Chicago Boosts Related Midwest’s Public Housing Redevelopment

Related Midwest and Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation’s plans for one of Chicago’s earliest public housing developments are moving forward decades after its redevelopment began.

The Lathrop Homes complex along the Chicago River has entered the next phase thanks to $60 million in tax increment financing funds, Block Club reported. The funds, which the Chicago City Council increased from $17.5 million last week, will go toward supporting redevelopment of the southern section of the complex, below Diversey Avenue.

This latest movement on the project, known as Phase 1C, aims to address years of neglect in the southern portion of the site. The redevelopment will bring a mix of renovation and new construction, with seven buildings to be rehabilitated and three slated for demolition. Plans also include the construction of a five-story building and the conversion of a powerhouse into commercial use.

Phase 1C will deliver 309 housing units, 213 of which will be designated for public housing or affordable housing. The project is expected to cost more than $200 million, with funding coming from various sources, including the expanded TIF district. Completion of the redevelopment is scheduled for 2026.

Since its construction in 1938, the Lathrop Homes have been a landmark in Chicago’s public housing history. Once home to 925 families, the complex became a focal point of the CHA’s Plan for Transformation in the early 2000s, which sought to replace aging public housing with mixed-income developments.

Delays and pushback from community members against demolition slowed progress, but redevelopment efforts resumed in the last decade.

The CHA partnered with Related Midwest and the Chicago-based nonprofit Bickerdike in 2010 to oversee the project. The first phase was completed in 2019, delivering new and refurbished housing units north of Diversey Avenue. A second phase followed in 2023, further expanding mixed-income housing in the area.

— Andrew Terrell