Related Midwest for Roosevelt Square

A new neighborhood has come to life at the intersection of Racine Avenue and Taylor Street, where the new town homes, three flats, and courtyard buildings of Roosevelt Square rise on the footprint of the former ABLA public housing complex and the streets are again bustling with shops and businesses in new retail space. The first phase of the new mixed-income housing development, or 415 homes, has already sparked the neighborhood’s rebirth and a new sense of community. When complete, Roosevelt Square will comprise 2,441 new homes, of which one-third are for Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) households, a third are affordable rental and for-sale homes, and a third are market rate for-sale homes. Affordable rental and CHA residents’ homes are located throughout the rental buildings, and all of the community’s household types (CHA, affordable and market rate) are distributed throughout the for-sale buildings. The vision of Roosevelt Square’s master developer, Related Midwest (formerly LR Development Company), and its development team partners, Quest Development and Heartland Housing, who were selected by the CHA and the ABLA Working Group, goes well beyond bricks and mortar. The development team’s innovative holistic approach focuses on the entire community’s wellbeing, with ongoing and extensive outreach and supportive services designed to ease transitions, cultivate neighborly relationships and foster self-sufficiency for CHA families. For achieving its vision to bridge a psychological and historical divide, for integrating a community into its surrounding area and for turning isolated properties into a viable new neighborhood, Related Midwest has won the 2007 CNDA Award for Outstanding For-Profit Real Estate Project.