A new mixed-income, mixed-use community is coming to Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood: Park Station Lofts. It will be the first development in accordance with the Woodlawn Affordable Housing Preservation Ordinance, which was passed in 2020 to prevent gentrification from the nearby Obama Presidential Center.
Taking over a vacant, city-owned property on the southeast corner of E. 63rd St. and S. Maryland Ave., the Park Station Lofts will maintain mandated affordability requirements on all units.
The development, which is set to cost $35 million in all, is receiving financing from Low Income Housing Tax Credit Equity, Tax Increment Financing, the City of Chicago HOME fund and Commonwealth Edison’s Affordable Housing New Construction energy efficiency program. With financial backing officially secured, ground is expected to break soon.
The lofts will be constructed by the Michaels Organization in conjunction with DL3 Realty, its Chicago-based partner.
“Michaels is excited to expand our South Side presence with this community-driven development,” said Greg Olson, regional vice president of Michaels Development, in a press release.
Once finished, the development will include 58 apartment homes with layouts ranging from one- to three-bedroom. Forty-one of those units are designated for households earning between 30% to 60% of the area median income while the rest are market-rate units.
The first floor of the Park Station Lofts will also feature roughly 3,500 square feet of retail, a community space and working centers where Sunshine Enterprises, a Woodlawn business school, will offer wealth-building classes to local entrepreneurs.
Construction is expected to be complete by November 2023.