RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Chicago’s effort to rehabilitate abandoned homes on the South and West sides to foster homeownership took a big step recently.
The city, along with project partners and neighbors, held a ribbon-cutting Friday on two rehabbed homes in Englewood. One of the South Green Street homes has already been sold, and the other is under contract.
The homes join more than 70 other properties that have been rehabbed and sold under Rebuild Chicago 2.0 , an expansion of the city’s Rebuild program that gives abandoned homes a second life. The program identifies homes that can be acquired, rehabbed and sold to create homeownership opportunities on the South and West sides, which have experienced decades of disinvestment.
Inside one of renovated units, as part of the rehab of a two-unit Englewood property.
Manuel Martinez/WBEZ
The program was expanded after being awarded a $20 million grant from the Illinois Housing Development Authority in November 2024.
“This ribbon-cutting is the result of ongoing and intentional efforts to address and undo the long-term impacts in systems of unfair and predatory lending, racism and redlining, blockbusting and it goes on,” Kristin Faust, the housing development authority's executive director, said in a news release. “It is a result of our shared belief that the ZIP code where you grew up should not determine your life's path. It's a result of a vision that people should never be forced to choose between staying connected to their community and moving forward, because they deserve the opportunity to stay where they live and move forward.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson said Friday marked a “huge milestone” in the Rebuild 2.0 program, which saw some of the first rehabbed homes completed in the spring. There are 45 homes in the program’s development pipeline, in addition to the 70 that have already been completed, according to the mayor’s office.
The program’s focus is single-family homes and two-flats that are either vacant or abandoned, the mayor’s office said.
Mayor Brandon Johnson participates in a ribbon cutting with new homeowner Abria Williams and her mother, Martina Brown, (right) to celebrate the renovation of an Engelwood home under the city’s Rebuild 2.0 program.
Manuel Martinez/WBEZ
Johnson said each home put back on the market is an opportunity for a family to create generational wealth and a sense of community. The new Green Street properties are two-flats, giving new homeowners the option to rent out one of the units.
“By rehabbing these vacant homes, we are strengthening communities and attracting local economic development and expanding opportunities for affordable homeownership in communities that have historically been underserved,” Johnson said.
The homes are being sold for $380,000, putting them below the city’s median sale price of $384,818, according to June data from Redfin. Each brick building was rehabbed with modern finishes and fixtures, with four bedrooms and three bathrooms across the units.
The rehab was completed by ANM Mechanical HVAC and Plumbing, with $415,000 in program funding used by the Chicago Community Loan Fund to acquire the properties. The Chicago Community Loan Fund, alongside Greenwood Archer Capital, are administering the program’s funds.
Rebuild 2.0 helps offset acquisition and rehabilitation costs, which makes the projects more financially viable and keeps homes affordable, according to Greenwood Archer.
"CCLF is proud to help connect capital to projects that create real community benefit,” Wendell Harris, executive vice president of lending and equity at Chicago Community Loan Fund, said. “We are proud to support developers who deliver quality work, and we are proud to partner with public agencies who understand the importance of investing in neighborhoods that have too often been overlooked."
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