be built on eight vacant lots on the 1600 and 1800 blocks of S. Drake Ave. and S. Trumball Ave. with 27 mid-density homes.
“Missing middle is about development without displacement,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “By advancing our local developers’ plans and supporting construction costs, we’re contributing to neighborhood stability, wealth-building opportunities, and ultimately, the development of safer, more affordable communities.”
The project is being led by Westside Community Group, a North Lawndale based real estate development firm that will also lead development of a subsequent 33-unit missing middle project in East Garfield Park.
“Today is more than a groundbreaking, it’s a full-circle moment,” said Jasmine Hagan, Founder and Developer at Westside Community Group. “I was raised just blocks from here. I’ve worked in this community, my daughter was born at the neighborhood hospital, and real estate became the tool that changed the trajectory of my life.
“To now return to the very community that poured into me and help create new pathways to homeownership and wealth-building is an incredible honor.”
The Westside Community Group project was selected in January 2025 from among 30 developer responses to a DPD Request for Proposals (RFP) for 36 City lots between Ogden Avenue and Douglas Boulevard.
Across the entire West Side, developments have been approved to replace 55 vacant lots with 70 multi-unit buildings valued at $68 million.
The Missing Middle program provides city-owned lots for $1 and HED funds to empower minority-owned developers to create homes with purchase prices that are commensurate with market rates.
To date, more than 100 buildings containing more than 300 homes across the West and South Side. Total project costs are over $11 million.
More information about the program and selected projects is available on the Missing Middle website.
