However, the $21.4-million development also is an example of timing, Lakefront SRO Corp. executive director Jean Butzen told the Friends of Downtown recently. "In 1995, we were still early enough to buy the land in the South Loop," Butzen recalls. "A year later, I don't think we would've been able to do it."
More recently, the city is investing in three more SROs, says city department of housing senior program director Ellen Sahli, including one at 600 S. Wabash Ave. involving the Chicago Christian Industrial League.
While the South Loop has undergone a residential renaissance, it also has meant the demise for many single-room-occupancy units. With 1,000 units, they represented 9% of the housing stock in 1990, Sahli says, but that figure likely has fallen to 4%, she added during a Friends of Downtown panel discussion.
The 207-unit South Loop Apartments were built with multiple debt and equity partners, led by the city's $7.4-million, 31-year, no-interest loan through HOME funds as well as a 24-month $5.8-million CD float loan. The Illinois Housing Development Authority also provided $1 million of no-interest money.
The National Equity Fund put up $2.2 million, an amount matched by the combination of The Northern Trust and First Chicago banks. Various grants provided another $1.5 million.
Most tenants pay $275 a month for furnished apartments that include a bed and cooking facilities.
The Chicago Christian Industrial League is building a $12-million, 168-unit SRO with a $3-million gift from the city and $5.6 million in low-income housing tax credits.
"I look at SROs, for most of our clients, as temporary," says Industrial League executive director Joe O'Connor. "Most go on to establish a marital relationship or other situations to make them part of the rest of the community."
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