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CHA Set to Unveil Cabrini-Green Redevelopment Plan

By Wendell Hutson | February 1, 2014 8:55am
 A redevelopment plan for thr Cabrini-Green public housing complex will be discussed at a communty meeting Feb. 4 and Feb. 11, 2014.
A redevelopment plan for thr Cabrini-Green public housing complex will be discussed at a communty meeting Feb. 4 and Feb. 11, 2014.
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DNAinfo/Quinn Ford

NEAR NORTH SIDE — The Chicago Housing Authority will hold two community meetings with residents to discuss their plans for redeveloping the Cabrini-Green public housing complex.

The meetings will be from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday and 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday at Seward Park, 375 W. Elm St. CHA officials said they would be seeking community feedback about the redevelopment.

"We want to hear from residents to find out what they want included in this redevelopment. Retail stores are planned for the site, so it would be helpful to know what kind of retail residents would like to see," said Charnette Brown, a development manager for Cabrini-Green.

"One of the concerns we have heard in the past was the need for childcare so we are working with a private operator who will open a daycare facility nearby."

And while there is no timetable for when redevelopment would be completed, Brown said 18 to 24 months is the standard turnaround time for new construction projects.

A request for proposals will be issued April 1 for developers, according to Wendy Parks, a CHA spokeswoman.

The 65-acre site at 900 N. Hudson Ave., which spans five blocks, will encompass between 2,400 and 2,800 units with a percentage of units reserved for CHA residents. First preference for new units will go toward former Cabrini-Green residents followed by other CHA residents.

"This is a mixed-use project, which means some units will be reserved for low-income families and some units for market rate," she added. "But at this point, in the planning stages, we do not know how many low-income units will be available."

Additionally, the redeveloped housing complex will have open space to include a park as well as "other amenities we will discuss at the meeting," added Brown.

According to CHA officials, there are 434 row houses at Cabrini-Green that have not been rehabbed, and only 33 units are occupied. Those residents would have to be relocated during the redevelopment. But residents occupying the 146 rehabbed row houses would not have to relocate.

CHA's plan all along has been to provide affordable housing for residents, explained Parks.

"In 2013, CHA launched a new strategic initiative, Plan Forward: Communities That Work, which outlines its commitment to building strong, vibrant communities throughout Chicago. A key component of Plan Forward includes fulfilling the original Plan for Transformation commitment to redevelop or replace 25,000 subsidized housing units by 2015," Parks said.