CHICAGO-Construction is complete on the first phase of Westhaven Park, a $200 million mixed-use community being built over a former housing project, and the joint venture of Brinshore Development LLC and Michaels Development Co. are starting the second phase of the three-phase site. When finished, the property will have 764 multifamily housing units and joined retailon 26.5 acres of land on the site of the former Henry Horner Homes housing complex, bounded by Hermitage, Lake Oakley and Washington. This area is seeing growing interest because it's on the edge of the now-popular West Loop.
About 25 housing project buildings have been torn down on the site, and only one remains, as part of Chicago's plan to replace large multifamily towers with spread out communities of mixed-income residents. Most of the project is new, though there is a five-acre parcel that was redeveloped in the late 1990s by the Chicago Housing Authority, says Richard J. Sciortino, president of Brinshore. He says those five acres are being incorporated into the final project.
About half of the project is apartments, and half are condominiums, some market-rate, some set as "affordable" and some public housing. The companies recently finished the first phase, about 350 units, and now construction is starting on the second phase of 120 rental units and 90 for-sale units, Sciortino tells GlobeSt.com. "The first phase went great, we're about 98 percent leased in our rental component, and the for-sale units are completely sold," he says. Some buyers are former residents, while others are teachers, staff from the nearby West Side Medical District and University of Illinois campus and other professionals, he says.
The company is going to try something different with the second phase. The first phase was mostly basic low-rise, row and townhouse units, he says. The second phase will have three story row houses zoned as commercial, so they can be used as a retail building and/or living space. "We're hoping to get some artists or galleries on the first levels," Sciortino says. The second phase, which will also include 12-unit buildings on a few corners, should be finished by March 2008.
The third phase, he says, is going to include a 2.5-acre park, two five-story multifamily building and a 10-story multifamily building, with a mix of condominium and rental units, Sciortino says. There will also be about 8,000-sf of retail along Damon and Lake avenues, he says.
He says the properties rent and sell well, with the average price being about $250,000 for a two-bedroom, one-bath unit, because of all the incentives provided by the city and the state. Millions of dollars are being provided by the Chicago Housing Authority, City of Chicago Home Funds, Illinois Housing Development Authority Trust Funds, the Community Reinvestment Fund and Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago.
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