Chicago Construction News staff writer
A seven-story, 63-unit, all-affordable apartment building is the winning proposal to redevelop vacant city land adjacent to the CTA Green Line in East Garfield Park.
The $47.2-million equitable Transit-Oriented Development (eTOD) project by The Michaels Organization, KMW Communities and TruDelta Real Estate was selected over two competing proposals for the .49-acre site at 132 N. Kedzie Ave. Proposals were evaluated for “community wealth building potential, economic feasibility, and professional and technical competence”.
Hub 32, the 78,000-square-foot building is planned to include 14 one-, 34 two- and 15 three-bedroom apartments to be rented at rates affordable to households earning up to 60 per cent of the Area Median Income (AMI). Designed by Brooks + Scarpa and Studio Dwell, the building includes rooftop amenities for residents, 5,600 square feet of ground-floor retail space, 16 exterior parking spots, and a public plaza for outdoor dining and community gathering. First floor tenants are expected to include Jerky Jerk Caribbean restaurant and Vietfive Coffee.
A 2022 department of planning and development (DPD) RFQ received more than 30 responses from developers and designers that were short-listed last year to three finalists. Each of the finalists received $25,000 stipends from the Chicago Community Trust to engage local stakeholders and create proposed designs.
“All three of the innovative design proposals that emerged through the RFQ represent the community’s vision for the corridor’s future, one that is premised on design excellence, affordability and transit access,” DPD Commissioner Maurice Cox said. “Hub 32 really demonstrates how high-density investment near transit can leverage public realm improvements like wider sidewalks and plazas, while also reflecting more traditional housing typologies like the Chicago courtyard building, which will provide future residents with semi-private outdoor space that opens to the sky.”
Located on the southwest corner of Lake Street and Kedzie, portions of the site have been vacant since the early 1970s and part of the City’s inventory since the late 1990s.
The two competing proposals were submitted by CBBC and Evergreen/Imagine for similarly sized, all-affordable buildings. DPD will continue to work with the developer of the runner-up proposal — Evergreen/Imagine — for potential implementation on nearby vacant land.
