Mercy Housing Lakefront for The Miriam Apartments

Uptown has always been a place of change in the city—home to an emerging film industry in the 20s to a port of entry for wave after wave of migrants and immigrants seeking affordable dwellings. For the last half of the 20th century, Uptown was the city’s most diverse community. At the turn of this century, a threat to this diversity with a place for everyone emerged with new interest in the well-constructed buildings and the area’s convenient transportation. With support from then-alderman and ardent advocate for diversity, Helen Shiller, Lakefront SRO, now a part of the preeminent national supportive housing group, Mercy Housing, purchased numerous properties in Uptown, including The Miriam Apartments, to provide housing for very low-income residents of Uptown, virtually all of whom have experienced homelessness. Although the building was rehabilitated at the time, after nearly 30 years, renovation and renewal were needed. With input from the 66 residents, today the Miriam offers 66 fully-redesigned studio apartments, each with its own kitchen, bathroom, and heating and air-condi¬tioning, as well as a spacious and welcoming lobby. While the entire renovation cost $20 million, residents will pay no more than $167 in rent as a result of federal housing subsidies that allow these individuals and others like them to live in areas of their choice.