A rendering of the 193-unit Ravenswood Senior Living project in Chicago.

CHICAGO—Construction has begun on the adaptive reuse of the long-shuttered Ravenswood Hospital into a 193-unit affordable senior housing project.

Evergreen Real Estate Group commenced construction on the $81-million project at 4515 N. Winchester Ave. in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood last week.

The former Ravenswood Hospital, which was built in 1974, has been vacant since 2002. The property's future use will at completion be one of the first developments in the country to offer both independent living and supportive living for low-income seniors in a single location. The project will therefore allow residents to age in place as their needs and lives change, Evergreen Real Estate notes.

Evergreen representatives joined 47th Ward Ald. Matt Martin and officials from the Chicago Housing Authority, Illinois Housing Development Authority and other partners at a ceremonial groundbreaking for the project on Jan. 23.

Located between Damen and Ravenswood avenues, the 10-story building will have 74 one-bedroom independent living apartments for CHA residents, as well as 119 units for participants in the Illinois Supportive Living Program, an alternative to nursing home care that is administered by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. While the two communities will be located in the same building, they will have separate entrances and operate independently from each other.

"This important project is a rare opportunity to bring much-needed affordable senior housing to Chicago's North Side while establishing a viable financing model that can be applied to future senior developments across the country, especially as the population continues to age," says Jeff Rappin, founder and chairman of Evergreen Real Estate Group.

The facade of the former hospital will be cleaned and tuck-pointed, and all windows will be replaced using the original frames. A small addition on the building's north side will feature a facade of metal panels whose colors complement the current brick and also mirror the design of the adjacent Lycée Français de Chicago, a private French international school.

Structural changes to the former hospital will include the addition of an elevator and staircase at the entrance of the independent living community. Elevators inside the building will be modernized, and the entire building will be revamped to be converted to apartments, which will include new walls, HVAC and some new window openings. Both the independent and supportive living communities will share the existing parking garage, which also is utilized by Lycée Français de Chicago and other commercial and residential buildings on the block.

On-site amenities for the independent living community will include a roof deck, community room, fitness room, library/computer room, lounges and laundry rooms. The adjacent supportive living community will have its own amenities, including a roof deck, dining room with meals served daily, community room, fitness and physical therapy room, salon, library/computer room, multi-purpose/TV room and attendant stations on each floor. In addition, the supportive living community will have an on-site doctor's office, which will be staffed by a physician up to two days a week and offer 24-hour care provided by trained medical professionals.

Ravenswood Senior Living is owned by Evergreen Real Estate Group in partnership with Chicago-based Synergy Construction Group and the Chicago Housing Authority. Financial partners for the independent living community include the CHA, which is providing Rental Assistance Demonstration project-based vouchers for all 74 residents, as well as a significant amount of capital funds. Evergreen also worked with IHDA, the National Development Council (NDC), Ravenswood Community Council, ComEd's Energy Efficiency Program via the CHA Community Support Corporation, IFF and Key Bank to secure additional funding and tax credits.

Evergreen will manage the independent living community while Asbury Senior Living will manage the supportive living component upon completion of the project. Leopardo Companies is the general contractor, with Evergreen Construction Company and Synergy Construction Group serving as subcontractors.

The Ravenswood Senior Living project is the third affordable senior housing community that Evergreen has developed on Chicago's North Side over the past year. In 2019, the firm partnered with the CHA, Chicago Public Library and Chicago's Department of Housing on a pair of co-located developments—Independence Apartments and Library at 4022 N. Elston Ave. and Northtown Apartments and Library at 6800 N. Western Ave.—that co-locate low-income senior housing with new public library branches.

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Long-Vacant Hospital Property to be Converted to Senior Housing

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