Mayor Rahm Emanuel today recognized projects across the city that received prestigious Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Chicago. A number of the winning projects were made possible by city support, including a historic Bronzeville apartment complex, a North Lawndale youth services center and a Pilsen affordable rental building.

“Projects like these are what make our city strong, and help build vibrant neighborhoods where our families can live, work and enjoy all of the opportunities that Chicago has to offer,” Mayor Emanuel said. “The City is proud to be a partner on many of these developments, driving sustainable and inclusive growth in our communities."

The awards ceremony, now in its 24th year, recognizes triumphs in community building by nonprofit development organizations and for-profit developers that help create healthier neighborhoods throughout the Chicago area.

“Collectively, these projects illustrate how hard work, public-private cooperation and vision can truly make a difference for Chicago neighborhoods and its people,” Department of Planning and Development Commissioner David Reifman said, who helped introduce the winners.

The awarded projects that received City support include:

Chicago Community Trust Outstanding Community Plan Award
The Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) Plan for Woodlawn
POAH’s comprehensive revitalization of the former Grove Parc Plaza public housing complex in Woodlawn is creating than $400 million in new housing, retail, institutional, and other improvements along Cottage Grove Avenue. Construction to date has included more than 240 mixed-income housing units in five new buildings, the first supermarket in 50 years, and a new squash facility that provides mentoring programs for youth. They were collectively made possible by a federal Choice Neighborhoods grant and more than $21 million in multi-family loans and tax credits from the City.

Outstanding For-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Project Award
Rosenwald Courts, 47th Street and Michigan Avenue
The $132 million restoration of the Rosenwald Courts Apartments by Rosenwald Courts Developers LLC created 239 units of affordable housing for Bronzeville seniors and families. Built in 1930 by Sears, Roebuck & Co. President Julius Rosenwald for African-Americans arriving with the Great Migration, the official City landmark was restored through more than $30 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF), loans and land by the City.

Driehaus Foundation Award for Outstanding Non-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Project
UCAN’s Drost-Harding Campus, 3605 W. Fillmore St.
Recently relocated from the Northwest Side, UCAN’s new $34 million, seven-acre social services complex in North Lawndale features a therapeutic dormitory, recreation center, and classrooms for up to 70 abused and at-risk youths. City assistance included more than $15 million in TIF and New Markets Tax Credits.

Driehaus Foundation Award for Architectural Excellence in Community Design
First Place: Casa Queretaro, 2012 W. 17th St.
The Resurrection Project’s $15 million affordable Casa Queretaro complex in Pilsen capped 20 years of planning that transformed a vacant lot with 45 affordable apartments for families. Featuring a variety of sustainable design amenities by Design Bridge Ltd. architects, the project was made possible through more than $11 million in TIF, loans, tax credits and land from the City.

Second Place: Chicago Center for Arts and Technology (ChiCAT), 1701 W. 13th St.
The National Center for Arts and Technology’s $12.3 million ChiCAT job training facility serves unemployed adults and teens from North and South Lawndale, Little Village and Pilsen. The project, which renovated a former industrial building with modern amenities and building systems for educational purposes, was designed by Landon Bone Baker Architects. City assistance included $5 million in New Markets Tax Credits.

The Polk Bros. Foundation Affordable Rental Housing Preservation Award
Lake Village East, 4700 S. Lake Park Ave.
Ansonia Properties’ Lake Village East redevelopment project in Kenwood preserved 218 units of affordable housing in a 26-story high-rise constructed in the 1970s on former City-owned land.

The awards were presented Thursday at McCormick Place by LISC Chicago, the local office of the nation’s leading community development support organization. For a complete list of winners, visit www.lisc-cnda.org.

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