Thousands of lots in Chicago South and West sides have been vacant for years, but construction on new affordable houses is finally getting underway.
The Map of Chicago (Photo: Gold Coast Realty)
Affordable Homes Will Be Built In The Empty Lots Of Chicago South And West Sides
According to CBS 2’s Noel Brennan, community leaders met to begin the process of reclaiming and restoring the area Chicago South and West Sides. An empty lot pleads with optimism, and Rev. James T. Meeks sees transformation in Roseland on the Far South Side.
“These were food deserts,” Meeks remarked of the dilapidated regions of Chicago South and West Sides. “Nothing but bad can happen there, so we want to revitalize that, we want to change some of these communities. It has to start somewhere, and it starts right here on this lot, right now.”
Meeks is the founder of the Hope Center Foundation, which is collaborating with the community organization United Power on a project.
“United Power leaders want to be free of the corrosive reality of more than 10,000 city-owned vacant lots,” said Amy Totsch, United Power’s main organizer. The project will reclaim and rehabilitate vacant properties on Chicago South And West Sides. Work began in 2019 with the goal of constructing 2,000 inexpensive single-family houses on the Chicago south and west flanks.
Budget for Chicago South and West Sides Affordable Homes
United Power received $17.5 million for construction. “Block by block, so that we can see neighborhoods of Chicago South and West Sides revitalized and have the momentum to build off of,” Totsch explained.
According to United Power, similar construction has already begun in Chicago Lawn on the Southwest Side.
“There is a 20-block area, violent crime has gone down by 70% where we’ve addressed all the vacant, and the two local schools have improved from level three to level one,” Totsch added.
There are still thousands of vacant lots in Chicago South And West Sides, but each new home gives a neighborhood optimism.
“We’ve decided to organize good people and change these communities,” Meeks explained.
According to United Power, 60 residences are now being developed in four communities on the Chicago South And West Sides. Roseland is where the work begins, with 11 parcels.
According to campaign leaders, the first four new homeowners in Roseland have already been approved.
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