A Hyde Park Herald story
As housing costs creep higher in Woodlawn, a nonprofit developer is spending millions to revamp – and expand – the area’s affordable housing stock.
Earlier this year, the Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), launched a $111 million rehabilitation project for Island Terrace Apartments, a high-rise of mostly affordable apartments just blocks from the under-construction Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. The project, getting off the ground after a two-year delay, will be a “near gut rehab,” its owners say, to address longstanding plumbing and electrical issues, as well as modernizing the building’s 240 units.
Alongside what residents have described as much-needed repairs, the company is expanding the number of units carrying affordability restrictions, from 143 to as many as 222 by the end of the rehab. These protections, owners say, will remain in place for at least the next 30 years.
These units, owners say, will be affordable to tenants making between 35% to 80% of the area’s median income.
“Island Terrace is a critical source of affordable housing in this part of Chicago, and we are delighted to invest in its future,” said POAH’s vice president, Molly Ekerdt, in a statement. “With the investments of public and private partners and the involvement of residents, this property will serve low-and-moderate-income families for many years to come.”
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