HUMBOLDT PARK — City officials and residents gathered in a tent Thursday morning to break ground on the 65th Infantry Borinqueneers Building, an affordable housing complex for veterans set in Humboldt Park.
The tent was set up in a Norwegian Hospital parking lot at 1045 N. Sacramento Blvd., the site of the future 49-unit, four-story 65th Infantry Borinqueneers Building.
The event included local leaders Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26th) and Billy Ocasio, a former 26th Ward alderman and current board chairman at Norwegian Hospital, which donated the land for the building's construction.
The groundbreaking came with a pledge from Emanuel to “end homelessness for veterans by 2015,” alongside an announcement from Maldonado establishing an honorary designation along a portion of Humboldt Drive named “Borinqueneer Drive” after the group of legendary Puerto Rican war heroes and veterans who received a "a long overdue" Congressional Gold Medal in 2014.
The complex is an extension of the Puerto Rican legacy in Humboldt Park, according to developer Hipolito Roldan, including other projects in the neighborhood such as the introduction of the two Puerto Rican flag monuments and the ongoing development of Paseo Boricua.
“But none, in my opinion have been more important than this one,” Roldan told the crowd, noting that Hispanic Housing Development Corporation and Tropic Construction, the two groups developing and constructing the building, both of which Roldan heads, have established 54 developments in Chicago.
“This is the last smile I get in this lifetime," he said.
According to Emanuel, the affordable housing complex is more than a commitment to veterans, it’s a commitment to community.
“We will finish the job and we will end homelessness for veterans in the city of Chicago,” he said. “What we need to do is take care of the well-being of our community and that’s what we’re doing here. This time next year … no veteran will call Lower Wacker [Drive] home.”
Emanuel counted 250 units reserved for veterans for 2015 and vowed to establish the remaining amount by the end of the year — approximately 750 units to fill the need of approximately 1,000 homeless veterans in Chicago.
The Borinqueneers building proposal, and the ensuing community meetings, came with its share of controversy, despite it being supported by a wide range of Chicago politicians and securing backing funds including a $1.5 million loan from the city.
Claims of racism and negligence were hurled by supporters and opponents in October and November 2014, leading to a call for “compassion” at a December 2014 community meeting.
The proposal has since been approved by City Council. Rent at the veterans building will range from around $700 to $1,000 for one- to three-bedroom units at a total construction cost of around $14 million, according to Roldan. Units will be available to veterans and their families making 60 percent of median income or below, according to the Mayor’s office.
Many U.S. military veterans were also present at Thursday’s groundbreaking, including a contingent of veterans representing the 65th Infantry and Jaime Diego Rivera, who gave a brief history of the active duty Latino segregated unit, which completed nine campaigns in the Korean War, garnering a slew of accolades.
“We need to do for them what they have done for us,” Rivera said.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
